But the press only borrows the martial rhetoric that business leaders use themselves. It's not hard to see why they use it. Just ask me. Tough talk and the rhetoric of conflict help hide the basic truth that business leaders are, in real life, more contemplative than combative, more sedentary than savage. Leadership is about being clever, hard-working, and drawing the best work from a team.
Little boys face a problem very similar to that of high-tech executives.
They're steeped in a culture that honors power and conflict, yet plainly don't yet have the physiques to match the myth. So, they compensate with vocabulary, animating their play with exaggerated violence and tough talk, smashing, kicking, and zapping the imaginary bad guys. Nathan Myhrvold is chief technology officer at Microsoft. All rights reserved.