one explained how I could boost productivity while enhancing employee commitment. I’ve never even learned something as fundamental as the art of managing my time and getting things done.
“And now that I run my own company it’s even worse. I always seem to have far too much to do and too little time. Everyone expects me to have all the answers to all their questions. I’m constantly under stress and take out my frustration on my people, which only makes things worse. As for a sense of balance between my professional and personal life, it’s just a dream. I say to myself ‘next year will be the year I get back into shape or start spending more time with my family.’ But things never seem to slow down. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to really take advantage of our time together and dig deep into the elements of great leadership. I want to ask you some of the basic questions I’ve always wanted to ask but never did, for fear of looking foolish.”
“Please do,” Julian replied gently.
“Okay. First of all, what does the word ‘leadership’ really mean? What does it really stand for? Though I’m running a huge company with more than 2,500 employees, I’ve never really been able to pinpoint the meaning of the word.”
“It’s like I said before, leadership is all about focused action in the direction of a worthy purpose. Leadership is about realizing that the impossible is generally the untried. Many people think that a leader is the man or the woman with the title of CEO or president. Actually, leadership is not about position, it is about action. Your managers can be great leaders. Your programmers can be great leaders. The shop foreman down on the factory floor can be a great leader. You see, Peter, to lead is to inspire, energize and influence. Leadership is not about managing things but about developing people. Visionary leaders are those who understand that the true assets of any organization go up the elevator in the morning and down it every night. Quite simply, leadership is about helping people to liberate the fullness of their talents while they pursue a vision you have helped them understand is a worthy and meaningful one. You can do this. Your managers can do this. Even your frontline workers can show leadership in the work that they do. And the truly effective leaders have to live in two places at once.”
“I’m not sure I understand you.”
“The best leaders recognize that leadership is a craft, not a gift. They constantly work to refine their art. And one of the things they work hardest to develop is an ability to be present-based but futurefocused. Great leaders have mastered the twin skills of managing the present while, at the same time, inventing the future. That’s why I say they have to live in two places at the same time. They need to live in the present and guide the improvement of current operations by enhancing quality, streamlining systems and raising customer-care standards. But at the same time, they must create, shape and nurture a clear blueprint for the future. Yogi Raman put it elegantly when he said, ‘The visionary leader is one who has learned how to focus on the summit while clearing the path.’ A company without a fanatical commitment to refining operations will soon be surpassed by its competition. But a company without a strikingly clear ideal to work toward will soon be out of business.”
“And is this where the piece of the jigsaw puzzle you left with me yesterday comes in?”
“Yes. Do you recall what the words on it said?” Julian asked.
Luckily, I had brought the piece with me and quickly lifted it from the front pocket of the yellow golf shirt I had on.
“I couldn’t figure out what the design on it was but I was able to read the words.”
“Fine. And what did they say?”
“Ritual 1: Link Paycheck to Purpose,” I answered dutifully. “I’m not quite sure what that means, Julian.”
“You will be before long.”
CHAPTER FIVE The Ritual of a Compelling Future Focus
Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one stage of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified. He that labors in any great or laudable undertaking has his fatigues first supported by hope and afterwards supported by joy.
Samuel Johnson
While Julian and I had been chatting on the verandah, the sun had slowly set, making way for a peaceful yet particularly humid summer’s evening. Despite the heat, he steadfastly refused to take off his robe. “I’m just fine,” Julian replied courteously. “But I sure would appreciate a glass of ice water.”
“With pleasure,” I responded, quickly signaling the waiter to come over once again and informing him of my unusually attired guest’s simple request. I had realized that Julian truly was a different man from the hard-living, stress-ridden corporate warrior he once was. Gone was the affinity for alcohol, recklessness and profanity that had characterized his notorious lifestyle. He was a model of good health, good judgment and a testament to the principles he was sharing.
“You know, Peter, there are a lot of so-called management gurus. They travel from city to city giving seminar after seminar and write book after book. While many of them develop useless buzzwords and jargon to justify their existences, the best ones really do have valuable ideas that would help improve organizations. The problem lies in what I call the Performance Gap. That’s what prevents many businesses from reaching levels of greatness.”
“The Performance Gap?”
“It’s a theory that explains why knowledge generally doesn’t translate into results. You see, all too often we know what we should do but we don’t do what we know. We are human beings when what we really should be are humans doing. Many leaders know they should have a clear sense of their future vision and powerfully communicate it to the people they have the privilege to lead. They know they need to take steps to develop deeper connections with those under their leadership. The problem is that they have failed to develop the action habit. And, therefore, they put off doing what they intuitively know they should do. They spend their days majoring in minor things and slowly the weeks, months and years slip by them. These types of leaders never fully realize that 90 percent of leadership success comes in the follow-through, in the implementation and execution of the knowledge they have gathered. Everyone says we are so fortunate to live in this age of information. But what most people fail to appreciate is that information alone is not power. Power and competitive advantage come only when sound information is decisively acted upon.”
“That’s so true, Julian. Most of us in our company know at least a few dozen things we could probably implement in a week or so to at least improve the situation. And yet we are so busy with the daily emergencies that always seem to burden us that we end up putting off doing them until the next quarter and then the quarter after that.”
“Quite right. So remember, as I share Yogi Raman’s leadership wisdom with you, that the key to improving your leadership performance is to passionately act on it. Don’t squirrel it away hoping you will have time down the road to study it and put it into play. Recognize its power and deeply embed it into your daily routine so that you practice its principles daily. Make it a part of your leadership and your life right now. Only then will you see quantum improvements in your effectiveness as a leader of people and in the productivity and performance of GlobalView. As noted by Herodotus so many
