Spring Break Issues
Miami Beach’s spring break activities have become unmanageable and completely disruptive to the local population. However, according to this article, the solution to the chaos has competing viewpoints and is definitely up for discussion. There is one thing which everyone can agree upon – things need to change so that the community, visitors, and local businesses can have a profitable and safe experience.
One statement which caught my attention was Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner saying, “The status quo and what we’ve seen in the last few years is just not acceptable, not tolerable.”
I do not know Mayor Meiner or of his work but I do know that statement was made by a leader. Leaders are always changing the status quo. They are disrupters and constantly breaking new ground and moving organizations forward.
Steve Jobs Returns
One of the most famous examples of leaders shaking up the status quo was when Steve Jobs returned to Apple as CEO in 1997. At the time, Apple was near bankruptcy, had declining market share, internal squabbles, a bloated product line, and lacked a proper vision for the future.
Jobs immediately streamlined the company’s product line and introduced the iMac in 1998. Soon afterwards, the iPod, iPhone, and iPad all followed. The rest is economic and cultural history.
4 Difficult Lessons
What we learn from Miami Beach’s spring break and Steve Jobs’s Apple return (how often have you heard those two phrases written in the same sentence) about leadership are the following:
- Leaders who change the status quo must be able to properly evaluate current reality. In 1997, Apple was in trouble. Currently, Miami Beach’s spring break activities are on the verge of tipping into social chaos if actions are not taken. Both are/were hard for some to admit.
- Leaders who change the status quo must then be willing to make hard, and often unpopular, decisions. Because of his strong beliefs, Jobs never lacked for courage as a leader. Likewise, despite resistance from some community leaders, Mayor Meiner and others appear to be willing to make the courageous decisions needed for the betterment of their community as well.
- Leaders who change the status quo must be willing to let go of things. Jobs let go of non-profitable product lines, some of which mattered deeply to key stakeholders in the organization. Similarly, Miami Beach officials must be willing to give up some economic income for the greater good of their community.
- Leaders who change the status quo must have a compelling vision for the future. Shaking up the status quo means you must have something better to offer. Jobs eventually had a revolutionary product line in mind when he streamlined everything in 1997. Miami Beach officials are considering a music festival rather than the raucous spring break activities currently in place.
Conclusion
If you want to be a disruptive leader who makes a better future for those you are called to serve, you must be willing to properly evaluate reality, then make hard choices and let things go. This is only done by leaders with a compelling vision for the future.
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