At times I think I actually hate Hollywood. I have many acquaintances there, but few friends.
Solution = Conflict + Collaboration
Three leaders must do: be seen, be heard, be there. One, let people know you are around. Two, connect the dots between purpose and work and listen, listen, listen. Three, be available to do whatever the organization needs you to do. That's leadership.
Good leaders are focused, directive, and inspiring. . . in other words, purposeful. People want to look up to leaders, not because they think they are better than us, but because good leaders provide us with a sense of purpose that inspires us to do better.
The roots of effective leadership lie in simple things, one of which is listening. Listening to someone demonstrates respect; it shows that you value their ideas and are willing to hear them.
Heroism is not blind courage: it is selfless action. it is knowing the odds are stacked against you, but feeling that you must do what you do for the good of others.
The words a leader speaks are important, of course. But how they're delivered can make all the difference, especially in tough times.
I also miss the support that I had of so many people. You know I'm a very Ma and Pa operation right now, and I was used to having everything working for me. It was a similar situation when I left Anne Klein and started Donna Karan. All of a sudden I was working in my apartment and it was, "Oh my god, what am I doing?"
The tillage of the soil occupies the vast majority of those who work for their own bread.
I categorically deny that. The American left today as I know it - and believe me, I am very familiar with the American left - is going toward authoritarianism, toward totalitarianism. It's becoming the real right in the United States.
There is something about writing poetry that brings a man close to the cliff's edge.