I was at a youth camp in a cozy little mountain campsite. The morning was cold, I remember, and as I sloped into the kitchen where the team were preparing breakfast, I was told that Princess Diana was dead. There was sense of disbelief. Except for that mind numbing piece of information, that youth camp may have slipped from memory forever. But the mist hovering mid tree height across the dull brown grass lawns, even the sound of the small stream that ran past the bottom of the camp - all these things are indelibly imprinted on my mind. Because that’s where I was when Diana died. It was 10 years ago exactly today!
There are moments like this that occur every few years. Because of global media coverage, the last 50 years have increasingly provided globally shared moments. These would include (in reverse order):
- 9/11 and the fall of the Twin Towers
- The release of Nelson Mandela
- The Fall of the Berlin Wall
- The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr
- The death of John F Kennedy
- VE day
Generational theory says that moments like this become iconic for all people, but they are values shaping for the youngest members of society. It is these global events that have shaped people around the world over the past century. For more on generational theory, see “Mind the Gap“.
Corporate chaplains are a booming business in America. There are roughly 4,000 of them (precise numbers are hard to come by) working everywhere from giant multinationals to tiny family firms. And their numbers are growing. America has several thriving rent-a-chaplain companies, and two seminaries that offer degrees in corporate chaplaincy, yet demand still exceeds supply.
I dont remember Apartheid, but I know all about AIDS. I dont care who won the Cold War or wonder who shot JFK, but I know the answers are just a click away if I need them. I was weaned on a diet of mass media and massive choice, and I know how to use both to my advantage. I am Generation Y. And if you want me to listen, you have to speak my language.
On 3 January 2007, Bob Nardelli (once in line for GE top spot) left Home Depot, where he had been CEO for 6 years. Just four months earlier he had said (to AP) he would not consider leaving the company. During his years, there was a 6% drop in share price, during the time of a fairly rampant market, and the steady increase in competitor’s shares (especially Lowe’s). To be fair there was a massive drop after he joined, and the last 4 years have seen a slow and steady climb, but nevertheless, he has underperformed against the market. Home Depot, which has 345,000 staff and is second only to Wal-Mart among US shopping chains, and the world’s largest DIY store.
Ask anyone and they’ll tell you. There’s a difference between managers and leaders. And there are any number of books, self-help gurus and consultants who will define precisely what that difference is and help those who want to become leaders to do so in 3 (or 7 or 13 or 21) easy steps. The problem is that most people think theyre leaders simply because they made it to the top of their pile. Yet, leadership is much more than this.
The simplest summary of the broad sweep of human history is this uncomplicated thought: Let something else do the work. From the earliest hunter-gatherers, whoused sticks, rocks, flint and fire, through farmers who tamed animals and water to add extra strength to human muscles, to the Industrial era, where peoples muscles were replaced by machines, internal combustion engines and smoke-drenched factories, humankind has been on a quest to let something else do the work. These first 3 epochs of human history (subsistence, agrarian, industrial), spanning more than 10,000 years, brought us to the point in history when we only get physically tired for fun.