ISBN: 978-960-93-8044-7

SOTIRIS KYRIAKOU - DIMITRIS PAPANIKITOPOULOS

WE WANT:
We want our children to live happily,
We want them to learn how to enjoy life and rejoice every single day as
as if it is a miracle.
We want them to feel successful regardless of what they are doing.
We want them to have positive feelings about themselves and the life
itself.
We want them to grow up, knowing how to not let the setbacks of life
harm them.
We want them to have a firm sense of inner peace supporting them
through rough times.
We want them to appreciate the present and be able to enjoy the journey of life.
We want them to know that they can shape their own life that they have
the power to choose it and change it when they feel it suitable
We want them to be sensitive, responsible and respectful towards nature and their fellow men.
We want them to find and explore their potential, to feel satisfaction
and interest towards their goals.
We want them to learn how to love and be loved.
We want them to learn from hidden opportunities within the unavoidable, unpleasant experiences of life.
We want them to be in good terms with their own health, both physical
and mental.
We wish you well wherever you are. You have given us the greatest joy
in the world just with the miracle of your amazing existence.
We adore you.

To our six children, our three girls and three boys,

namely D. E. X. and C. A. T.

PREFACE
Almost none of the powerful people of this world is particularly charismatic, educated, attractive or beautiful.
They do become mighty because they want to.
Hence our vision as to where we want to go--or who we want to become- is our
greatest asset.
In the real world the demand for perfection is small. There is much greater demand
for mediocrity. However great leaders are in need of something against which they
can revolt and create perfection. This is what makes their lives exciting.
Everyone desires to become an excellent leader, but only a few are ready and willing to make the necessary sacrifices. This is why we become those who we are
determined to be.
This assumption of responsibility will, at the same time make us happy. One of our
responsibilities as great leaders is to pass on to everyone around us and to those
who depend upon us, the secrets of the road towards success. The purpose of this
book is to assist the wilful leader understand better the complexity of leadership.
However, in order for the theory to have some meaning, it lies upon our capability
to assimilate it equally not only on a personal level but also on a familial, social and
professional one. Leadership is an activity simple but yet extremely complex.
What makes leadership such a complex process is the many things it consists of:
knowledge, its conversion into understanding wisdom, its conversion into energy
and action.
And of course the existence of a highly wilful and affable character who approaches all relations with great interest and love for himself, for others and for the work
to be achieved. The relationship between the leader and the people being led is
that of physical presence which at the same time is reinforced by the language,
thoughts and feelings of all those participating in this process.
This is what makes leadership so complex and yet so important. It is a multi-scientific activity which involves different traditions and schools of thought and concerns theory, research and practice.
Leadership thematology contains ample, systematic and fascinating literature and
substantial material on theoretical and research studies. For leaders, the most important aspect of all, is to know and to use all available tools in their arsenal hand
and at the same time to move on and indulge into the non ending paths of wisdom.

 CONTENTS
1. Fly me to the moon....................................................................................................................... p. 13
2. You can never beat the mountain, you can only beat yourself ......................... p. 29
3. When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself........... p. 35
4. If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you.

If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you. .............................................. p. 43

5. Lead people, not numbers ...................................................................................................... p. 55

6. Remember who you are serving........................................................................................... p. 63
7. Think about thinking.................................................................................................................... p. 73
8. The best form of inspiring is being ..................................................................................... p. 81
9. What kind of energy are you putting into the universe?......................................... p. 87
10. I get easily satisfied with success and excellence..................................................... p. 91
11. VUCA WORLD = Volatile, Uncertain. Complex, Ambiguous................................... p. 95
12. No guts, no story - no guts, no glory.................................................................................. p. 99
13. Love the life you live, live the life you love...................................................................... p. 105
14. A leader is worthy of their trust to his followers only to the extent

he is trustworthy to them......................................................................................................... p. 117

15. A leader cannot stand up to his name if, at times,

he is not willing to stand alone............................................................................................... p. 121

16. Remember the difference between a boss and a leader;

a boss says Go!, a leader says Lets go!............................................................... p. 125

17. Strength does not come from physical capacity,

It comes from an indomitable will........................................................................................ p. 129

18. Even the highest mountain had animals that stepped on it ................................. p. 135
19. Vision without action is a fantasy. Action without vision is confusion............ p. 139
20. The Knowing Heart........................................................................................................................ p. 143
21. The Crownless King...................................................................................................................... p. 149
22. It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men............................ p. 155

11

 12

1.

