¶ … Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making Living by Randy Komisar Komisar makes some valid distinctions in The Monk and the Riddle. He observes the differences between leadership and management, drive and passion. Passion is to leadership as drive is to management. That is one of Komisar's main points. The example of Lenny is a good one for showing what an individual consumed by drive looks like: Lenny has a set of expectations that have to be met. He is obsessed with the idea of winning to such an extent that doing something for the love of doing it is almost completely foreign to him.

And yet the point that Komisar makes can't help but make me feel that he is being a little disingenuous. For example, Komisar made his way in the early days as a lawyer by annihilating the opposition in the courtroom -- the same people he would know and be friends with on social settings. He ignored the "rules" of the courtroom -- respect, courtesy -- to challenge and obliterate every single one of his opponent's points. This made his boss shake his head at the same time it made his boss gawk in awe. Komisar was driven to win. He was driven to win at all costs. He didn't mind making his friend, who happened to be representing the other side, look like a fool. Was that drive? Was it passion? No doubt, it was both. It was also skill, sense, and a dash of salt -- that don't-give-a-damn mentality that often accompanies the head honchos in the world.

And indeed that is what got him to the point that he is now at: the envy of all people who secretly desire to be the guy who is Mr. Business but doesn't have to dress the part -- the born leader, the t-shirt and jeans guy working deals with Mr. Suit-and-Tie, the man who carries no cell phone -- the man who is only found if you know somebody who knows him. The man who has what others want: this is the man who is Komisar. But what makes him unique is that he retains a sense of humility in spite of this "status" that he has attained. He wants to help. He sincerely wants to be a leader for those who, like Lenny, haven't a clue. And that is what makes him special and what makes the book so readable. We identify with his desire to get away from the guy making the Funerals.com pitch -- but we like him even more for staying and giving Lenny a helping hand.

My question is this: How did Komisar get to that point? Did he get that way by passion or by drive -- or by both? No doubt, Komisar loved obliterating opponents in the courtroom -- and no doubt he loved working deals with IBM's Mr. Suit-and-Tie. He had a passion for challenging tasks, but he also had the sense to know how to win, and he had the ability -- the drive.

A guy like Lenny is too naive, too unrealistic to see the forest for the trees. He is looking for the get-rich-quick scheme -- the shortcut to success -- the homerun. And everything he does is geared towards this. Is this drive? I don't think so. I think it's mistaken ambition. Lenny obviously has passion, which is demonstrated in his drive, his relentless pitching of the funeral idea. But what he lacks is direction -- guidance -- a teacher. Komisar senses this and out of pity for Lenny decides to try to be Socrates to his Euthyphro. Komisar displays leadership in this instance -- he is the messiah to Lenny the manager -- the ineffective manager, moreover.

So while there is a difference between management and leadership, as Komisar notes, the difference should not be pointed out so as to suggest that management is unnecessary because it is inferior or even simply just different. Komisar leads and manages -- that is evident. He manages his life (no cell phone is his terms) and he does what he loves (he meets those ambitious Silicon Valley dreamers, with whom he "riffs" on ideas and bounces ideas off the wall). Komisar has the cash to afford this lifestyle and he has enough creative impulse to enjoy interacting with the dreamers and visionaries and auteurs and wunderkinds.

But how did Komisar get to this point? The answer...

And he enjoyed the work -- not even really knowing what it was moving towards, but like the man who says "Yes!" to life and life's challenges, accepting them on the chin and learning from them (the failures, so to speak) so as to know how to react next time, when to block, duck, or hit first. In this way, Komisar evolved into a mentor for others -- for guys like Lenny, and girls like Allison. He teaches the way forward, almost reluctantly -- but once he sees the human in them, it touches the human in him, and a connection is possible. That is the most important lesson of this book: be human.
In a world that is so high-tech, hyper-real, and fast-paced that it has almost lost it's mind, a real human being is refreshing -- is a breath of fresh air. Therefore, the lesson can be applied in this way: if you are a manager, manage with humility and with humanity. If you are a leader, reach out and be human. If you are a dreamer, a visionary, don't forget that not everyone might not be able to see or realize your dream with you, and that sometimes you have to walk the earth with the ordinary just so that you can build the foundation that will later serve to support the realization of your dream.

Being human is work -- it is good work -- and it is the work that one must take in order to be successful. That is the overall lesson I take from Komisar's book. Leaders empathize and are able to help others to see what needs to be seen in order to move forward, in order to overcome that which is dragging them down and keeping them from rising up and reaching success. The life lesson that Komisar teaches is this: be human, because in that is love -- and love is what everything -- the world -- is really all about. The world is an act of creation, and like all acts of creation it is rooted in love and cannot exist without love. If there is no sense of love in the connection, in the communication, in the idea, in the proposal, in the person, Komisar has nothing to reach out and grab hold of. Love becomes that handle -- and the grip. Love is the passion that makes it possible and that allows Komisar and all leaders, whether mentors or managers, to step forward and provide the real vision and the real direction that young dreamers and drivers often need when new in the world.

This book is relevant to me and my future career as a communications major who wants to work in sports because it underlines a fundamental aspect of life: you must do what you love, no matter what it is. Be true to yourself -- to who you are -- to the talents that you possess and to the vision that you've been given. Don't sell it out, but at the same time don't be unrealistic. To achieve that vision, you have to work for it. There is no get-rich-quick way to achieve it or to attain.

Therefore, if I want to work in sports (radio, broadcasting, etc.) then I have to be willing to start at the bottom, but I also have to know to keep my eyes open for opportunities and to say yes to them when they come along. At the same time I have to remember to be humble and to be helpful -- to make my way by embracing challenges, by uniting drive with passion and understanding how love -- love for the vision and love for others, even those who are simply in need -- is part of the process of growing towards that vision.

For Komisar, the realization of his vision is that he is in a position where he can understand and appreciate people -- and help them -- no matter how much or how little, just as Plato's cave dweller helps others in the cave to see the light after he himself has managed to escape and become free.

This book assisted me in learning about organizations in a realistic way. Allison's journey for example and Komisar's assistance in that regard helped me to realize that the business world is one where relationships are built on key factors -- like likeability and friendship.

This book assisted me in the development of my expertise in management of people and organizations in the sense that it showed…