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Recently I was reading an account of a discussion of this year’s presidential campaign involving eight civic leaders in a prominent Western state. There was the usual blather about why this candidate’s position on that issue was more important than any other’s, how people should exercise their right to vote, and how the Supreme Court could change significantly the next four years and yadda yadda yadda. Bored silly, I began to flip to another article when a statement by one participant slapped me upside the face. The statement went: “I can’t vote for Al Gore OR George W. Bush because they’re both socialists.”

OK, that line hooked me! No matter what you thought of either candidate, how you voted, where you stand on the political spectrum, you would certainly join me in the following refrain, I’m sure: “Say what? Gore and Bush socialists? Excuse me?”

The local leader who said this had her reasons of course, even making a bit of sense in the context of her views but, nonetheless, it was a way-out-there, totally unreasonable thing to say, especially as all manner of other sober intonations kept plodding their way about the conversation. And what it did for me was unmistakable: It caused me finally to want to read that article.

I spent the next fifteen minutes doing so, though by skipping to the parts where this “crazy” leader offered up more insane opinions, and eagerly absorbing how her fellow participants reacted to them. For the most part I was not disappointed, reactions to her getting stronger and more pointed with each passing page. Emotions flew, the discussion got heated. In the article (and the debate itself) the “crazy leader” became everyone’s reference point. In the end I had read every other leader’s comments in the article, if only in search of their reactions. The crazy leader was leading us all.

Did it matter that her crazy statements often seemed to make no sense? Not a whit. In fact, that they often did NOT make sense to me was exactly what kept capturing my attention. The truth is this is precisely what all of us need sometimes, helping us get our juices and brains wrapped around something or other that desperately needs to be discussed. Whether managing a staff, leading a company or serving customers, when we grab attention, we stimulate ideas which in turn fosters effective dialogue, interaction and satisfying, ultimately sensible solutions.

Have you been all too reasonable lately? If so, try being crazy and attracting a little attention. Then settle back and watch yourself begin taking the lead.