Signposts & Weathercocks

I have a lot of time for Tony Benn. He is a genuine politician, an honest man, and someone always worth listening to. I heard him recently put in refreshingly simple terms the whole essence of leadership. It summed things up for me admirably.

Signposts are reliable. They provide you with a sense of direction. If you wander off and get lost, when you come back to them they are still pointing in the same direction. They stay firm and committed to where they believe they are going. They are not knocked off course easily.

Weathercocks on the other hand change at the whim of the wind. They seek out forums, opinion polls and swing with the tide of popularism. They cannot be relied upon.

Give me a signppost over a weathercock any day.