The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in (18 page)

“You’re not going to fail,” promised Tommy. “Just start off with the baby steps that will soon grow into habits. It’s sort of like walking a new path in the woods that you’ve never traveled before. At first, it’s unclear and you feel a little lost. But the more you walk it, the more familiar it gets. And soon you find yourself with the ability to walk it with your eyes closed. Leading Without a Title will soon become second in nature. Remember,
small daily improvements, over time, lead to stunning results
. Change is always hardest at the beginning. But the good news is that it’ll only get easier. And you’ll only feel better, Blake the Great,” Tommy offered encouragingly, addressing me the way Anna did a few times when we were back at the hotel.

“Thanks. I really appreciate the support. And I’ll always have you to count on anyway, right? I mean, you’re my mentor now,” I said confidently.

Tommy fell silent as we continued to draw closer to the library. “I’ll be here for you as much as I can be here for you,
Blake. I’m seventy-seven. Not sure what my future holds for me. But have no worries, my friend. It’s all good.”

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Tommy’s comment. But he began to smile again, so I didn’t think much more about it.

“Two more meetings and then we’re done, Blake. Two more teachers and then you’ll know the four principles of the Lead Without a Title philosophy. You’ll be in a state of heightened readiness to return to the bookstore—and back to your personal life—with all the insights and practices you need to show up at your leadership best. And as you work at world class not only will your career with Bright Mind Books fly, but also your levels of personal fulfillment will soar. Makes me think of what John F. Kennedy once said: ‘The definition of happiness is the full use of your powers, along the lines of excellence.’ By the way, the teacher we are about to meet spent much of his career in Shanghai. He used to be the CEO of a multibillion-dollar technology outfit that employed over twenty-five thousand people. Staggeringly smart guy, I should tell you. A little like yours truly,” Tommy said with a grin as he put on a particularly cool pair of blue-tinted sunglasses that he pulled out from the glove compartment of his Porsche.

The guy was definitely a work of art. A genuine original. I hoped we’d stay in touch long after this day we were sharing ended. It was so clear that Tommy was not only a stellar model of a Leader Without a Title; he was a superb example of a wonderful human being. We needed many more of his kind.

It was nearly three in the afternoon by the time we walked up the grand steps of the New York City Public Library and then into its main hall. Soaring ceilings and majestic corridors met us as we walked quickly, eager to get to our next meeting. I felt peaceful being there. Not only because Tommy was next to me, but also because I was once again surrounded by books.

“I’m taking you up to the rooftop, Blake. Bet you’ve never been up there.”

“No. Never seen it,” I agreed. “Actually, I didn’t even know there was something worth having a look at up there.”

“There is, my friend. Oh, but there is,” Tommy replied mysteriously as we rode the painfully slow elevator to the top.

As we exited, I was astonished by what I saw. Simply moved—no,
awed
. Overlooking the breathtaking skyline of the New York City was a huge stone terrace covered with a spectacular rooftop garden. Dazzlingly colorful flowers were organized in neat rows from one end to the other, with labels on many of them identifying what they were and where they came from. Intricately carved stone statues with ancient Chinese characters etched upon them decorated the space, while splendid garlands of fresh orchids had been delicately hung from the walls. The fragrance in the air was beyond incredible. It was all quite magical. And classical music piped through a sound system. I’d never seen anything like this.

All of a sudden, a man darted out from behind one of the wooden flower-filled planters. I was startled. I couldn’t see his face because he wore a plastic mask similar to the one worn by the Phantom of the Opera. And the stranger kept chanting the same words over and over again like some monk performing his morning affirmations: “It’s all about people. It’s all about people. It’s all about people!” I grew frightened. I immediately looked over at Tommy to make sure he was safe. I had no idea what this unpredictable and frenetic wildman was capable of.

“Let’s go!” I shouted.

“Let’s not,” he shot back, completely unfazed.

