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Image (c) Francisco _ Osorio

John Kotter, a leadership guru, once said that “over the years I have become convinced that we learn best–and change–from hearing stories that strike a chord within us.” The human heart and mind is hardwired to respond to stories.  This is why our conversations and thought processes are presented as stories and the reason why we love movies, books, TV shows, newspapers, etc. We all love a good story. I heard this short leadership story called “Remember you are mortal” many years ago and have never forgotten it. I thought I’d share it with you today and get your comments and views on it. Also share this story with friends and colleagues (via Email, Twitter and Facebook). Don’t keep it to yourself.

Image ©: Aeroklub Praha Letňany

I have been thinking a lot about the state and future of higher education in the UK. This is mainly due to the fact that my current livelihood is tied to the industry. It is said that change is inevitable; hence, we can either go with the flow or get swept away by it. But change brings both anxieties and opportunities in its wake. Most people or organisations detest change because it usually means the demise of the current comfortable status quo.

 Image by This Year’s Love (c)

A fish has no concept of water until it is out of it then it flips and flaps until it dies. Why does a fish have no concept of water? This is because water is a bubble for a fish and it is unconscious of the water because it is immersed in it. The moral of this illustration is that the most obvious and important realities that define our lives are often the hardest to see and be objective about.

Image by Kevinthoule(c)

Several weeks ago, I did two blog posts on failure (see related posts below). I focused on the benefits of reframing failure as a learning opportunity instead of a calamity or disaster. Yet it is interesting that our successes can also be a big hindrance to our learning and development. This is because we are more likely to learn from our failures than our successes.

Pic by Vick the Vicking (c)

I came across an interesting story by John Adair in his book, Effective Innovation, on the secret of Japanese manufacturing success.  Adair is one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership and leadership development. He narrates that he came across this secret by serendipity at a speaking engagement in Malaysia. He asked the Japanese speakers at the conference: why Japanese manufacturers allowed Western companies to tour their factories and steal their Kaizen techniques for incremental product improvements?

Barcelona FC aka Barca is arguably the best team on the planet at the moment. There is a current debate whether they are the best team ever. The haul of trophies over the last few years attests this claim. In 2009, Barca won all six trophies that they contested for, and a few weeks ago, they won the European Club Championship for the second time in three years. Also, their style of football has won many admirers worldwide and become the template that fans and owners desire their clubs to emulate.

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A by-product of leadership is power. The danger with power is that it is intoxicating. Like wine, the more you have, the more you desire. This is the reason why the term ‘power drunk’ is used to describe leaders who abuse their office or position.

Harry Truman, 33^rd President of America, had a sign on his desk with the inscription ‘The Buck Stops Here’. It was given to him by a friend. This sign sat his desk throughout his 8 year presidency. It helped remind him that he could not pass the buck but had to accept a personal responsibility for the governance and leadership of the nation.

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The topic of failure is the flavour of the month. Both Wired UK magazine (April Issue) and Harvard Business Review (April Issue) had features on learning from failure. Wired looked at it from an entrepreneurial angle and featured profiles on individuals such as Jimmy Wales and Sir Alan Sugar. These are entrepreneurs who have bounced back from several business failures to create successful companies.

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The Oxford Dictionary defines failure as lack of success. This is one perspective because failure can also be reframed as a learning opportunity. It is easy to be become despondent and give up after a failure if you only adopt the commonly held view of failure as lack of success. There are numerous examples of people such as leaders and entrepreneurs who have experienced repeated failures in their careers but refused to be crushed by them.