Glen Plake is a free spirit. He is a guy who has been changing the world of skiing from the inside out. He’s done it, not by winning gold medals, or Winter X games, but by traveling from ski hill to ski hill hanging out with the people that make them run; not the CEO’s, but the dishwashers, and the busboys; the best skiers on the hill that no one knows about.

I remember watching his first big movie; Greg Stumps, Blizzard of Ahhs! It was in stark contrast to the mainstream, conventional ski videos by Warren Miller. They pushed the limits. They were rough, no frills, extreme skiing movies, that got to the raw essence of what its like to strap two wooden boards to your feet and ski the ungroomed, untamed, natural terrain provided by mother nature.

The Glen Plakes of the world force us to remember what it is we do and why we do it. They don’t allow the conventional to anchor us in the mundane. They push the envelope and challenge what we accept as the norm. They remind us that it’s the dishwashers; not those in the big offices that make our world run and in many cases they know a lot more about our business than we do.

Is there a Glen Plake in the world of business? I can think of a few, but I think there need to be more. They keep us honest and this is exactly the kind of leadership we need.

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