Tommy didn’t appear to be the slightest bit concerned. He stood firmly among the rows of beautiful flowers with his arms crossed and a look of utter amusement sweeping across his face. Soon, a smile appeared.

“Now, now, Jackson, we mustn’t scare the newbie,” Tommy stated.

The stranger stood still. His mask slowly came off. He turned out to be a particularly gentle-looking man somewhere in his sixties, I guessed. He looked a little like a cross between Sean Connery and Confucius. I know that might be a bit hard to picture, but that’s how he appeared to me. And the warmth of his personality was instantly evident.

“This must be the famous Blake from the bookstore,” the man spoke kindly. He shook my hand with both of his, in the way a master politician might. I not only relaxed, realizing this was the third teacher, but also began to feel quite important by the way I was being described. This man seemed utterly focused on me. The world around him didn’t seem to matter. I’d heard about individuals with the developed ability to make others feel as if they were the most respected people in the room. This teacher was clearly one of them.

“Blake, I’d like you to meet Jackson Chan. He’s another close friend of mine.”

“C’mon over here, Blake. Didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to get your heart pumping a little. And to offer you some excitement in this terrifically boring world too many of us live within. Life’s become pretty serious for most of us these days. Everyone’s so occupied with keeping on top of too many things too much of the time. We need to lighten up and have more fun. I was just trying to make you laugh. I apologize if I went too far. You looked sort of concerned. Oops,” Jackson offered with sincerity.

“No worries. KMF,” I replied, effortlessly applying one of Ty’s leadership lessons. I was surprised how much of what I’d learned was sticking with me. Maybe this system that Tommy was exposing me to had some special design to it that I wasn’t aware of, one that made it easier to adopt than I had previously
imagined. And as both Anna and Ty had mentioned, the acronyms served to make the rules unforgettable. At our first meeting, Tommy had told me that the learning would be “automatic.” I now began to sense that he spoke words of truth.

“I see he’s met Ski Boy,” Jackson said jokingly.

“Yeah. We just finished up with Ty before we came over here. Thanks so much for making time for us,” said Tommy graciously.

“Always a joy. How is, Ty, anyway? In all seriousness, Blake, you just met a genius at the art of turning difficult conditions into dazzling results. And he’s a lovely person,” noted Jackson affectionately.

“He was great. Full passion and insights, as always,” replied Tommy. “He asked me to give you his very best wishes and said he knows he’ll be seeing you soon.”

“Great,” said Jackson warmly. “So, Blake, I hear you’re a vet. Before we start, I need to say thank you. I’m ever so grateful,” were the simple words he used to express his appreciation.

“You’re welcome, Jackson,” was my genuine response.

“So what can I get for you both?” Jackson asked politely. “I have coffee, tea, or water. And I just made a fresh batch of chocolate-chip cookies—the kind with the really chewy chocolate chunks inside,” he added, sounding more like a first grader than a former superstar CEO.

“The cookies sound perfect,” I replied as our host whisked away for just a moment through a sliding door and then reappeared with a tray full of cookies that reminded me of my mom’s baking. The aroma of the goodies made me feel a little melancholic. I missed my mom. A lot.

“So you sort of hang out here on this amazing terrace and eat cookies all day,” I said lightheartedly, regaining my footing.

“Sort of,” Jackson replied, biting into one and taking the time to savor it, his eyes closed.

“He’s the gardener up here, Blake. The great visionary responsible
for taking an area that was nothing more than a mess of dirt and concrete and remaking it into this wonder that you now get to behold. He saw what most people would think is a dump and envisioned an oasis of beauty up here. And more important, he
acted
on that vision to generate the spectacular results that you are now witnessing.”

The garden was gorgeous. Jackson must have been a creative superstar in his previous life as a businessman.

“Very impressive,” I agreed. “I haven’t seen anything like this in my entire life.”

