warren bennis, 10.30.07
Written on November 13, 2007
the advantage of photographing really smart people is, obviously, getting the chance to talk to really smart people. sometimes they say really smart things that i sometimes even remember, and can add to my internal catalogue of Smart Things I Know for use at parties (if i happen to be unfortunate enough to have to attend a party). then again, sometimes it’s just as gratifying when really smart people simply act normally.
warren bennis is many things: a professor, a consultant and an expert on leadership. management, corporate leadership, that kind of thing. according to wikipedia (the photographer’s best research friend) he was voted the “14th most influential leadership professional” by something called “gurus international”. (this makes me think of a group of people dressed in robes, eating lots of fiber, chanting and pondering corporate management strategies)
anyway, i started to ask warren about leadership and he stopped me and said “do you mind if we just don’t talk about it?” no, i don’t mind. he had been doing interviews all day and was likely tired of repeating the same thing. yeah, that’s it. i’ll choose not to take it personally. this got me to thinking that it can actually be quite tiring to be an expert in something. when you’re an expert in something you have to make sure that what you say and do keeps the idea of your expertise going. this could be a lot of work and it’s probably nice to be relieved of the burden every once in a while and just talk about everyday things instead.
two things.
first thing: does this guy ever open his eyes?
second thing: what if the party is in your pants – then might you like to attend?
doing my part.
he did have his eyes open sometimes. but i appreciated that he was very relaxed. actually, as soon as we were done he took an afternoon nap. so maybe he was a little sleepy. who knows?