Leadership Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: The 8 Rituals of Visionary Leaders (9 page)

“I’m all ears,” I offered sincerely.

“Visionary leaders see themselves as liberators rather than limiters of human talent. Their primary priority is to develop their people’s full potential. They realize that every leader’s task is to transform the workplace into a place of realized genius. The visionary leader understands that his company must, above all else, become a place and opportunity for self-development and personal fulfillment. He has the wisdom to know that in order for his followers to become deeply committed to his vision and offer the true extent of their capacities he is duty-bound to provide them with challenging work. He must offer them a chance to grow as people through their work. You see, Peter, Yogi Raman told me that another of the human hungers is the need for growth and self-actualization. And visionary leaders satisfy this hunger by freeing people’s strengths.

“Every single person on this planet has a deeply felt desire to expand and improve as a person. When you, as a leader, dedicate yourself to liberating rather than stifling the talents of the people under your leadership, you will reap quantum results in terms of
loyalty, productivity, creativity and devotion to your compelling cause. The bottom line is simply this:
people who feel superb about themselves generate superb results.
This leadership truth has stood the test of time. Never neglect it.

“The sad fact is that most people have no idea how much talent and potential slumbers within them. William James, the founder of modern psychology, once said, ‘Most people live — whether physically, intellectually or morally — in a very restricted circle of their potential being. We all have reservoirs of life to draw upon, of which we do not dream.’ And he was right. If the average person caught even a glimpse of how powerful he or she truly is, that individual would be astonished. And yet most people have never taken the time to look within themselves to discover who they really are.”

“Did the sages teach you that principle?”

“Yes, they did. As a matter of fact, Yogi Raman loved telling me a story on that very point. According to Indian mythology, all people on earth were once gods. However, they began to abuse their power so the supreme god, Brahma, decided he would take this gift away from them and hide the godhead in a place where they would never find it. One advisor suggested it be buried deep within the ground, but Brahma didn’t like that idea. ‘Mankind will one day dig deep enough to find it,’ he said. Another advisor suggested it be hidden in the deepest part of the ocean. ‘No,’ said Brahma, ‘one day mankind will dive deep enough to discover it.’ Yet another advisor suggested the godhead be placed on the highest peak of the highest mountain, but Brahma replied, ‘No, mankind will eventually find a way to climb to the top and take it.’ After silently thinking about it, the supreme god finally found the ideal resting place for that greatest of all gifts. ‘Here’s the
answer: Let’s hide it within man himself. He will never think to look there.’”

“Great story,” I offered sincerely.

“What I’m really trying to tell you, Peter, is that all people have more energy and ability within them than they could ever imagine. Your job, as a leader, is to uncover this truth for the benefit of your people.”

“I hear what you are saying, Julian. But do you really believe that
everyone
has the potential for genius within them?”

“Genius is all about having an exceptional natural ability. We all have our special gifts and capacities. The problem is that most leaders have never offered their people opportunities to test and liberate those gifts. Rather than showing them what success looks like and then letting them use their creativity and resourcefulness to get there, the vast majority of leaders micromanage and dictate the path to be followed at every step of the way. They treat their team members as children, as if they are absolutely incapable of independent thought. Over time, this type of leadership stifles imagination, energy and spirit. Then the leaders cry about a lack of innovation, productivity and performance. ‘Leaders should lead as far as they can and then vanish,’ wrote H. G. Wells. ‘Their ashes should not choke the fire they have lit.’

“So allow your people to flourish as they work toward your shared vision. Show them the truth about their talents and offer them blinding glimpses of a new world of opportunity. Challenge them and allow them to grow. Let them try new things and learn new skills. Let them fail from time to time, since failure is nothing more than learning how to win — free market research if you will.
Failure is the highway to success.
Understand that the visionary leader has the wisdom to push his people up rather than keep them
down. He understands that when his people succeed, he succeeds. He understands exactly what Bernard Gimbel meant when he stated, ‘Two things are bad for the heart — running uphill and running down people.’”

Julian’s face was now fully animated and his hands were gesturing in his passion for what he was saying. “Yogi Raman put it far more eloquently than I ever could,” Julian continued. “Late one night, high in the mountains under a magnificent sky he used a phrase that will always stay with me. It speaks volumes about the essence of visionary leadership.”

“What was the phrase?” I asked impatiently.

“He told me that
‘The ultimate task of the visionary leader is to dignify and honor the lives of those he leads by allowing them to manifest their highest potential through the work they do.’ “

“Powerful statement,” I said softly, looking up at the sky in an effort to let the words soak in.

“And it’s true. ‘In dreams begin responsibilities,’ proclaimed the poet Yeats. The visionary leader owes his people the responsibility of helping them develop and flourish. He understands that
the greatest privilege of leadership is the chance to elevate lives.
You need to keep uncovering the truth about their potential so they can see what they really are and what they truly can achieve. The great psychologist Abraham Maslow said that ‘the unhappiness, unease and unrest in the world today are caused by people living far below their capacity’ and I know he was right.”

“Okay, here’s another question. If the visionary leader’s primary duty is to bring out the best in his people and bottom-line concerns are not important, how does he measure success?”

“I didn’t say that the visionary leader disregards the bottom line, Peter. Of course he understands that for his company to grow,
profits must flow. Productivity issues, customer satisfaction and quality are all essential issues that occupy his attention. But first and foremost are the development and enrichment of his people. He actually sees his people as bundles of human potential just waiting to be unleashed for a worthy purpose. And he knows that when people work and live at their highest levels, the profits are certain to come. So to answer your question, the visionary leader measures his success through how many lives he touches and how many people he transforms. He measures his success, not by the extent of his power, but by the number of people he empowers. Makes sense?”