“After I gave up my CEO title a few years back, I returned to New York City. Shanghai was amazing, but I missed this place too much. I needed to come home. I was fortunate not to have to work due to the success of my business career, so I decided to pursue my greatest passion in life: gardening. When one of my friends on the board of directors of this library brought me up here one morning to show me the view, I had my Eureka moment. I decided right then and there to transform this space into the most marvelous garden anyone around here had ever seen. It’s been one of my very best wins, Blake. We plan to open it up to the public soon. That way, everyone can enjoy the gift that we are fortunate enough to be experiencing right now.”

“And will you welcome visitors with that mask of yours?” I asked playfully. “Scared the living daylights out of me, to be honest.”

Jackson smiled—appreciating my now spirited attitude. “I like this kid, Tommy. Thanks for bringing him up here. One of my personal commitments is to be surrounded with only good, passionate, and positive people who make me feel happy. I can tell he’s one of my tribe. So let’s get down to business,” Jackson said, swiftly shifting gears. “I know you’ve probably heard a lot about the Lead Without a Title philosophy by now. Tommy has been one of our best students, so you sort of lucked out running into him.”

“He sort of ran into me,” I replied, looking over at Tommy, who gave me an affectionate thumbs-up sign.

“Great. Okay, my job today is to share the third leadership principle of the philosophy with you—along with an acronym that explains the five practical rules you can apply to make it a reality for you.”

“Which is?” I asked in anticipation.

“It’s a principle that, unfortunately, is all too often forgotten in this extremely fast-moving and technology-driven world we find ourselves doing business in. And I will express it in a single line:
The Deeper Your Relationships, the Stronger Your Leadership
. The main business of business is to connect with—and add value to—people. That’s such an extremely important point to remember as you build out your career—and craft a richly rewarding life.”

One of the things I was recognizing as I met each of the teachers was that while they were primarily sharing powerful ideas that would help me lead within my organization, each one of them emphasized the importance of also leading a happy and meaningful life. That made a lot of sense to me. I was now already fully committed to Leading Without a Title and expressing the absolute best within me when I returned to work on Monday. I was feeling so inspired. And ready to play full-out. But more and more, I was also becoming enormously dedicated to reinventing my personal life. My tour of duty had left me confused and hopeless. My girlfriend and I were having so many problems. My health wasn’t great. And I hardly ever seemed to have much fun. Now I was finally ready to make some real improvements. And I had the ideas and tools to make them with.

“Business really is all about people, Blake. An enterprise is nothing more than a human venture that brings people together around some marvelous dream that inspires them to express the fullest of their talents and contribute rich value to those they
serve. With all the technology, disruption, competition, and transition in the business world today, a lot of us have forgotten that the whole game is about relationships—and human connections. With the pace people work at, it’s easy to sacrifice relationships in pursuit of results. But the irony is that the stronger the bonds between you and your teammates—as well as with the customers you work for—the stronger the results. Actually, I should add that another purpose of business is to be acutely helpful. I know that sounds simple, but business is pretty simple. And the most successful businesspeople and the greatest organizations stick to the fundamentals rather than make things too complicated. Business is a vehicle to help other human beings. To engage employees so they realize their human potential. And to help your customers achieve their highest aspirations.”

“That feels so right, Jackson, this idea that business is primarily a pursuit to help other people.”

“Truth always feels right,” came the gentle reply.

I took in his words. I then added: “It seems the dominant belief of society is that business is
purely
about making money.”

“True. But here’s an encouraging concept to consider: as you awaken your inner leader and then deliver more value to your stakeholders than anyone could possibly expect, the inevitable result has to be people beating a path to your front door. You not only will feel the deep sense of meaning that comes from doing good, but the profits flowing into your organization will blow your mind.
Money follows contribution
. The more value you create for all your constituents—from your teammates to your customers—the more your organization will see incredible financial success. And the more you’ll win in your own career.”

“So all I need to concentrate on is treating people well and being remarkably helpful in every possible way, and personal success will be the inevitable result?”

“Pretty much. I told you that business is a simple thing. We
just make it harder than it needs to be. Smart businesspeople keep it easy.”