One of the most watched events of 2012 was Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk across Niagara Falls. In so doing he became the first man to walk over the falls in 116 years and the first ever to walk right over the falls. If you saw it you probably remember the mist-obscured image of his dropping to one knee fist-pumping ” and running to the end of the rope into the arms of his family. It was a great moment of personal victory.

I've not seen any leadership books so far based on Wallenda’s feat. Why not a best-seller titled "Five Keys to Taking An Organization Across Niagara Falls"? I suspect everyone knows the personal skills required to accomplish such a dangerous challenge are rare and obviously limited to a very few individuals. No one would expect to read a book or hear a corporate motivational talk on Nik's trek across Niagara.

Yet” as a result of Steven Spielberg's inspiring movie "Lincoln" based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's prize-winning book "A Team of Rivals " we should expect to see a flood of titles telling us how to put together similar teams of rivals ” enemies and dissenting voices. What we fail to understand is what Lincoln accomplished was so rare and so limited to a very few individuals capable of such a feat. It was as much a unique individual skill as Nik Wallenda's and just as likely not to be repeated by more than a few in history.

In fact” one other instance of the same principle comes to mind. James I of England was faced with a split country and needed to find a way to create a common purpose among men who were determined to defeat each other at any cost. In 1604 he convened the Hampton Court Conference for the express purpose of creating a new translation of Scripture that would resolve the inconsistencies between the Bishop's Bible and the Geneva Bible. To do that ” he appointed 54 scholars with widely differing and strongly held theological differences. It was either a recipe for disaster or a stroke of genius. It turned out to be the latter with the result being the publication of what we know as the King James Bible in 1611.

Maybe there is something to be learned from the skills necessary to create a "team of rivals.” It is far different from brinksmanship or stubborn ideology. It is daring to create a vision that is compelling and beyond the understanding of either party.