by the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Terrific Tuesday (or ‘TT’ as we like to call it) is, if you remember, when the Head of Finance (HoF) gives us the morning to think outside the box, to move for a moment away from the incredible projects with which we are busy and step back for a moment from the crazy energy that is Melanie who, in the last 2 months, not only brought us the amazing LOA/Harvard Conference, then the Lioness Xpo B2B platform with Absa, and not stopping for breath just this week, the brand new (and in time for Christmas no less), incredible LOA / Facebook - Virtual Masterclass Series.
So for today’s ‘TT’, we sat back and listened to the Fortune/Leadership Next interview with the Nike CEO John Donahoe with Ellen McGirt and Alan Murray. He is unashamedly a Capitalist, but one that recognizes that capitalism can be a force for good, to be channelled to make the world a better place. He is not alone in this. Daily we are in discussions with incredible CEOs who are looking at the world, at Africa and at female entrepreneurs as a strong and resilient way to make the world a better place.
To give a bit of background on John, no mere mortal could run Nike. Prior to taking on the world’s coolest sports brand, John was CEO at Bain and Co (massive global consultancy firm) and then eBay (not too shabby a cv then!). When he hit 55 at the top of the corporate world, a leader who could walk into the CEO role in any company - he stopped…
…and took a year-off… Silence, nothing, nada, zilch.
First port of call? A Buddhist retreat where he was forced to be silent for a few weeks. For him this was the moment his year-off found direction. A nagging itch for a sabbatical that he had been unable to scratch for years, the decision taken, but then what? As he said, this Buddhist retreat and the forced silence had to happen at the start of his year-off as he had to clear the clutter in his mind in order to see clearly the direction to take.
Silence.
In a world of guidance and openness, silence is often overlooked as a superpower in leaders. The great Jazz pianist and Band Leader extraordinaire, Count Basie, knew all about this. For all of you who love Jazz, there are often moments when you simply cannot help but smile at the brilliance of Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster (to mention just a few of the HoF’s favourites) as they (mid song) go off on a tangent to the theme, seemingly to do their own thing. Yet moments later there is a slow realization that where they were going, although perhaps difficult to comprehend at the start, was simply an inspired way in which to move the theme of the music to a higher level. As they bring it all back towards the original theme, this realization, this understanding clicks in and knowing smiles appear around the audience. Count Basie did this with silence. Where others would feel the need to play something, indeed anything, he was more than happy with a single note to brilliantly lead and direct the Band allowing silence to do the rest.
Great business leaders too do not feel the need to constantly hear their own voices, they are happy in their own minds and do not feel the need to always tell their staff what they are doing, where they are taking the company (even if it seems off at a tangent) or how they will bring the company back to the theme. An occasional guiding ‘note’ can simply light up the path and can even direct the Team if necessary, just as well as an hour of talking. (As an aside, much like in a band or orchestra, this works best when you have a great team around you. Build that team Lionesses!)
So back to the hero of the day, John Donahoe, walking back out into the world, seeing clearly now following his Buddhist retreat, heads off to speak to his elders in the business world. Much like sitting at the feet of Yoda (the legendary Jedi Master) he has the aim to learn from the greats, many of whom are over 65 years - seeking to find out how they stayed happy and vital later in life? They seem ‘young at heart’, how have they found this elixir of youth?
So what did he discover?
1. “Attitude is everything. - Your years 50-70 should be your most productive of your life. Why? Because you have the wisdom of your experiences and the freedom of where to apply it - AND you can do this out of service and not out of ego.”
“The wisdom of your experiences and the freedom of where to apply it…out of service and not out of ego”. That is incredibly powerful.
2. “In order to gain or keep vitality - hang out with people who have vitality!”
The HoF loved this - This is where our safe space that we have written about over the past few weeks, for all employees to think aloud, to bring up ideas and to test the management comes in. If all members of the Team and especially the younger members of the Team feel they cannot speak up, they will not, they will keep quiet and innovation and vitality will wither and die. These crazy ideas and seeing things from a younger and different angle do bring innovation and vitality to the business (and keep management on their toes!). These greats found ways to be around young people, they coached, mentored, taught, volunteered and worked with young people. There is nothing worse than sitting next to a negative person, the energy gets sucked out as if there is a Dementor in the room. The opposite is true with the young who still believe they are invincible. Such energy, such ideas!
3. “Be conscious about Time.”
You have spent your entire life trying to jam yet more into the overflowing bucket that is you and yet seriously - there is simply no more room. Fill your life with things “…for which you have accountability and there’s consequence. It doesn’t have to be one big thing, but find meaningful things in your life.”
Do you have things in your life which are consequential, for which you have accountability, and which give your life meaning? There’s still time…
4. Allow and appreciate the role of Serendipity.
There is so much promise, opportunity, and potential in that one word. The serendipity that gets sparked by chance encounters, impromptu ‘hellos’, and circumstance is one of the big things as humans we thrive upon. ‘Stay in the now’ to be sure that when you have a chance encounter or whatever life or even Mother Nature deals you, you are able to appreciate and grab the chance. Nearly all of John’s gurus talked about how ‘one thing led to another, which led to another, which led to another…’.
Having spent such a year away, he returned to lead ServiceNow in 2017, before taking a call one morning from Mark Parker and the incredible Phil Knight (founder of Nike). “Would you consider being our next CEO?”
To John, recognizing the serendipity of the moment was easy. As he said:
“What struck me was this: The world is more polarized than at any time in my adult life…Polarization is in. Division seems to be in. Sport is one of the few things that still brings people together. Sport brings people together within countries, sports brings people together across countries, sport brings people together on the ultimate level playing field…I feel like the world needs sport more today than at any time in history.”
And so took the job.
Last but certainly not least:
5.“Do not lose sight of your gifts.”
Although sounding egotistical, one has to move past that. You have been given certain gifts, how you use them in service to others and indeed because of that - in service to yourself, makes you and will bring you happiness and vitality. What are the ‘things’ that when you utilize them, energizes and animates you and makes you happy. Those are your gifts.
“Mr. Basie…presided over the band at the piano with apparent utmost casualness. He flicked out tightly economical, single-finger passages, directing his musicians with a glance, a lift of an eyebrow or a note hit gently but positively in passing.” (- Now that’s leadership!)
- From the NY Times obituary of one of the world’s greatest ever band leaders, Count Basie.
Never lose sight of your gifts…
Stay safe.