"The health-care field. Our software is used primarily by major hospitals and health-care providers to better serve their patients."
"Ah, now we"re getting somewhere," Julian replied. "And what exactly does your software allow your customers to do?"
"Well, our bestselling program a.s.sists doctors and nurses in the monitoring of critical-care patients. Though it was only developed last year, our industry trade magazine recently reported that that piece of software alone has saved over 100,000 lives."
"Now that"s what I mean by a compelling cause," said Julian with great enthusiasm. "And what kind of revenue would GlobalView be generating if you were saving millions of lives?"
"That"s really hard to say. There are so many factors that I"d have to consider and -"
"For the purposes of the point I"m trying to make, let"s be very flexible with the numbers," Julian interrupted. "Just tell me, is it possible that if the software program you are selling saved millions and millions of lives each year, the revenues of your company could rise to five billion?"
"Yes, it"s possible," I admitted.
"Fine then. Imagine your mission statement was amended to read, "GlobalView is pa.s.sionately committed to saving the lives of men, women and children by providing our respected customers with cutting-edge, high-value software that allows them to brilliantly serve their patients" needs. Our five-year goal is to save the lives of over five million people and make a significant and lasting impact on the health-care industry."
"Wow," I replied, immediately understanding the power of the lesson Julian was presenting.
"You see, Peter, the job of every leader is to define reality for his people. He shows his people a better, brighter, more enlightened way to see the world. He takes the challenges they face and reframes them as opportunities for growth, improvement and success. He does more than show people how to do things right - that is the job of the manager. The enlightened leader clarifies the right things to do, which gives his people compelling reasons to do what they do better than they have ever done it. He constantly reaffirms that the purpose everyone is striving toward is a good one and a just one and an honorable one. He understands that the best motivator for innovative and exceptional performance is meaningful work.
"And the truly visionary leader offers his followers hope by showing them that a higher reality exists for them if they keep moving in the direction of the leader"s vision. To put it another way, he instills a sense of pa.s.sion within his people by engaging their hearts and minds through the power of his purpose. Napoleon Hill captured the sentiment when he said, "Cherish your vision and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements," while Orison Swett Marden wrote, There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation for something better tomorrow." Find a vision you can invest every ounce of yourself within, one that will become your driving force, your raison d"etre, your life"s work. The excitement and positive energy that you will generate will spill over into the entire organization."
"That makes so much sense, Julian. If I imagine a truly compelling cause or worthy vision for the future of GlobalView and effectively communicate it to my employees in a way that fulfills their hunger to contribute and make a real difference, they wil l get excited about their work."
"Absolutely. Oh, and don"t forget, stop being so focused on what you will get when you realize your vision and begin to pay more attention to the why of what you are doing. By dedicating your energies to the worthy purpose lying behind what you are doing and taking the focus off the rewards, you will get to your destination far more quickly."
"Why"s that?"
"I"ll tell you a fable that Yogi Raman shared with me that will answer your question nicely. Once a young student traveled many miles to find a famous spiritual master. When he finally met this man, he told him that his main goal in life was to be the wisest man in the land. This is why he needed the best teacher. Seeing the young boy"s enthusiasm, the master agreed to share his knowledge with him and took him under his wing. "How long will it take before I find enlightenment?" the boy immediately asked. "At least five years," replied the master. "That is too long," said the boy. "I cannot wait five years! What if I study twice as hard as the rest of your students?" "Ten years," came the response. "Ten years! Well, then how about if I studied day and night, with every ounce of my mental concentration? Then how long would it take for me to become the wise man that I"ve always dreamed of becoming?" "Fifteen years," replied the master. The boy grew very frustrated. "How come every time I tell you I will work harder to reach my goal, you tell me it will take longer?" "The answer is clear," said the teacher. "With one eye focused on the reward, there is only one eye left to focus on your purpose.""
"I won"t forget that one, Julian."
"It"s full of truth, isn"t it? Rather than focusing on what he could give by reaching his ultimate destination, the boy"s mind was centered on what he would receive. And therefore, it would take him far longer to get there. What I"m really trying to say, Peter, is that you need to concentrate on contribution. Giving begins the receiving process, that"s the irony. By rallying around a worthy cause and constantly asking, "How can we serve?" the rewards flow in degrees you cannot imagine. As they say in the East, "A little bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives you roses.""
"So true, when one really thinks about it," I admitted.
"Here"s a great example. Southwest Airlines has consistently been one of the most successful major airlines. Herb Kelleher, its feisty and innovative leader, could easily have defined the purpose of the company in terms of "being a great airline" or in terms of levels of profit or in terms of customer satisfaction. But he didn"t. He had the wisdom to understand that by rallying his people around an emotionally compelling cause, Southwest would become a great airline, make huge profits and generate an army of satisfied customers. So he defined his company"s work - and its reality - in a way that truly connected with people."
