In this book, we will meet three business legends:
Lee Iacocca, who made a historic turnaround of Chrysler in the ’80s;
Jack Welch of General Electric (GE), who transformed GE into a conglomerate powerhouse in the ’90s; and
Louis Gerstner of IBM, who besides being a non-technical CEO, made a historic turnaround of IBM in the early 2000s.
The book is based on the autobiographies of these legends, with my personal experience of 20+ years in corporate and information technology management.
Filled with leadership quotes from these business legends, this book has pages filled with wisdom, in a concise format. In today’s world where time is the most valuable and scarce resource, this book provides practical leadership lessons from great leaders, in a simple and effective manner that you can apply anytime, anywhere, immediately.
The book is available on Amazon. As always, your comments and suggestion, either directly or as a review on Amazon, are always welcome .
Note: I strongly believe today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. The price of the book is very reasonable, however any profit will be donated to a children’s charity. Thank you for your support.
(this post was written on 4th of July, 2016 – in honor of the Independence day of Unites States of America)
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Let’s go back in history, go back to December of 1777 to be exact. It is brutally cold winter time. You and your army have to fight, and your soldiers are great. However, there is a slight problem. Their shoes are torn, and clothes barely cover their bodies. Soldiers do not have hut, or blankets to cover their bodies. Bitter cold nights make their thumbs numb, and body sick. Many are ill due to the cold, they are suffering from pneumonia, jaundice, and other diseases. Many wounded cannot be saved because of lack of medical help.
Yes, for the leader who is so exceptional, courageous, inspiring, and visionary that the soldiers were not only ready to fight but ready to die for him! In fact, more than 2000 soldiers have died during the fight, and yet there is no stopping for these soldiers to take the life head on.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]The leader who is so exceptional, courageous, inspiring, and visionary that the soldiers were ready to die for him! [/Tweet]
Who was that leader?
If you are familiar with the American history, you won’t be surprised that it was none other than – George Washington!
Ever since I read about George Washington, I have been fascinated by his leadership qualities. It is one thing to have followers, and it is an extraordinary thing to have followers who are ready to die in the battle for showing the vision for freedom.
The 1777 battle of Valley Forge is a remarkable one in the history of United States. That battle changed the course of history of the world. And it could not have been possible without a leader like George Washington.
So, what were the leadership qualities that George Washington demonstrated that were so remarkable? Reading various historian’s accounts, we could gather the following leadership qualities that we all can still learn and implement even in today’s modern life.
Leading from the front:
Washington did not send his soldiers alone. He himself was fighting in the battle along with them, and he was a truly leading from the front. It is recorded that in the battle his horse got shot, and he got barely missed! Washington would not his soldiers to take the shot, he himself was in the battlefield to face it firsthand. No wonder solders were ready to be in the front line with him.
George Washington at the Battle of Princeton (Don Troiani – historicalartprints.com)
He showed the courage to fight along with other soldiers. He made soldiers believe in him that under his leadership and guidance, freedom was possible. It was a dream to be free, the vision to have a free country that energized people to join his army. He proved himself by fighting in the battle, by laying out ht strategy, by laying out the path that proved him a leader.
Discipline and Accountability :
It is not easy to execute such a remarkable victory among all the adverse conditions without having discipline. He held himself accountable and held his soldiers accountable too. He never missed to follow his own guided principles of honesty, sacrifice, and compassion. He also had strict rules for people to follow or face the consequences.
George Washington
Respect:
George Washington was not only led the freedom fight, but he also became the first President of the United States. In either of his roles Washington never missed to respect his fellow soldiers or the people of the country no matter what level of the citizen was.
He demonstrated that no matter what your level is, the last person counts, and you are there for him as a leader.
So, did you lead from the front for your kids, your co-workers, your team, your company?
“We choose to go to the Moon! .. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win ..”
Don’t you feel energetic after reading the above words? Just imagine being one of the 35,000 people who was there at Rice University, Houston, TX on Sept. 12, 1962 when President John F. Kennedy delivered this speech. – now known as “We choose to go to the Moon” speech). It certainly would be exciting, and energizing. If you consider the 60’s time it could be also little skeptical. Skeptical because going to the moon was nothing like any other mission in the history of the United States. Consider that the touch screen smart phone got accessible for all of us just in 2007-08, the PC revolution really got started in late 80’s and 90’s, so to talk about going to the moon in 1962 was almost like a daydream.
And that is where the leader enters. JFK had a vision, and he gave hope and energy to people to look forward to. He also believed in science and technology and generated huge interest in those fields which eventually (directly or indirectly) led to various revolutionary inventions such as PC and smart phones.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]We choose to go to the Moon! .. because that challenge that we are willing to accept, and one we intend to win ..”[/Tweet]
Just consider how huge a task it was. JFK continued his speech:
“… my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun–almost as hot as it is here today–and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out–then we must be bold.”
