A case of conscience
I attended the Willow Creek Leadership Summit in Chicago again
this year. There were about 6,000 academics, business people and
church leaders at the venue and a further 54,000 spread across
Canada and the Americas experienced the event live by real-time
video link. The event continues to be the most professionally run,
constructive two and a half days of excellent teaching and
soul-searching time in my calendar.
The introductory talk tackled the question of the life cycle of a
leader and questioned whether there is an inevitable decline to a
leader's potency and influence over time. It is a relevant issue
for all of us in leadership and for me personally as I look to the
future and empower others to run the business.
The example set by Bill Gates was discussed and how Warren
Buffet, a man with unparalleled insight into identifying winners
and backing them, was prompted to donate billions of his dollars
for Bill Gates to manage, for charitable purposes.
Will Bill Gates' effectiveness and influence decline or increase in
the second part of his life? Microsoft has had a global impact in
homes and offices - but how significantly will history record that
achievement if he succeeds in his ambition to save millions of
lives by defeating the scourge of world diseases? And what will
Buffet's greatest legacy be?
This talk caused me to pause for thought. I am proud of
Discovery's contribution to changing the British diet. We have met
a consumer demand and enriched peoples' lives with food that
delights the senses. I am proud of the mouths we feed and the
lifestyles we support by our growth and success. Sustaining a
business is a noble pursuit and is challenge enough. But I am
prompted to look ahead - how much more might it mean for Discovery
to genuinely feed the hungry or to join the drive to reduce poverty
by helping local businesses in third world countries flourish, by
nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit in others?
My fear is that I succumb to the temptation to sit down, have a cup
of tea, and wait for the challenge to fade. That I allow inertia or
procrastination to persuade me to do nothing - to make no changes.
What would that say about my self leadership?
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