FLY ME
TO THE MOON
I believe that it is the duty of each
one of us to act as if the worlds fate
depends on us. Obviously, individuals
cannot achieve what teams can.
Nevertheless, one person is often
enough to make the difference.

13

Leadership is a
dynamic process
expressing, enhancing
and developing our
leadership skills,
highlighting our talents,
our ambitions and the
essence of our existence
as human beings.

14

Leadership is defined by the

results obtained through
a designed effort and not by the
characteristics or the skills of each
individual.
At any given time, we need to keep in mind the future of humanity and not just our own
comfort or success.
It only takes our effort to confirm that in reality, leadership is a journey and not a
destination. It is a marathon, not a sprint. A continuous process not an end result.
Every organization is not defined by its limits or boundaries but rather by the bonds created
by its actions. By the way with which different people unite their powers for a common
purpose based on a common value system, and by how dedicated they are to their vision
towards the society they want to live in both themselves and the generations to come.

The principles and values that

configure attitudes rest at the centre
of the soul of leadership. When these
values are clear to all, decisions
become easy.
Some indicative values:
ambition competition
uniqueness equity integrity
responsibility sense of service to others
accuracy respect dedication diversity
progress fun faith credibility honesty
innovative spirit teamwork excellence thrive
encouragement quality efficiency dignity
cooperation passion approachability
robustness wisdom independence
security challenge influence
love of learning empathy friendliness
discipline orderliness generosity
persistence flexibility empowerment

15

Leaders create history and history

creates leaders

Leadership is an art, a science but also a case of

virtuosity and mastery.

Four things drive the fate of this world.

The knowledge and dedication to learning
of the wise, justice of those in power, the
magnanimity of the strong and the
prowess of the brave.
None of the above is enough, unless there exists
someone who is expert in the art of leadership, familiar to its values and principles and knows how to
inspire them.

Your outlook affects your outcome.

16

In order to achieve the irresistibly

charming goal of creating a healthy
organization, we should all be really
craving with all our soul to see it
happening.
At first we must have the ability to imagine and then build
this organization or this society, accepting the personal
responsibility attributable to each one of us. Leaders
and followers should have the same vision, believe in it,
support it and work together so that it becomes reality.

There is more than one way to

write history.
Sometimes leaders make their
appearance before their time.
Precisely so, because the time might not be suitable for them, it is
likely that they are even forgotten. For the greatness of Julius Caesar
to emerge, the Gauls were necessary.
So were the Nazis to Churchill, the Persians to Leonidas, the
Turks to Kolokotronis, the Romans to Hannibal.

It is hard for any great leader to emerge

at tranquil times.
Reversibly so, at times of leadership lag, society seems to be stagnating sluggishly. Progress occurs each time charismatic and dynamic leaders grasp the opportunity to change things for the better.
The greatest task of a leader is not to share benefits or visions. It is
rather to offer himself and his spirit to society, and as a result, the
search of the road to wisdom.

Be a great student of life, so you can be

an outstanding teacher of living.
One person with commitment accomplishes more than a thousand
with an opinion.

17

Accountants are
concerned with the past
and managers with the
present. Leaders deal
only with the future.

What is leadership? The ability to

translate vision into reality
For a leader, the adventure of life aims towards knowledge.
Personal development is his mission. Change is within his nature.
And every challenge that life hides, is there so as to be overcome
or achieved. The most important thing in life is to care. The
meaning of life is to offer your services whenever you are given
the opportunity. The secret of life is to dare. Friends constitute
the most delicious spice of life, and to offer them as much as you
can is lifes beauty. This is the chance to be yourself at its best.

Being a leader requires a clear and great vision and great

leaders are guided by the future which they wish to create. In everyday life we
use our eyes to see, but it is our mind and heart that may see our visions.
And they come closer as long as we have the courage to undertake initiatives
and take risks, as long as we find the strength to question the status quo, the

18

When enthusiasm is
inspired by reason;
controlled by caution;
sound in theory; practical
in application; reflects
confidence; spreads good
cheer; raises morale;
inspires associates,
arouses loyalty; and laughs
at adversity,
it is beyond price.

ability to set ambitious goals, and therefore, to inspire ourselves and those
around us so as to move towards them. To invent incentives that motivate
ourselves and others, making us spiritually strong and determined so as to
overcome or flatten out any obstacle that might be found along our way.