“It does, Julian. It really does. Okay, what comes next?”

“Then once you and your managers have begun to liberate the highest potential of your people, keep clarifying and communicating your great vision for the future. Productivity and passion are the inevitable by-product of men and women working toward an emotionally compelling cause. Inspire them to invest their energies and spirits in it. Allow them to feel it’s theirs and understand the implications of its achievement. Nothing focuses the mind better than a future ideal that moves the heart. Abe Lincoln knew this, Gandhi knew this, Mandela knew this, and so did Mother Teresa.”

“I’ll be totally honest. I still don’t have a clear future vision of what you call ‘an emotionally compelling cause’ that I can get my team to rally around. I really liked your earlier example about saving the lives of five million people. I got excited about that idea and I’m sure my people could as well. I guess that’s a great starting point. Do you have any advice about how a leader can actually develop his or her vision for the future?”

“I don’t mean to be trite, Peter, but it does take a lot of work.

You need to spend days and weeks reflecting on what things are most meaningful to you and where GlobalView can make the greatest contribution and impact. Take the time to be silent and begin to cultivate the power of your imagination. Envision what you want this organization to look like five, ten and fifteen years from now. Awareness precedes change, so become aware of all the possibilities the future presents.

“Another tactic you can use to define your future vision is to analyze what keeps you up at night. What things are disturbing you and your customers. Go beyond simply satisfying their needs. Every good company does that. Strive to remove the
frustrations
from their lives. That’s the real secret to having a loyal core of satisfied customers. Begin to anticipate what things bother them and define your future vision around these. And then here’s the fundamental thing you need to do: once you have a clear focus for the future, constantly check it against the present state of operations. If your vision is an inspiring one, you will notice there is a gap. From this gap between where you now are and where you are going will emerge your strategy for change. Then exert your leadership influence to ensure that your blueprint for the future soon becomes the company’s reality. Remember, 90 percent of success lies in the implementation and execution.
One of the hallmarks of visionary leadership lies in the translation of positive intentions into tangible results.”

“So visionary leaders are people of action. They constantly push themselves to find better and faster ways to merge the present with the future and realize their vision. Is that accurate?”

“Yes, it is. They understand the ancient Law of Diminishing Intent and make sure it doesn’t apply to them.”

“I’ve never heard of that one.”

“The Law of Diminishing Intent says that the longer you wait to implement a new idea or strategy, the less enthusiasm you will have for it. I think anyone who has worked in the corporate world knows the feeling of rushing out of a motivational seminar full of great ideas that will change every aspect of his or her life. But then the demands of the day compete for our attention and all our good intentions and personal promises for change get pushed to the wayside. And the longer we put them off, the lower the probability we will ever fulfill them. So the lesson is to act daily on your strategy for change before it dies a quick death, burying your future vision with it. As the German philosopher Johann von Goethe said many years ago, ‘Whatever you can do and dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic.’”

“So simple and yet so profound, Julian,” I responded, trying to fully absorb these words of wisdom.

In the few hours I’d been with Julian this evening, I’d learned more about the craft of leadership than I had in all my previous years in business. Much of it really was common sense, but then, as Voltaire observed, “Common sense is anything but common.” I guess I’d just never taken the time to think deeply about the elements of leadership and how I could implement them in our company. My days were filled with so many seemingly immediate brush fires to tend to that I was neglecting the fundamentals of effective leadership.

Ironically, due to this neglect, things were going from bad to worse. It made me think about the story of the lighthouse-keeper that my grandfather used to tell me. The lighthouse-keeper had only a limited amount of oil to keep his beacon lit so that passing ships could avoid the rocky shore. One night, the elderly man who
lived close by needed to borrow some oil to light his home, so the lighthouse-keeper gave him some. Another night, a traveler begged for some oil to light his lamp so he could continue his journey. The lighthouse-keeper also complied with this request and gave him the oil he needed. The next night, the lighthouse-keeper was awakened by a mother banging on his door. She prayed for some oil so that she could illuminate her home and feed her family. Again he agreed. Soon all his oil was gone and his beacon went out. Many ships ran aground and many lives were lost because the lighthouse-keeper forgot to focus on his priority. He neglected his primary duty and paid a high price.

I realized I was heading down the same path as the lighthouse-keeper. I was not focusing on the timeless principles of enlightened, effective and visionary leadership that Julian was sharing with me. Unless I simplified my leadership and stopped putting second things first, I sensed that I too would face disaster and be required to pay a particularly high price.

For the first time all night, Julian appeared weary. Many hours had passed since we had met on the verandah and Julian had startled me with his miraculous hole in one. Though he had clearly discovered many of the secrets of personal renewal along with the leadership truths he shared with me, he was still human after all and was entitled to be tired.

“Julian. I am so grateful to you for what you are doing. God knows, I need the coaching. You have spent the entire evening passionately teaching me some very powerful lessons I know will lead to immediate improvements in my organization, once I have the courage to implement them. I could listen to you all night. You always were a great speaker and dynamic conversationalist. But I want to be fair to you. Why don’t we call it a night and meet first
thing tomorrow morning in my office. I’ve kept the whole morning free in anticipation of us spending more time together. Let me drive you home now.”

“Thanks for the offer, Peter. I must admit that I’m beginning to feel a little sleepy. I know I look like a young man, but you know exactly how old I am. Though I feel more alive and vital now than I did when I was twenty, I still require a few hours of shut-eye to recharge the body and refresh the mind. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll walk back to where I’m staying. It’s not too far from here anyway.”

“But we’re in the middle of the country, Julian. There’s nothing but forest and farmland for miles,” I offered, with real concern.