dispatches from the new world of work

Walking Paradise!

In W.O.W. (World Of Walks) it doesn't get much better than Hyde Park in London. Arrived London Gatwick from Orlando at 6:30 a.m. Took the Gatwick Express (a 30-minute train ride vs. a 2-hour rush hour drive) to London. (Enough highly armed cops in the train station to fill a troop ship.) Arrived hotel, changed to running clothes and headed to Hyde Park. Entered at Wellington Corner, went all the way to Kensington Gardens, returned and exited at Speaker's Corner. Wiggled through side street to Berkeley Square and then on to Nirvana. (Hatchards book store, on The Piccadilly next to Fortnum & Mason.) Left $200 later and lighter; much of my haul was Nelson stuff—200th anniversary of Trafalgar is this Friday (10.21.05, or 21.10.05 in the U.K., and everywhere else on earth other than the U.S.). After a circuitous route back to my hotel, I figure I logged in all about 10 clicks, or 6 miles.

Now at work on tomorrow's speech on leadership at a big shindig—M. Albright, Gorbachev, Gerstner et al.—called Leaders in London. (Run by the same folks for whom I appeared in Moscow/Leaders in Moscow last week.) I plan to play off Nelson, a complex genius. (Complex genius = Tautology. NB: Jim Collins would not approve. Nelson was about as far from Collins' ideal "quiet, humble, stoic" leader as could possibly be imagined.)

(Adjectives/nouns used on just pages 198 & 199 to describe Nelson from Nelson's Way: Leaderhip Lessons from the Great Commander: tireless self-promoter, sought hero status, sought patronage [suck-up], guts, courage, master of his craft, passion for pleasures of the flesh, driven by duty, autocratic, dictatorial, team player, practitioner of participative management 200 years before it was popularized, loved hanging out with the lads, man's man, lady's man, diligent manager, powerfully inspirational, spiritual, passionate, ... ambitious, aggressive, confident, impulsive, rarely cautious or circumspect, risk-taker, emotional, expressed feelings openly ... classless, fair, self-sacrificing, encouraging, optimistic ... unconventional, did not get along well with superiors ... xenophobic, immodest, impatient, intolerant, imprudent in public and in private ... lucky. Try to weave a "coherent master theory of leadership out of all that.)

Psyched about Berlin (on Thursday). Haven't been since the New Year's after the Wall came down. What a party! It was the night the patrolling Soviet soldiers gave up—Easties and Westies climbed atop the Brandenburg Gate and precariously partied through the night to the accompaniment of half the world's firecrackers. That afternoon I'd chipped my own pieces off the Wall. Entrepreneurs were selling chips from the Wall and renting tools to those of us who wanted the experience of doing our own chipping. Also that day I got to see Check Point Charlie, which hadn't closed down, but which was so central to those of us who gorge on spy fiction.

Genius logistics brought to you by T Peters: Boston to Dubai to Boston to Brazil to Nashville to Santiago & Buenos Aires to Moscow to Orlando to London & Berlin & Bologna to Seattle to Sydney & Taipei.

Tom Peters posted this on 10/18/05.

Comments

Re: W.O.W in London. If you have time, try Regents Park which easily beats Hyde Park, especially if you cross the road to Primrose Hill, where you'll get the best view of London.

Posted by Mark Nunney at October 18, 2005 2:18 PM

Tom - see today's Times ( http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1062-1831948,00.html ) for another Nelson article.

Posted by Mark JF at October 19, 2005 5:38 AM

Love it. Nelsonâ€™s adjectives and nouns just goes to prove what a 'one-off' a truly great leader is. You cannot write a training manual to become a leader - you either are or you are not. I am fed up reading about leadership competencies that seem to imply once you have read the right academic book on leadership or attended the right academic leadership course you suddenly have the tools and skills of leadership. Utter garbage. Sounds to me like a classroom taught bricklayer who has never picked up a brick. Leaders don't need teaching â€“ THEY teach as part of their mission. They LEARN through their mistakes â€“ not in the classroom. I came across this quote this morning and posted it on my own Blog http://simplicityitk.blogspot.com/ - I think this quote is a cracker.

"We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure - all your life." - John W. Gardner, Educator

By the way Tom - Birmingham walks are far better than London walks :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at October 19, 2005 6:54 AM

I'm reading Nelson's Way right now, and loving it. In fact, "love" might be the only universal theme that captures Nelson's unique collage of leadership. Three leadership lessons? More an affair of the heart than the head, rooted in "love" of the work, and the "love" of others is it's most powerful evidence.

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Posted by Jay Gillette/Center for Information and Communication Sciences at October 20, 2005 11:54 PM