Today, in my pile of incoming junk mail, I noticed a ‘leadership skills’ newsletter featuring the oft-told story of the starfish-saving boy. For the sake of those spared years of ‘professional development’ seminars, the story in a nutshell:

Man walks onto the beach and notices a storm has washed ashore thousands of starfish. A boy is on the beach, picking up the starfish one at a time and hurling them back into the water. “There are too many starfish,” says the man. “You’ll never make a difference.” Boy throws another starfish, then replies “it made a difference for that one.”

Thrillingly inspirational, I know. And repeated perseveratively in leadership courses the world over. Frankly, though, I think the story sucks. It doesn’t demonstrate leadership at all; it demonstrates the shortfall of good intentions without innovation and organization. A real leader wouldn’t be standing on the beach chucking starfish. He’d be at the local diner, pulling people from their breakfasts and directing them to the beach, getting enough tossers involved to save every last echinoderm.

Of course, a real innovator would save himself and the breakfasters a bunch of effort. He’d rent a bulldozer and drive down the beach, rescuing all the starfish in one fell scoop.