Leadership: Failure and Success

 

Of course, even with the right personal and organizational resources, ambitious people sometimes fall short. The marketplace is fickle and unforgiving. Not every purpose is great enough to engage others. And strivers usually sell ahead of their capability; an early employee of Microsoft, for instance, later admitted, "We sold promises." But when you sell too far ahead of your capability, you can stumble badly.

 

• Achievers must also fight certain impulses that run as deep as ambition itself - hubris and greed.
• A lot of aspiring millionaires are drawn to the world of Internet start-ups, for instance.
• Many of them truly want to change the world; some, however, measure their goals solely in terms of the rupee value of an initial public offering. No great business has ever developed out of pure ego or avarice.
• Great achievers learn to temper their ambition with self-reflection.
• They remain true to their values, see the world (and themselves) clearly, and effectively manage the resources that can limit the pursuit of a dream - time, talent, and momentum.

 

One of the great things an organization can do is to help people dream.

 

Everyone has the desire to accomplish something great. Unfortunately, most people, starting in childhood, are discouraged from dreaming, or at least from talking about their dreams. One of the great things an organization can do is to help people give voice to their dreams, and provide the means by which people come together to create something greater than them. It is the gift of leaders to release the aspirations of others.

 

Markets and technology change, but ambitious people have faced the same challenges for generations. We have the means today to spread success more broadly than ever before. However, the dangers of failing to spread opportunity are also great. How well we meet that challenge will depend on how wisely and well we use our innate ambition.