 |
| click to embiggen |
Right off the bat, I've never run a 200 pilot corporation before. While I hoped Stay Frosty would be successful and flourish, I'll be the first to admit I had no idea it would do so to this degree. This is all new territory for me. I'm a big enough person to admit that I'm largely making this stuff up as I go along.
Granted, years of experience both in-game and out of game, also lend an air of authority to my plans. I'm not a newb at this either. I've been involved with the leadership in several Alliances and Corporations over the years, so I haven't stumbled on something as much as I've managed to put the right pieces together. That is two different things. But those experiences got me this far, the rest is uncharted territory.
See how I did that?
Fortunately this isn't something that I have to go at alone. While the early days consisted of me largely winging it and seeing what stuck to the wall, these days I'm fortunate to have an entire group of players to lean on. Without them, without all of those that have taken the plunge, none of this would work at all.
I have an incredible team of Directors that are a huge help to me each and every day. I suspect that a few of them are unsure of why they are Directors, and I know that some people recently felt rather strongly that they shouldn't be, but that is the beauty of being me. I have my own reasons for doing the things that I do and my own criteria for why I do them. I'm not always right, but I'm perfectly fine with being wrong. As was recently shown to be true, I sometimes pick the wrong person to rely on. That is a character fault of mine, even out here in the real world, I tend to think the best of everyone. Most of the time I'm right, but sometimes I'm not. (Personally I don't believe it is a "fault", give people a chance and sometimes they will amaze and astound you. It is worth the occasional disappointment when they don't.)
There are big things in the works. Some of them will work and some of them won't. As we plow forward into the unknown I am extremely optimistic about where we are going and the people we have leading us there. From the Directors all the way down to the wet behind the ears new guy that just started playing Eve a few weeks ago.
Because the ultimate success of Stay Frosty, one way or the other, isn't about grand schemes, plans, or leadership. It is really all about every single pilot that chooses to fly with us. Our destiny is in their hands, not mine. I can shout from the pulpit, bang my fists, or plead until the Sun comes up, but that would be pointless. (Plus, so not my style.) Being a leader is all about knowing when to lead and when to get the Hell out of the way. But it is also knowing when to follow.
If any of my Machiavellian schemes actually do come true, which most have so far, no one will be more surprised than me. This is a game after all and games are best when you play them.
So let's see where this game leads us. No matter what, the best adventures are the ones that take you where you've never been before.