Yes, nothing less than bold. Could you imagine the intensity, the difficulties he described to send men to the moon and getting them back – safe? This is what leadership is all about.
JFK moon speech
What JFK demonstrated was setting an amazing example and lesson that we all can still follow. JFK demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities that we all can learn from:
Vision:
JFK showed a way what science can achieve. Everything impossible starts with a vision. Whether it is inventing a car, a telephone, or an iPhone – there was a vision to begin with. The leader’s vision is other people’s eyes a day dream. What others think impossible is what leaders want to achieve. What others think cannot be done is what leaders dare to do. It is a vision that inspires others, challenges others, and leaders make it come true. Leaders believe what team can do. Leaders can make people energized, and excited to follow him or her. When JFK talked about going to the moon, it was a vision what mankind can do. He believed, he inspired, and made it happen.
Courage:
It is amazing that we were entering such an unknown territory for this mission. We were going to the place in space where no one had been. We did not have the material yet found that can withstand such an intense heat. The weight and length of the rocket, the distance to the moon, the temperature, the space, and the list goes on, and all of these without drones or robots! To send real men inside the rocket and then to bring back to Earth was nothing simple! In fact, JFK did mention how ambitious that dream was. He mentioned in his speech:
“Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.”
From every angle it looked like this a risky endeavor. There is not a chance to make even a small mistake. The most dangerous and great adventure it was! But JFK took up that challenge. He showed the courage to take on a mission that was impossible.
Execute:
JFK did not just talk about it, he made that vision come true. He provided all the support and necessary resources, and most importantly inspiration to make that dream come true. Anyone can talk, anyone can dream, but to achieve the dream, almost an impossible dream requires skill to execute. This is one quality that separates daydreamers from true leaders.
Finally, main on the moon!
So, what challenges are we ready to take in our lives?
Are we challenging our kids, our team, our company to a vision challenging enough and courageous enough that they look forward to?
Are we providing necessary moral support resources to achieve that vision?
There would be unknowns, we will have to find unknown material in the form of resources, we may have to withstand tremendous heat in the form of difficulties, but in the end we need to execute it – to be a true LEADER!
Leadership has been a widely known yet hardly practiced area. We all have known well known leaders from various areas such as George Washington, Roosevelt, J. F. Kennedy, M. L. King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson, Mandela, Margret Thatcher, Mother Teresa, Jack Welch, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and many more.
We mostly misunderstand leadership and associate it with position while we should be linking it with qualities. Leadership qualities can be learned, developed, and practiced – without holding any position. Leadership can be demonstrated at any level.
While the title can be handed over, leadership cannot be. It needs to be developed, and cultivated. No leaders starts with followers, they start with a cause. They start with a challenge. They start with a vision, and most importantly they are ready to face any challenges to achieve their vision, their goal. Whether it is George Washington, Gandhi, and Mandela all wanted freedom for the country. JFK wanted the explore the space, and make the country toe be the first to reach moon. Jack Welch wanted GE (all GE companies) to be the number one or two in the market. Lee Iaccoca (Chrysler) and Louis Gerstner (IBM) wanted to save the company and in turn save thousands of jobs. The basic ingredient among all of these leaders were the qualities that make up a leader. The title they earned as a leader was the result of their efforts and cause for the society. They were made leaders, They did not seek out followers, the followers joined them and that is a true identity of a leader.
An important aspect of leadership is it is not confined to these big names. They were nobody at the beginning, just like anyone of us. Fortunately, we can learn about leadership easily and all the names above can help us learn about it. We can learn from their work, their books, their leadership examples, leadership quotes, and many other avenues,. Leadership does not need a special or separate school because it is part of our life. Whether you are a child, a parent, an employee, a business owner, a CEO, or a President of a country, you need to have leadership qualities to effectively play your role. Without these qualities you will be just holding that position, the title, and not necessarily be a true leader.
To make this world better, we need true leaders. If you want to stand out, if you want to make this world better, you need to have these leadership qualities. In fact, all of us need to have the leadership qualities so that when we leave this world we leave it better than we started our lives.
“There are two ways of spreading light:
to be the candle or
the mirror that reflects it.”
– Edith Wharton
This blog is just a humble attempt to share the leadership lessons I have learned and continue to learn from the leaders in my personal and professional life. I am just trying to be a mirror to pass on the light.
I hope not only you will enjoy the posts, but also benefit from them.
Let us learn. Let us improve. Let us develop the leader within us.
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I sincerely thank you for being here.
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