[capdeck]

It has been my experience that the skill to be outwardly "visionary" and at the same time remain cynic at heart gets rewarded most handsomely, especially in corporate world. We all have been in those meetings, town halls and off-sites where all the right, inspiring words are routinely uttered and amazing examples of leadership are described. Yet, once you exit the meeting room and actually work with and get to know those leaders - you quickly realize that it is cold, hard, calculating cynicism (and thus true understanding of reality) is what that drives their (sometimes "behind the scenes") actions and results in conquering the corporate ladder. My personal level of respective incompetence has been reached when I found myself unable to spew that BS with conviction from a podium.