In concurrence: Justice William Brennan’s legacy exemplifies the profound impact that a life of dedication, rooted in the values of fairness and justice, can have on a nation's legal and ethical fabric.

In his youth, Brennan's father ran for and was elected city commissioner, spurred by the power imbalance during a 1916 trolley workers strike. His father's slogan, "A square deal for all, special privileges to none," instilled in Brennan a lifelong commitment to equal treatment and human dignity—a principle which guided him throughout his career.

On the Supreme Court, Brennan (with his clerks) worked to build consensus among the other justices and refine the law to ensure its equitable impact. A hallmark example of Brennan’s ability to refine and reshape the law for the greater good was the decision he drafted in Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, which strengthened desegregation efforts initiated by Brown v. Board of Education by making them more substantive and impactful though a five part test.

After his passing, Brennan's influence lives on through the Brennan Center for Justice, established by his former clerks. The Center continues to advance his vision of a just and inclusive democracy, ensuring that his principles of fairness and equality endure. True leadership is when one’s efforts continue long after they are no longer directly involved. 

Princess, great post on Simon's cannon of work. If don't mind, I'd like to add his talk on Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe. During the talk, he showcases a few wonderful examples from the military to industry, however, more applicable to Laidlaw Scholars may be this quote from Disney/Pixar President Dr. Ed Catmull when talking about innovation and the future:

"about the future, I’ve never predicted the future, not even technically, because things keep changing. You want to create an environment where it’s safe and you can change. I don’t know what the future is, but I do know that you have a lot of smart people here, and you want to keep them free to let them create something that’s unpredictable."

With a place where people feel able to be brave, they can seek Sinek's "Whys". Those "Whys" help us understand how to transform our world and support our communities gain the long view of the "Infinite Game".

Thank you and glad to share! I love your phrase "the pitfalls of assumption" to highlight the issues around perceptions and communication when facing a difficult task.

Additionally, while the poem points to one source of inaction, it is always good to keep aware of the others. Resource constraints, sunk cost fallacy, perceived bureaucratic hurdles, fear of failure or feeling overwhelmed can paralyze the decision-making process. Being prepared to not only face internally these solution-stalling-states of mind and being able to help our teams/communities overcome them is no small leadership challenge. Put another way, we should always be ready to answer the "But what can I do?" question with realistic and impactful actions when seeking to make change in the world around us.