Wess Roberts - Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: The Next Generation

Make It So

Make It So

As chairman of Paramount Pictures I came to know the power of Star Trek: The Next Generation. As a reader of MAKE IT SO I now have come to know the secrets of leadership, plain and simple, entertaining and incisive.

Brandon Tartikoff, chairman, New World Entertainment

This is a great book for all forward thinkers. MAKE IT SO embodies a true vision of the future.

Lillian Vernon, founder and chief executive officer, Lillian Vernon Corporation

[MAKE IT SO] has turned science fiction into business reality.

Tachi Kiuchi, chairman, Mitsubishi Electric

Fast, entertaining reading. [MAKE IT SO] teaches and reinforces leadership principles useful to virtually everyone in todays workplace.

Larry H. Miller, owner, Utah Jazz

Entertaining and instructive, the adventures in this book are rich with leadership principles that will help you more effectively lead your organization today as well as in the future.

Dave Liniger, cofounder and chairman, RE/MAX International, Inc.

A terrific book filled with key leadership insights for both the present and the future.

Jack Kemp, codirector, Empower America

Other Books by Wess Roberts, Ph.D.

Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun

Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun

Straight As Never Made Anybody Rich

Protecting Your Achilles Heel (coming Fall 96)

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POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 1995 by Wes Roberts and Bill Ross

, and 1995 Paramount Pictures. STAR TREK and related materials are the Property of Paramount Pictures.

STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.

This book is published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc., under exclusive license from Paramount Pictures.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-22323

ISBN: 0-671-52098-9

eISBN: 978-1-439-10828-4

First Pocket Books trade paperback printing August 1996

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

Printed in the U.S.A.

This book is for Justin, Jaime, and Jeremy with every confidence that they will always engage wisdom whenever and wherever they lead in their generation. And for Cheryl, who has always led well.

It is also for Susan, Bills Number One, and the rest of the crew he calls family.

Late in his career, I had the occasion to meet Raymond Burr, who played the lead role in the Perry Mason television series. During our brief conversation, I happened to mention to him that Cheryl was a devout fan of his and both the original and new Perry Mason series. I then emphasized just how devotedly Cheryl followed the series by commenting that I believed she could perhaps recite most of his lines from the various Perry Mason episodes.

Being the gracious man that he was, Mr. Burr thanked me for mentioning this to him and asked me to tell Cheryl that he appreciated her enthusiasm for his work and the series. On reflection, what he said next should not have come as a surprise to me, but at the time it was a new and interesting perspective. He said that while Cheryl might find enjoyment memorizing his characters lines from past episodes, as an actor, it was far more important for him to concentrate on the lines he had to learn for future performances.

There is a valuable principle that can be learned from this brief conversation. While the past affords us the opportunity to learn many useful lessons that can be applied in the present, we can also gain insight for today by giving some thoughtful consideration as to what lies ahead for us in the future.

And so it is that while my earlier books presented leadership lessons that can be learned from a controversial leader who lived in a time long in our past, this work presents leadership lessons that can be learned from a fictional character who lives four hundred years in the future. Indeed, it is necessary that we be prepared to lead well in the present and that we acquire those leadership qualities that will become absolutely vital to our success as leaders in the future.

As I began work on this book, little did I realize just how rich STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION is in illustrating the timeless leadership qualities that are as indispensable for those who lead today as they will be for those who lead tomorrow. I am now convinced that viewing the episodes from this series can also teach us valuable lessons about respect for life and acceptance of people without regard to race, gender, or culture. In viewing these episodes, one can also learn a great deal about the value of others views and opinions, and that the unknown is not to be feared, but understood. Moreover, in our day of tumult and intolerance, it is altogether refreshing to view leaders possessing those qualities that give us hope for a better future.

For these reasons, I believe that STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION provides a powerful metaphorical setting, and that Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a compelling protagonist, who exemplifies all of the leadership qualities illustrated and discussed in Make It So. Those readers who are familiar with the character, Captain Picard, already know him to be the leader that we all wish we worked for, whose leadership gives us confidence and comfort in meeting the challenges we face each and every day, and the type of leader that we should strive to become.

This book is written for both the Trekker and non-Trekker alike. To accommodate those readers unfamiliar with STAR TREK, a brief history of this series from The Original Series to The Next Generation is provided as an appendix to this book. Similarly, a cast of characters and a list of STAR TREK terms are also included as appendices.

Make It So is written as a collection of anecdotes and observations that come from selected experiences of Captain Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise during their seven-plus years of voyages throughout the galaxy. These anecdotes are based on episodes from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, but are retold through the eyes and in the words of Captain Picard. As such, he reveals his thoughts and emotions about these experiences and the leadership lessons they contain on a much more personal level than portrayed in the series. And even though these episodic experiences are taken from a science-fiction series set in the future, their underlying themes and messages are not so different from the real-life situations and circumstances each of us encounter daily.