John Stewart’s 10 words on Leadership

Last month John Stewart broke his nearly complete media silence since departing the Daily Show to give a 75 minute interview to Obama’s former chief strategist, David Axelrod. The main message I took away is that his 16 years reporting on politics left him horribly jaded and cynical. Most of the conversation is serious and Stewart’s humorous edge is blunted by sadness about US politics. However, I liked his take on how the Daily Show fostered talent:

He acknowledges that luck plays a part and highlights the importance of creating a stimulating, collaborative environment. The phrase which resontated most was “Have a clarity of vision, but a flexibility of process.” In many ways this applies to product development as well as people development. Unfortunately, many people rely too much on previous experiences for both; a vision grounded in how things were done or a process based on previous success often lacks the flexibility or energy to succeed.

One glaring omission in Stewarts articulation of what helped him developed talent is a great sense of humour. I’m sure there are other criticisms too, but pithy articulations of business approaches can serve as a useful heuristic. When speaking to startups it’s insightful to see how the vision is expressed by people across the business and then look for creative or flexible approaches that employees are using to get there.