Afterward
So, this is the end of my book, but just the beginning of your work. I haven’t covered everything, by a very long margin, that you’ll need to know. You still need to invest time in writing, in presentation skills, in management techniques, and in leadership principles. You need to find mentors, and you need to work out what you stand for.
You should look at this book as your roadmap. Setting out to become an enlightened leader is like saying you are going to vacation in New York City. There is a lot to do and a lot of ways to do it. Before you can do anything, though, you need a plan to get to the city, and you need to have a general idea of what’s in the city and things you need to see. Then, once you’re there, you’ll find whole new worlds of things to see and do that you hadn’t even realized were there ahead of time. Likewise with the path to enlightened leadership. I can show you—and I hope I have shown—a path to follow, and I can give you a few pointers for what to see once you are on your way. But the peculiarities of your individual path and your special skills and points of view will shape your own experience far beyond anything any book, class, or mentor can shape for you.
What I can say is this: be an enlightened leader. The universe needs you. You can choose to become a manager or not. Stay in the trenches. Become the CEO of a Fortune 100 company. It doesn’t matter, so long as you make sure you accept your responsibilities to lead and be a leader for those around you.
I want to thank you for the time you’ve invested reading this book.
For more about the enlightened technology leadership philosophy, career tips, feedback from readers, and more, check out www.onlytraitofaleader.com. You’ll also find short pieces devoted to specific topics of interest, and updates or corrections to this manuscript.
We each have a tremendous opportunity, and a tremendous responsibility, to shape the future of our corner of the world. Some of us will reach beyond our corner to our neighborhood or even our country or the whole planet earth in our rapidly globalizing economy, either by accident of circumstance or force of will. Whether you are leading one or one million, resolve to make a change. Lead for the greater good. Be a part of the solution. Become an enlightened technology leader.
