The Visionary

"For the first time in centuries, the creators in our economy are its rulers, their personalities shaping not only their products but entire companies. It's as if, instead of being confined to an insane asylum, Vincent Van Gogh were allowed to direct the activities of thousands."

That's Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, and he said this in an article about the obsessive nature of Steve Jobs.

From various reports, Jobs was not a fun guy to work for, or even with -- but there's no denying his results.

Radio used to have visionary, maverick leaders. I'm thinking of Gordon McLendon, Ken Palmer and others of their ilk.

That was a long time ago.

Where is Radio's Steve Jobs? Where is Radio's Richard Branson, or Tony Hsieh (of Zappos fame)?

This is not a rhetorical question.

The headlines that jump out at me every week are like this one: "CBS Boss Leslie Moonves made $43 million last year."

Our business is led by people who measure their effectiveness by the size of their compensation packages.

Meanwhile, at Apple, Steve Jobs was paid $1 as CEO every year, and I don't think he laid off tens of thousands of loyal employees over the past few years.

I sometimes feel as if the guys at the top of our industry were absent the day a sense of shame was passed out. It's not just our industry. I know that. Still...

How can you feel great about that big fat bonus and multi-million dollar package that is the result of thousands of lives disrupted by your decisions, many of which are the reason layoffs are necessary.

How much is enough when so many are struggling?

And isn't sacrifice part of effective leadership?

Okay, enough...

If you work for, or with, someone who is a visionary, who inspires you to greatness every day with an unrelenting demand for exceptional work, share her or his, name with us.

Let's get the word out. We need to shine our spotlight on those who really deserve it.