Creative Leadership: Personal Obituary

Samuel, born December 27th XXXX, died May 17th 2124 in a motorcycle accident, aged XXX. Beloved husband of Shari, and loving father of triplet daughters Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati and sons Attilla and Tamerlane.

Sam was vaporised in a ball of flame when his classic Ducati 916 exploded at 235km/pr during a race at Monza, Italy. Authorities are investigating claims that the new biopetrol replacement for the now banned oil based product may have had a part to play in this tragedy as the motorcycle had been recently converted to run on biopetrol. Whatever the cause, Sam died doing what he loved, riding hard on a fast motorcycle, to quote him “seeing the road 6 inches away from your face at 200km’s really lets you know you’re alive”.

His was a life lead in full, experiencing some of most momentous changes in human history. From the fall of Communism to the commercialization of Clinical Immortality, for which he acted as the Intellectual Property Lawyer, and the colonisation of Alpha Centuri which he visited on a number of occasions. Always a leader of change, Sam was quoted in an interview by Harvard Business Review as saying “when you are faced with a situation where everything is going wrong, leadership will emerge and it will be bold and aggressive. That’s the kind of leader I am.”

This leadership style was typified by his no nonsense approach to the legal profession he loved. Leading the charge on bringing Intellectual Property Law into the post digital world, he chaired the United Nations commission for Property Rights and was responsible for the ratification of the 2031 Zurich Convention on Intellectual Property Law by 195 countries. He also acted as the chief justice on the Hague tribunal for Intellectual Property Law enforcement from 2030 to 2074.

A keen advocate of innovation and science, Sam acted as a board member for a number of biomedical and engineering start ups, including GodLife Sciences, developers of the Clinical Immortality Pill that made everyone 29 years old again, and ChillySleep, the innovators in Suspended Animation techniques which were to make space travel possible. Sam was always mechanical tinkerer and spent a lot of his spare time tuning his ancient Ducati and trying to find a little more power. His love of engineering and things that go fast or make lots of noise lead to him being a guest presenter on the Discovery Channels Myth Busters 127th series.

After the tragic death of his wife in 2033 from lung cancer as a result of smoking, he pursued tobacco firms with irrational vengeance until commercial tobacco production was banned under the United Nations Nicosia Convention of 2035. He later published her children’s books and established an educational trust for the proceeds. Shari’s books have now sold 1.7 billion copies and are published in 120 languages and 5 dialects of post modern English.

Leaving the legal profession in 2072 to pursue a life as a philanthropist adventurer, he travelled extensively in the third world, devoting all his energy to championing the causes of the poor and raising their standards of living by providing facilities for clean water, organic farming techniques and sustainable living. Sam also brought about a Luddite revolution in hunting techniques where people killed wild animals for food, techniques that had not been used since 2100 when farming of animals was replaced by clone factories. He also turned from his views on Intellectual Property and advanced the cause of the Creative Commons, arguing successfully for the amendment to the Zurich Convention that allowed “life critical” technological innovations to be royalty free for poorer countries. Sam received a Knighthood in 2107 and was admitted to the order of the Garter in 2114 for services to humanity. Sam was also ennobled in 2120, gaining the title Earl of Cornwall.

During his life Sam always had a thirst for knowledge, and value that he instilled in his children through example and encouragement. Tamerlane graduated from MIT and went to work at GodLife Sciences, becoming the CEO in 2046. Attilla joined the military and is now leading the United Nations peace keeping force in the former United States of Africa. Lakshmi is now a fashion designer and political agitator for the New York Lesbian Couples with Clone Children Action Group, taking a leaf from her father who was a former anarchist. Saraswati went to university to meet a rich husband, and has since been married four times. She is currently the Royal Family Gossip reporter for a British Tabloid newspaper. Parvati is a geek like her father and joined Tamerlane at MIT and GodLife, before retuning to the families home country of New Zealand where she followed her father into the Legal profession and is now the Member of Parliament for Hawke’s Bay and Minister of Environmental Affairs.

A memorial service is to be held at St Luke’s Church in Havelock North, New Zealand on May 21st, before his monument is unveiled at the nearby Cemetery. A minutes Silence will also be held at the United Nations General Assembly, and at the Hague on May 24th. No flowers please, however Sam would love it if you would send a donation to “The Bobbitty Bob Bob Children’s Education charity”.