Leaders Are Learners

Imagine. You are 60 years old, a billionaire and have founded a big business empire. 

AWESOME! Isn’t it?

Someone who works with you asks you a question. And, you don’t know the answer.

How comfortable would you be in saying ‘I don’t know’? Might not go too well with the ‘image’!

Here’s the story of a billionaire in the US. His name was Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.

Sam was 60 when he went on a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

His host family got a call from the police department saying, “Come bail out Sam Walton. He’s in jail.” They rushed to help.

"We didn't know who he was, and we found him crawling around the floors of stores", said the police.

The worried family asked Sam what he was doing! “I was just measuring how wide the aisles were with a tape measurer. I was trying to figure out if these Brazilians knew something that I didn't know."

A successful billionaire definitely didn’t need to crawl around the floors!

There is something in great leaders that sets them apart from the rest – they are lifelong learners. They look out for new learnings all the time, anywhere and everywhere. They are not afraid to say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘Let me learn this!’

What we can learn from Walton is - that there’s always a lot left to learn at work and in life!

At times, a lot of us feel we have mastered our areas of work. Or, shy away from telling others we don’t know something.  Maybe it’s a good idea for all of us to find what is our equivalent of ‘crawling on the floors’. Look out for someone who knows more than us and learn from them.

Try to find one good thing in each of those around you. They maybe your family, friends, colleagues or absolutely anyone!

Learn that one thing from them.  Become a lifelong learner!

“Leaders are learners.” – John C. Maxwell

How would you want to be remembered?

I came across a powerful story in the book – ‘How YOU are like Shampoo’ by Brenda Bence. It is a story about someone I’m sure we have all heard of. Alfred Nobel.

He was a successful and wealthy Swedish industrialist in the late 1800s. Alfred Nobel had single -handedly invented dynamite and the detonator – the apparatus that causes dynamite to ignite. He made millions with these inventions and lived a perfect life that we dream of!

He had a brother – Ludwig Nobel who was also a very well-known, successful businessman. Ludwig passed away in 1888. The obituary that showed up in the morning paper the next day, however, was switched and was Alfred’s! So, he had the rare opportunity of reading his own life story. But there was something that had a strong impact on him when he read it.

The obituary was labelled – Alfred “The Merchant of Death” because of his work with dynamite and detonators. He realized instantly, that his personal brandwould forever be associated with death. That was not what he wanted. He decided to take control and do something about it.

He made a plan and developed the Nobel Prizes for three things he really cared about- peace, literature and science. Alfred Nobel also left his millions to the establishment of these prizes when he died in 1895.

And look what “Nobel” stands for today! The Nobel Prize is the highest possible award in peace, literature and science. We have all heard of it. Many of us probably didn’t know about the other work he had done in his life.

That’s because he was successful in changing his personal brand so that his name would stand for what he wanted it to stand for.

This is a perfect example of what a personal brand is and how essential it is to communicate it. 
Maybe we should ask ourselves, what would the headline of our life story be?  

Alfred Nobel

Are we communicating what we would want to be remembered for?




“Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.” – Carl Bard

How to Craft an Extraordinary Personal Brand - the Michelangelo Way!

Needless to say, Michelangelo was one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance period. His sculptures and paintings never fail to leave a person awestruck even today. The statues of “David”, “Pieta” and the ceiling paintings of Rome’s Sistine Chapel, including the “Last Judgement” are all his creations. He was also a talented architect and poet.

Michelangelo was asked how he created the masterpieces that he did. And his answer was simple. He saw his works of art embedded in the stone. He only went about chipping off the parts that were not required. That’s how his creations came into existence.

Isn’t that a brilliant way of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary? I think we could use this approach to craft our personal brand too!

The difference between extra ordinary and ordinary is just that little ‘extra’! We only need to take that small extra efforton a daily basis in chipping away what is not a ‘work of art’ in us. Get rid of all that is not in sync with your desired personal brand. Everything that you don’t want to be known for.

Make a few small chips from your personal and professional life starting today. Craft the brand you desire to be. Take small steps. Be consistent.

And ‘extra’ ordinary won’t seem to be a daunting task. Become that masterpiece!