On my father’s 54th birthday I was very privileged to attend the World Masters of Business Conference in Perth. The tenth anniversary of this event comes up in just ten days. Suddenly I’ve been caused to reflect on this fact, and what I learned back then.
The show featured six world-renowned speakers: General “Stormin’” Norman Schwarzkopf, Kevin Trudeau, Rene Rivkin, Brad Cooper, Al Dunlap and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Schwarzkopf (the nemesis of Saddam Hussein) spoke on leadership and was easily the most impressive. Gorbachev would have been more impressive had he been able to speak in English without an interpreter, but his wisdom transcended this barrier. The Soviet leader who crushed communist rule said,
“The foundation of success is not only the natural ability of the individual, or the leadership ability of the individual, but knowledge. Knowledge is essential. The most important thing for all is self-education.”[1]
This is what we must dedicate ourselves to. It seems to me to be at the top of the chief aims in life.
Kevin Trudeau spoke purely on the ‘loop of success’ saying, “Success builds confidence. Confidence creates activity. Activity creates habits. Habits create results. Results create success.” He propounded secularly the spiritual truth that we must focus on others, and he also said we must remember people’s names to succeed.
Schwarzkopf said some paradoxically twisted and apparently contradicting things about leadership, but with considered thought, each has its time and application--for example these three:
“Whenever there are three or more people together there is always a leader.”
“Every one of you is a leader... and if you think you are a leader, then, by golly, you are a leader.”
And…
Some of the tickets to this event ran to $1,000 and more. I was very fortunate to get my seat for free, courtesy of the company I then worked for. One thing can be said; the truths contained in the wisdom of these men don’t change, and it certainly wasn’t new when they discovered it. Having said that, it was a great privilege to have this wisdom so contextualised.
Copyright © 2009, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
[1] Jack Marx (Sydney Morning Herald), Radar Blog: Doing the Business, 20 April, 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2009. http://blogs.smh.com.au/radar/archives/2005/04/todays_radar_co.html
[2] Marx, Ibid, 2005.
John Maxwell wrote in one of his earlier books that often the real leader in a church is not the Pastor but one of the [quiet] Elders. Don't miss it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Steve.
ReplyDeleteFor mine, the job needs doing and leadership is something that everyone contributes to (according to their preference and ability).
We're (in my opinion) 'of the Spirit' when we don't get hung up on who the leader is, and the Spirit-filled leader allows/encourages others to shoot to the top in the right circumstance.
Thanks for your thought from Maxwell. I'll bear it in mind.
It is such a pleasure to read this post. I was recently listening to an audio from Kevin Trudeau about his participation in "The World Masters of Business" tour. He had expressed the impact the other speakers had on him, and how much of a gift it was for him to speak with them.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to learn more about this event, and found your blog. I would love to learn more about your experience.
Thank you so much for sharing. Best Regards
It is such a pleasure to read this post. I was recently listening to an audio from Kevin Trudeau about his participation in "The World Masters of Business" tour. He had expressed the impact the other speakers had on him, and how much of a gift it was for him to speak with them.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to learn more about this event, and found your blog. I would love to learn more about your experience.
Thank you so much for sharing. Best Regards