Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it.

Hear, O seekers of wisdom, the voice of John Naisbitt, who saw the tides of society and spoke with the clarity of a prophet: “Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it.” This is not the counsel of arrogance, nor the boast of empty ambition, but a truth about the nature of guiding others. For leadership is not always the creation of movement, but the recognition of it. It is seeing where the hearts of people are already marching, discerning the rhythm of their desires, and then stepping forth with courage to shape the path.

What is this parade of which Naisbitt speaks? It is the march of human will, the collective longing of communities, the tide of change that stirs within the people. Every age has its parade: sometimes it is the cry for justice, sometimes the hunger for progress, sometimes the yearning for freedom. The leader does not conjure such a march out of nothing; rather, he sees what others overlook. While the crowd itself may wander without form, the leader discerns its direction and steps forward, not to dominate, but to guide.

To stand at the front is both a privilege and a burden. It requires vision to see the parade before it fully forms, courage to step into its path, and humility to know that the leader is lifted not by his own strength, but by the will of those who follow. A leader without a parade is a voice shouting in the void; but a parade without a leader may scatter like dust in the wind. Together, they give life to movement, turning it from mere desire into destiny.

History offers us many such parades. Recall the march of the American Civil Rights Movement. The parade was already stirring in the hearts of millions who longed for equality. Yet it was Martin Luther King Jr. who stepped to the front, who gave voice to their unspoken prayers and clarity to their hopes. He did not invent the dream of freedom, but he recognized it, embraced it, and led it with the fire of his words and the strength of his conscience. Thus, a scattered cry became a united march, and a march became a revolution.

We may also remember Mahatma Gandhi, who saw the yearning of India for independence. The parade was already there, in the hearts of farmers, workers, and students. Gandhi did not command them with armies or wealth; he walked in front of them with humility and conviction, wielding truth and nonviolence as his weapons. His leadership was not the imposition of will, but the recognition of a movement greater than himself. By stepping to the front, he gave it form, and the empire that had seemed eternal began to crumble.

The teaching of Naisbitt, then, is clear: true leadership is not to drag people where they do not wish to go, but to see where they long to travel, and to walk before them with vision, courage, and integrity. It is not the invention of desire, but the guiding of it. Leaders who try to create parades where none exist may fail, but those who discern the living movements of their age and step forth in truth may change the course of history.

The lesson for you, O listener, is this: open your eyes to the movements around you. In your family, in your community, in your nation—what are the parades forming? Where are hearts already marching? Do not be blind, nor deaf to their rhythm. If you are called to lead, do not force your will upon silence, but find the song already rising and lend it your voice. Step forward, not in pride but in service, and you will find that people will follow, not because they are compelled, but because you walk the road they already longed to take.

And so I counsel you: each day, observe the signs of the times. Listen for the murmur of the people, the direction of their hopes, the silent march of their desires. When you see the parade, step with courage into its front, and guide it with wisdom. In this way, you will fulfill the words of Naisbitt and embody the essence of leadership—not as a tyrant forcing the world, but as a servant who walks before it, shaping destiny with the strength of vision and the humility of truth.