Leadership Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: The 8 Rituals of Visionary Leaders (14 page)

“Where are you rushing off to?” I asked.

“I’m going to watch the stars,” came the mysterious reply.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll tell you about it later, when you’re ready for it. I’ve got to run.”

What was it about Julian and the stars? During our meeting at the golf club, I remember him looking up at one of the stars and muttering a few words to himself. Now he was dashing off to do more of the same thing. Frankly, it sounded a little flaky, especially for Julian. After all, in his previous incarnation, this guy had been a corporate superstar. He had graduated at the top of his class at Harvard Law School and had been one of the finest lawyers in the entire country. Now he was running around in monk’s robes and stargazing. I never could figure Julian out. I guess that was part of his charm.

“But wait, Julian,” I replied anxiously. “Don’t I get another piece of the puzzle? And when can we meet again? You can’t leave me hanging like this. I really want to master the whole of Yogi Raman’s leadership formula. It’s already working its miracles within GlobalView.”

“Here, take this,” he said, handing me a ticket for a court-side seat at the next home game of the Skyjumpers, our local professional basketball team.

“I don’t get it, Julian. What’s this for?”

“We’ll meet at the game. There’s something very special I need to show you there. And it’ll give me a chance to buy you another hot dog. You inhaled the one I bought you for lunch. Lucky I didn’t lose a finger!” he quipped.

With that, he was gone. I started walking back to my car, which I had left at the other end of the park. Julian had offered me so many ideas to improve my company that I tingled with excitement. I couldn’t wait to put Ritual 2 and all its components into practice. I felt hopeful for the future and deeply grateful that this sage man had returned to share his knowledge with me. As I drew closer to my car, I saw something tucked under the windshield wiper.

‘Oh no, not another parking ticket. I’ve already had three this week,’ I thought to myself.

But I soon realized it was not a ticket. Rather, it was an envelope with the letters “J.M.” elegantly embossed upon it. This was Julian’s personal stationery from the old days. I grabbed it from under the wiper and peeked inside, unsure what surprise it held. I wasn’t disappointed.

It was the third piece of the jigsaw puzzle that I had been hoping for. Like the others, this wooden piece had some words carved on it. I now knew they would offer me a clue to the third ritual of the ancient leadership system Julian had discovered on his adventure to the Himalayas. The words read simply,
Ritual 3: Reward Routinely, Recognize Relentlessly.

Chapter 6 Knowledge Summary • Julian’s Wisdom in a Nutshell

The Ritual
The Essence	The Ritual of Human Relations
The Wisdom	• Every visionary leader deeply connects with his followers
• One of the deepest of all human hungers is the need to be cherished and understood
• Let your humanity shine at work and treat people with courtesy and kindness
The Practices	• Promise-keeping
• Aggressive listening™
• Being consistently compassionate
• Truth-telling
Quotable Quote	Every visionary leader has mastered the practice of deeply connecting to his followers. He has refined the art of clarifying his vision for the benefit of his people in a way that fully engages and stirs them into action. Through their people skills and talents as effective communicators, visionary leaders touch the hearts of their team and earn long-term loyalty. Simply put, when you enrich the relationship, you enhance the leadership.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

When I was a kid, my dad would always tell me that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason: to listen twice as much as we speak. Well, for the first time in my entire career, I began to put that lesson into practice. The days following my meeting with Julian in the park brought changes that were nothing short of
miraculous. I knew the lessons he had been teaching me had stood the test of time and were sound in nature. But I could not have imagined the impact they would have on my people.

Although I hadn’t come close to mastering Ritual 2, I was giving it my fullest effort. I instituted an open-door policy and really meant it. I tried to keep even the smallest promises and commitments I made. I stopped interrupting everyone and became an aggressive listener, as Julian had advised. I now looked for opportunities to perform “minor acts of caring,” whether this meant taking a valued manager out to lunch or simply offering a few words of genuine encouragement to a team member who was giving her best. I even started making the disciplines of honesty and openness a key part of my leadership style, sending out e-mails or circulating personally so as to get essential information out to those whom it affected. And what a difference it made.

As with the previous rituals that Julian had shared with me, I knew it would take time before the full power of the second ritual was released. But even within the few weeks of our last meeting, the men and women of GlobalView realized that something big was happening and that they were a big part of it. The programmers soon came up with suggestions to increase our efficiency and innovativeness. After I shared the insight I had gained about enriching human relations with my management team, they instituted a Truth-Comes-First policy and promised the members of their teams they would be “fanatically honest” in all their dealings with them, keeping them in the loop and making certain their voices were heard. It was as if GlobalView was becoming an entirely new company. People started getting to work early and staying late. Just from the conversations I
overheard and the way everyone was treating one another, I could sense that everyone was beginning to care again. For me, as their leader, it felt wonderful.

Finally, the night I was to meet Julian at the stadium arrived. As I entered the complex, an usher asked if I needed help. Upon looking at my ticket, he smiled and said, “Welcome to the CivicDome, sir. Let me escort you to your seat. You’ve got the best location in the house.”

