3 Oct 2008
A king who’s lost his kingdom
Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” is a short story about a king who’s lost his kingdom. What’s a king without a kingdom? Nothing. Maybe that’s the reason why managers, presidents and directors cling so much to their position. They would not step back even if they are no longer needed: they would feel like a king who has lost his kingdom. They would be no longer something. In Coldplay’s words:
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to ownI used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listened as the crowd would sing
“Now the old king is dead, long live the king”One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand