A BRIEF WORD OF INTRODUCTION

My strongest desire is to advance the common good and to make the world a better place, every day, everywhere, by :


Advising and influencing CEO's and business leaders in my job as a consultant at KPMG ; Leading people into their most inspiring journey ever ; Teaching and helping younger generations - those who will shape the world of tomorrow ; Counseling and supporting selected political and religious leaders ; Organizing thought-provoking inspirational events like the Essentials ; Connecting people and ideas all the time ; Trying to learn and to write on a regular basis ; Transforming "think tanks" into "action tanks" ; Being a radical optimist ; Most importantly, making my wife Cécile and our 4 children as happy as possible ; Serving God and people ; Investing wisely the 86.400 seconds we get every day to make our world a better place ... And keeping up smiling, no matter what !


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

LEADERS HAVE TO LEAD...


Antony Jenkins CEO of Barclays at One Young World 2013


I watched in amazement the new CEO of Barclays at One Young World in Johannesburg.

All of you know about the trouble which the financial world has caused in recent years. The appointment of Antony Jenkins is no surprise after this turmoil... His vision about the need for change in the banking world, and the case for making the world a better place is fantastic.

You can watch him too on YouTube before reading this post via http://youtu.be/Vj0SknL-bac

His tone and speech in front of 1300 young leaders from 190 countries last week is truly inspiring.

Leaders have to lead !
Leaders of the corporate world cannot forego their responsibility. Leaders of today, the older generation, are powerful, and must use their power to play a lead role in transforming society, in solving the world issues, in making a difference for the world. Leadership is a privileged position to make the world a better place. Giving up is not an option for leaders. They must pursue an agenda which is right for the society.

Leaders need purpose !
Too often we have seen failures and crises created by the wrong objectives and goals of the corporate world. It is essential instead to define and achieve the right purpose, above business plans and financial profits. For example, Antony Jenkins has set a new vision and purpose for Barclays in January 2013: Barclays must be the "go to" bank, helping people to achieve their own goals. But he insisted on helping people "in the right way" ! This radical transformation of a 140.000 employee bank is amazing and inspiring, and certainly daunting too for its leader.

Leaders must be authentic and relentless !
These two personality traits are fundamental to meet the above requirements, to lead well and to define the right purpose. Leaders must be authentic because there are many strong opposing forces, that wish to stay in the old system, that wish to avoid change, that wish to make purpose-driven agenda fail... Being authentic is a must-have to stand firm against attacks and temptations.
Leaders must alos be relentless as the journey towards a positive agenda, towards making the world a better place, is very long and complex. Resilience will be key for leaders and even more for future leaders !

Antony Jenkins used a beautiful African quote to illustrate the need for courage and leadership in times of change : "When you are scared, you have to be brave. When you can't be brave, you have to be braver".

These are the words of the leader of an orphanage for babies with AIDS... Imagine her daily fight combat against fear, despair, misery and lethal disease... for orphan babies in Kenya. I think our little problems are in fact very very little compared to her leadership role, aren't they.

And Antony's last words to the 1300 young leaders were exemplary at the end: He did not tell them to "Go from here and lead"... but he told them instead "Go from here with me, with my fellow counsellors, and let's fix things together" !

Inspired and connected !



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