As I sat down, I noticed that every seat in our row was occupied, except for the one next to mine. “This must be Julian’s seat,” I thought. But where was he? The game was going to start in five minutes and Julian was nowhere in sight. I began to worry. After all, it was not like Julian to be late. He had clearly become a man who practiced what he preached and I knew he wouldn’t want to keep me waiting, especially having whetted my appetite for his profound leadership wisdom during our past two meetings.

Then, two minutes before the game was scheduled to begin, I saw the strangest sight at the other end of the stadium: A man holding a small telescope in one hand and two hot dogs in the other was rushing through the crowd with exceptional speed, the mustard from the hot dogs dripping onto the red robe he wore. When he spotted the place where I was sitting, he let out a yell that attracted the attention of everyone in my vicinity. “Hey, Peter, save that seat! We monks don’t get to see many good ballgames!” Julian had arrived.

As he sat down, he gently placed his telescope under his chair and handed me the hot dogs. “These are for you, I know you’ll love them. The vendor said they are the tastiest he had. Sorry I’m late.

I was watching the stars and lost track of time. It’s become quite a passion of mine, you know.”

“So I’ve gathered. What’s so special about it?”

“When the time is right, I’ll tell you. For now, I suggest you dig into those hot dogs before they get cold. Do you think our guys will win tonight?” he asked, deftly moving on to a new topic.

“I’d be willing to bet on it,” I replied. “They’re on the longest winning streak in their history. This should be another easy win for them.”

As the game got under way, Julian leaned over and asked softly, “Aren’t you curious why I asked you to meet me here tonight?”

“Just a little,” I replied, understating the truth.

“Well, I thought you’d learn a lot about leadership from watching what’s going on here. See the head coach over there?” he said, pointing to a tall bald man, impeccably dressed in a dark blue pinstriped suit, the kind that Julian himself had once favored.

“Yes.”

“He embodies the leadership philosophy I want you to adopt. You see, Peter, though he is the team’s leader, he doesn’t dictate the players’ every move. Instead, he coaches, guides and encourages the players as they liberate their strengths.
Great leaders are great teachers.
That is precisely what you should begin to do. See yourself as a coach, inspiring your team to manifest your future vision and rallying it behind your compelling cause. I’ll bet you didn’t know that the verb ‘to coach’ came from the root meaning ‘to bring a person from where he is to where he wants to be.’”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Not only that but a good coach keeps his or her team highly motivated as it journeys to that place on the horizon. A good coach
energizes, challenges, develops and equips his people. He brings out the very best that they have to offer. He demands that they perform at their peak and then trains them to do so. In this day and age when most organizations suffer from low morale and unmotivated workers, leaders must become skilled coaches to ensure the success of their team.”

“So how do I become a great coach and motivate my team?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Julian replied, just as one of the point guards on the home team swished a three-pointer. Suddenly Julian jumped to his feet and started yelling at the top of his lungs. “Way to go! A few more of those babies and we’ll be home free!”

I’d never seen Julian so animated since he had returned from the Himalayas. On our previous meetings, he had been so serene and peaceful. Now, amid the excitement of the basketball game, he was on his feet, cheering and clapping like a kid at his first circus show. It was great to see him so happy. He’d been through more pain and turmoil in his life than anyone I’d ever known.

“Sorry about that, Peter. It’s just that since my time with the Sages of Sivana, I’ve learned that every day is a gift. Every day is special and full of tiny blessings. When I was a time-starved, out-of-balance lawyer, I was so busy chasing the brass ring that I lost sight of the simple pleasures of life. I let my family life slip away. I let my friendships slip away. And ultimately I let my health slip away. Sure I made a ton of money and had all the toys any person could dream of. But I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t fulfilled.

“So now, even though I have few possessions, I find joy in the special moments that every day brings. I look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. And that’s why I’m having so much fun tonight. Who knows if I’ll ever get to see another game like this.”

I was surprised to hear Julian talk in this way. He was so
positive and alive. To hear him speak of his own mortality and the possibility that he might not be around was uncharacteristic of the new Julian Mantle. And I told him so.

“Oh don’t worry, Peter. I plan to live many, many more years. I have so much work left to do in this part of the world. I pledged to Yogi Raman and the other sages I would spend the rest of my days spreading their message for leadership in business and in life, and I plan to do just that. There are so many more people I can help and so many more things I need to do. The best years of my life still lie ahead of me, my friend. Count on it. All I’m saying is that we must all remember that time slips through our hands like grains of sand, never to return again. Have the courage to embrace and enjoy life as you travel through it.”

“Point well taken, Julian. Before your leadership wisdom started to transform our company, I’d become so stressed out I couldn’t sleep more than a couple of hours at night. Samantha was worried about it and the kids complained that I was always cranky, which made things even worse. I felt like everything I’d spent my whole life working for was slipping away. My response was to work even harder. But now I know what needs to be done to return GlobalView to peak performance and perfect health. Now I can work
smarter
and begin to enjoy the journey of leadership.”

“Good. Okay, back to your question about how one can become a great coach and develop motivated employees. The secret to having highly inspired, loyal workers, who will do whatever it takes to help you manifest your vision can be stated in four words. Want to know them?”