"How did he do that?"
"He explained that Southwest was a very special airline run by very special people. He showed his team how the low fares the company advertised allowed people who could previously never afford air travel the opportunity to fly on a regular basis. This meant that grandparents could start visiting their grandchildren more frequently and that small-business people could explore markets they never could have before. He showed his people how their work was really about helping others fulfill their dreams and live better lives. He understood that one of the key tasks of the visionary leader is to engage hearts.
"And once he did, everything else he hoped for followed. So find a way for you and your managers to show your people their work, directly or indirectly, touches people"s lives. Show them that they are needed and important and satisfy their hunger to make a difference. This is what the First Ritual of Visionary Leaders is all about. Because when you link paycheck to purpose, you connect people to a cause higher than themselves. Your people will start to feel good about what they are doing. And when your people feel good about the work they do, they will begin to feel good about themselves as people. That"s when real breakthroughs start to happen. As Henry Ford once said, "No one is apathetic except those in pursuit of someone else"s objectives." Give your people a slice of ownership in your vision. They will reward you with the gift of fidelity to your leadership."
"Come to think of it," I interjected, "Recently I heard of a similar example of connecting to a compelling cause. During World War II, the workers who made parachutes for the Allied Forces were less than enthusiastic about their jobs, which could be described as tedious at best. They spent their days doing the same things over and over again and eventually grew weary of their work. Then one day, one of the leaders of their organization sat them all down and reminded them of the value of their work. He told them that it just might save the lives of their own fathers, sons, brothers and compatriots. He reminded them that their work saved lives. By reconnecting them to the big picture, he made productivity go through the roof."
Julian then reached over to pick up a newspaper someone had left on the table next to us, which he thrust in front of me. As I squinted to see the picture on the front page in the dim porch light, Julian remarked, "I read the paper earlier today and came up with an insight I"d like to share with you. What do you see right here on this page?"
"Looks like a photo of the earth, like the ones the s.p.a.ce-shuttle astronauts have been taking."
"Right. This afternoon, under the midday sun, I looked at that newspaper photo with my magnifying gla.s.s. Guess what I saw?"
"No idea."
"I saw that it was actually made up of nothing more than thousands of tiny black dots. Try it yourself tomorrow morning over a cup of coffee. You"ll see that every single picture in the entire paper is nothing more than a collection of ink dots."
"Okay, so what"s your point, Julian?"
"My point is that when you ask someone what the subject matter of this photograph is he or she will quickly tell you that it is of the earth. No one will ever tell you he or she sees ten thousand dots clumped together. When viewing the pictures in the newspaper, we have trained ourselves to focus on the big picture, to observe the subject matter from a higher perspective. Yet, too often in business, leaders and managers lose all perspective and spend their days focusing on the little things."
"On the dots," I interjected, grasping the power of Julian"s excellent a.n.a.logy.
"You got it. And in doing so, they miss a world of opportunities, just like anyone focusing on the dots that make up this picture would miss this spectacular view of our world. To be a visionary leader, you must stay focused on the big picture - the compelling cause that lies at the heart of your vision. You must keep your people centered on the communities they are helping and on the lives they are touching. That will provide all the motivation they need."
"But doesn"t it take a special kind of person to want to work hard for his or her company because it is doing good work and advancing "an emotionally compelling cause" to use your words? I"ll be honest, all my people care about is getting their paychecks. They couldn"t care less about the company or the vision it has."
"That"s your fault."
"What do you mean?"
"Stop blaming your people for your leadership failures. Stop blaming the changing economy, increased regulation and compet.i.tive pressures. If people haven"t bought in to your vision, it"s because they haven"t bought in to your leadership. If they are not loyal, it"s because you have not given them enough reasons to be loyal. If they are not pa.s.sionate about their work, it"s because you have failed to give them something to be pa.s.sionate about. a.s.sume total responsibility, Peter. Understand that great leadership precedes great followership."
The truth of what Julian had just said rocked me. None of the management seminars I"d attended or consultants I"d worked with had ever offered me this kind of insight. And yet I knew it was right. Something inside me, intuition perhaps, confirmed that this youthful and vibrant-looking man in the robes of a monk was sharing the kind of wisdom that would profoundly affect my leadership and even my life. I knew I lacked a clear vision for the future and that all those around me could sense this failure. I knew my sense of uncertainty about the future was being telegraphed throughout the company by my temper tantrums and lack of confidence. And I knew my people did not respect or trust me. Julian was absolutely right. They had not bought in to my leadership.
"Great followership begins the day your people sense you truly have their best interests in mind," Julian continued. "Only when they know you care about them as people will they go to the wall for you. When you start putting your people before your profits you will have accomplished something even more powerful than engaging their hearts. You will have earned their trust. Never forget that the real secret to being seen as trustworthy is to be worthy of trust."
