Therapist and author Edwin H Friedman wrote a book about the kind of poor leadership that is rampant today called "A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix." (It is an excellent book, and I can lend it to interested Svijet zaposlenih members.) He explores the important concept of differentiation - the ability to stand outside of the web of anxiety that defines most systems and speak truthfully. The boy who said the emperor had no clothes was highly differentiated, for example.

I was reminded of Friedman's ideas when I came across the following quote in an article about the state of Croatia's ecomomy:

"Mnogi od njih će odmah ispaliti nekoliko ideja kako smanjiti državne troškove, ali niti jedan nije spreman govoriti pod svojim imenom jer i oni također žive od proračuna ili su vezani uz političke stranke, pa ne žele nuditi nepopularna rješenja." (http://www.jutarnji.hr/ekonomisti-optuzuju--evo-vam-tri-nacina-za-ustede...)

Basically, expert Croatian economists are not willing to share their ideas (aside from anonymously) about how to reduce government spending because they themselves are paid by that spending or are tied into political parties and do not desire to offer unpopular solutions.

I love stories from history about people who stood for their convictions. Usually they paid for them dearly, but at least some of the time they lived to see their ideas vindicated. Ideas that truly change the world come from those who have the courage to stand outside of an anxious, constricting system and speak to it honestly and passionately. In this time of crisis and uncertainty, who will be brave enough to stand up and say the wise, but unpopular thing - to exercise self-differentiation?