You're heard the story. If you think you are indispensable, just stick your hand in a bucket of water, remove it, and then see what a difference you made.
As I've written before, I believe that story is both vile and stupid.
You can refill positions but you never replace people. The world might well have been dragged into a new Dark Ages if Winston Churchill had not been prime minister of Great Britain during the Second World War.
Ah, the Bucket People say, but if Churchill had not been there some series of events would have produced a similar result. Magically, of course. I assume they say that before running off to search for unicorns.
Sure, there are times when there is not a huge or even discernible difference when one person is replaced by another. That, however, does not mean there are no indispensable people. There are many situations where organizations are harmed for years by the loss of one person. The bucket story downplays the importance of people who make a huge difference. The next time you hear that story, think of Churchill, Washington, Lincoln, de Gaulle, and Mandela.
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