It was now 10:00 p.m. and Julian and I were the only two people remaining on the golf club"s verandah. I thought of suggesting to my friend that we move our conversation over to my home but then decided against it. The night was nothing short of perfect. The sky was strikingly clear and glittered with a thousand stars. A full moon illuminated the area where we sat and lent a mystical feeling to what had already been a most unusual day. Julian was deeply engrossed in our conversation and the leadership wisdom was flowing out of him with eloquence and grace. I would be a fool to do anything else but listen intently to this man who had learned so much during his time high in the Himalayas. I owed at least this to the people in my company.
"Mind if I ask you another basic question, Julian?"
"Not at all. That"s why I"m here," he replied.
"How do visionary leaders show their followers that they really do have their best interests in mind?"
"Excellent question, Peter. The first thing to do is to practice the Principle of Alignment."
"Never heard of it."
"The Principle of Alignment holds that when your emotionally compelling cause, what we have simply called your "vision," is aligned with the interests of the people under your leadership, you will generate enormous levels of trust, loyalty and commitment. Make sure your future vision is shared by all those you lead. Too many vision statements hang on office walls rather than live in human hearts. Give your people, from your top managers to your frontline workers, a genuine sense of ownership in the cause your organization is moving toward. A shared vision lies at the heart of every world-cla.s.s organization." "And how do I accomplish this?"
"You must show them that by helping you achieve your future goals they will also realize their future goals. By integrating what is meaningful to you with what is meaningful to them or, at the very least, by showing them how the attainment of the vision you hold for the company will help them feel fulfilled, they will come to understand that you care about their hopes and dreams. They will come to trust you. And with trust dominating the corporate culture, achievements once viewed as impossible become probable."
Julian added: "There is a second way to gain the respect and loyalty of the men and women you have the privilege to lead. And that is to become a liberator."
I had no idea what he meant, but, not wanting to ask too many silly questions, I simply nodded.
"You have no idea what I"m talking about do you, Peter?" Julian observed.
"No, not really," I admitted, feeling like a school kid might after being caught in a tiny lie.
"Then why did you nod?" he demanded. "I don"t mean to come across as being harsh because that"s not what I"m about I"m here this evening as a friend as well as a teacher who will give you the knowledge you need to fix your dying company and repair your leadership. But be honest. Honesty is one of the most important leadership skills. Remember, truth precedes trust. And people can sense sincerity a mile away. Without it, GlobalView will never grow to greatness."
"Okay, I"m sorry. I just didn"t want to look foolish."
"Visionary leaders care more about doing what"s right than appearing intelligent Never forget that. Leadership is not about popularity, it"s about integrity. It"s not about power, it"s about purpose. And it"s not about t.i.tle but rather talent. Which brings me squarely back to the point I was trying to make."
"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 G.o.ds. However, they began to abuse their power so the supreme G.o.d, Brahma, decided he would take this gift away from them and hide the G.o.dhead 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 G.o.dhead 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 G.o.d 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 pa.s.sion 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 pa.s.sion 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 a.n.a.lyze 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 antic.i.p.ate 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 pa.s.sing ships could avoid the rocky sh.o.r.e. 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 pa.s.sed 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 ent.i.tled to be tired.
"Julian. I am so grateful to you for what you are doing. G.o.d knows, I need the coaching. You have spent the entire evening pa.s.sionately 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 antic.i.p.ation 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.
"Don"t worry about me," Julian replied, clearly intending to keep his resting place a well-guarded secret. "I"ll be just fine."
"So I"ll see you tomorrow morning?"
"Actually I"m busy tomorrow morning. And for the next few days, I have other matters I must attend to."
"You"re not looking for a new Ferrari?" I joked, fully aware of the reply I would elicit.
"No, Peter. My Ferrari days are over. I"ve become a simple man bearing the simple truths that our world needs to hear. I promised Yogi Raman and the other sages I would spend the rest of my life sharing their leadership wisdom with those who need to hear it. And that"s exactly what I intend to do. How about if we meet next Friday? That will give you some time to contemplate what I"ve shared with you and put some of the philosophy into practice."
"Sure, Julian. If you want to meet next Friday, next Friday it will be. Same time, same place?"
"Actually, I"d like to meet you at a different location. Let"s meet at that small park behind City Hall. There"s something special there that I"d like you to see," he said, raising the suspense level. "C"mon, let me walk you down to your car. There"s still a few quick leadership principles I"d like to leave you with."
We stood up and started walking toward the steps that would lead us down to the spot where I had parked my car. Suddenly Julian stopped.
"Do they still have that big-screen TV in the clubhouse?"
"Yes, they do. Why do you ask?"
"Just follow me. I need to demonstrate a point," he replied as he strolled across the darkened verandah and into the elegantly furnished clubhouse.