LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!
A. Grant Reed II
I read an article this morning about a famous businessman that paid a visit yesterday to Oglethorpe University, where I graduated in 2003. Ted Turner is the man of which I am speaking. Even though he has been relatively dormant in the public news since selling his creations CNN, TBS, the Cartoon Network, and the other Turner Networks, he is still very much a leader.  Did you know that he has fulfilled three-quarters of his $1 billion commitment to the United Nations in 1997? Did you know he also wrote a $32 million check to the U.S. Government so they could pay their debt to the United Nations? In fact, he is so much of a leader that several leadership studies and surveys have Ted Turner as a defined type of leader.
One of these leadership studies refers to Ted's leadership style as "The Lion." I really like this title. As a brother and former chapter president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Oglethorpe University, I am fond of the symbolism of the lion as it was our "mascot."  This article describes The Lion as:
the natural-born leader. This is the kind of business person who has always been a leader, by personality, and probably always will be. Ted Turner, for example, of Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta, has been known for having great self-motivation, despite the criticism of others. On his desk, Turner has a plaque with the old U.S. Army phrase: Lead, follow or get out of the way.  It is not just business sense or a certain strategy that has inspired people to follow Turner, but seemingly his overall desire to move forward and take no prisoners. The Lion leader is not afraid to take risks and is always at the front of the pack.
 I consider myself a "Lion" in terms of my leadership style and personality.  I guess that is why I have always admired Mr. Turner for his broadcasting creations, successful ownership of the Atlanta Braves, philanthropic attitude, and contributions to putting Atlanta "on the map."  While I have yet to accomplish anything worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Ted Turner, I am optimistic that the best of Grant Reed has yet to be written. Even that optimistic statement is a Lion characteristic.  The same article goes on to explain:
This kind of leader is associated with great victory, but also with great defeat – an all-or-nothing attitude. Many distributors who have started their own businesses can relate to the great risk of stepping out into the unknown without much (if any) security. Winston Churchill could also be characterized as a Lion leader, having said, “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”
The only way to sum up this post is to leave with another quote about the Lion from the great Orson Welles: "It is better to live one day as a lion, that a hundred years as a sheep!"


Ted on the Late Show with David Letterman:

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