Maxwell's Laws

If I pursued my dream of becoming an astrophysicist, I would now be writing about James Maxwell and his equations. But life really is, as Forrest Gump said, like a box of chocolates, and I never thought I would end up a leader in a technology services company, rather than a theorist in a university. That is why I read the works of John, not James, Maxwell, and his 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

I never saw myself as a leader. I wanted to be, as I told other people, a sexy, public intellectual. I dreamed of becoming a scholar writing papers, teaching classes, and expressing views on the issues of the day. But when the opportunity for a promotion presented itself, I simply grabbed it because my gut told me it was my moment. That was when I decided I would learn about leadership because I was going to get paid to be one.

Having been a leader for more than two years and of one hundred people, I now realize that leading is part of my life mission. Maxwell's Law of Process tells me that, even so, I am still a beginner, and there is a lifetime of learning ahead of me. I used to think only natural science had universal laws, but Covey and Maxwell have convinced me that life and leadership, too, have irrefutable laws.