From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
My advice is not to shy away from it but to anticipate and even embrace it. Consider it a signal that what you're facing is important and that you're eager to excel. This perspective allows you to channel your nervous energy into a productive question: 'What am I going to do about it?'
People have lost their belief in the establishment, they believe that the outsider who would bring anger and chaos is much better than the status quo; even if that is against their own interests. Fear is a great weapon, and tyrants use fear against their people to encourage them to vote for increases in military spending, even when infrastructure, education and healthcare are suffering.
No one man can, for any considerable time, wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which is the true one.
Mental resilience is supported by practice and preparation, but it also comes from knowing, deep down, that you're supposed to be where you are. Confidence in your purpose is crucial. By focusing on the next step, and then the one after that, while keeping the big picture in mind, you can effectively accomplish the mission.
For me it is important that the kids see me for who I am – a good person who works hard but has fun.
Top leadership must take an active interest in projects. They should foster a culture where bad news is welcomed, not just good news. If a leader inadvertently suppresses bad news, it results in a dysfunctional governance structure.
To me, a great leader should be empathetic, authentic, entrepreneurial, creative, ethical and lead from the front.
We need to shift our thinking about what government does, and what civil servants do, away from this relentless focus on policy and ideology and onto project management and problem solving.
We started with an approval and a business case—a blank sheet of paper. There was no one with a motorsports job title in the company, so we had to build all the building blocks from scratch.
We are at a crossroads where we can either win this battle against HIV or we can lose it. The science is there, the tools are there, but what we need now is the political will and the resources to finish the job.
I recall attending an annual event at the Albert Hall hosted by the Institute of Directors. The chairman, at 75, admitted he'd changed his mind—success, he concluded, truly lies in your ability to connect and resonate emotionally with people, thereby inspiring them to action.
As a young athlete, there was a focus on personal achievements – it was all about me, my goals, and my 'little kingdom.' However, with age and more life experience, my perspective broadened. It's about the knowledge and experiences I've gained being actively reinvested into the world before I pass away.