It is not the size of a dog that most of all counts in a fight, but how
big is the size of the battle within the dog.

The importance of that special something!

One needs to be humble and open minded so as to preserve the
ability to listen and to learn from those around, courageous so as
to stand up and defend the things that are being considered fair,
but also enough flexible at any time, so as to judge and if needed
to revise ones own beliefs. Able to organize and discover examples that
will help others, able to attract, recruit, develop people and moreover the able to
collaborate with more powerful leaders, by being trustworthy and showing trust
to others.

19

 Leadership is a matter of assuming responsibility,

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not finding excuses: caring, daring and sharing!

fiercely, and sharing success with everyone.
> A LEADER THINKS ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE, HE IS NOT MISERABLE
He does not put his personal interest above
all. He is gentle and giving, ready to be sacrificed if necessary for the common well being, untouched by insecurities and suspicion.
He stands out for his ability to take risks, to
draw lessons either from success or failure,
to forget and forgive mistakes and omissions
of others and at the same time remaining focused, persistent and patient towards his goal.
A leader needs to have the amazing ability to
be simple and understandable and to express
himself with clarity. Above all, to be human.

> LEADERSHIP BROADENS THE HORIZONS OF VISIONS

Leadership enhances peoples performance and capabilities to a much higher level, helping them out to build
personalities that go well beyond the usual boundaries.
Setting out the rules that others obey has a great advantage:
This way you can do more good than anybody
else can.
The leaders position includes the privilege of improving the lives of others.

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True leaders are conscious that whatever they do is not

as much related to themselves as it is to the people
to whom they provide their services. That leadership
is neither an opportunity to fulfil their personal greed,
nor has the objective to boost their ego, but on the
contrary, to be a helping hand to others so that they
rise higher and achieve more for themselves and the
society they live in.

Dennis A. Pee

21

>
Decision-making is
a skill. Wisdom is a
leadership trait

Leadership
represents
the key for 99 out
of 100 successful
efforts.

The person who

got the best grade
on a knowledge
and skill test, will
not necessarily
become neither
the best doctor, the
best lawyer, nor the
best businessman
in the future. That
type of tests do not
measure personality
traits, leadership
ability, creativity, or
perseverance.

leadership
position is an
invitation to grow
as a leader
You are not here
merely to make a
living. You are here
in order to enable
the world to live
more amply, with
greater vision, with
a finer spirit of hope
and achievement.
You are here to
enrich the world.
22

>

People trust the leader even

before trusting the vision.
For an organization to be well structured and operational, it needs not only to
have a particularly high educated staff, or a participating atmosphere but also a
cultured, with a solid understanding of moral principles, leadership.

Control by itself is not leadership.

Management is not leadership.
Only leadership is leadership.
If you are really interested in becoming a leader, above all you have to be, ready
to dedicate at least 50% of your time to become your own leader. To cultivate and
develop within you the sense for purpose and mission, your ethics and principles.
Furthermore you must also devote a large percentage of your time to exercise
leadership to those who have more power than you and a respective percentage of
your time rate for people of the same rank as you.

In everyday life specific issues

are hidden behind every
problem in everyday life.
The mission of the leader is to handle them, no matter how well disguised they are
and to propose solutions to those following him so that they dont appear again in the
future. If this years problems are the same with those experienced last year,

you are not a leader, but rather the problem itself, that needs to be resolved.

he Power of Truth and

Ethics: Great leaders have
principles and they are moral.
In order to formulate their goals and choices as well as the methods they use to
influence those around them, they are based on ethical codes. They constitute
personifications of trust and reliability thanks to their integrity and dedication, but
also because they care for those who follow them and treat them with respect.

23

Leadership
is not about what
you do but
who you are.
And we must be
the leaders that
we want to be,
those who our
people finally
deserve to have:
practical as well
as visionaries.

One of the key aspects of leadership is to ensure

that statements such as even the most honest
man in power often cannot correct the damage
caused by the evil guys, is not confirmed.

Leaders respond and change.

The rest quit and blame.
Leaders create a legacy daily.
They constantly redefine the standards and
prerequisites of excellence, they are capable of
and willing to lead people towards a common
goal, thus reinforcing the confidence and
trust of those around them. Leadership is
about influence. An interactive process that
changes people for the better. A combination
of strategic choices and character -and if either

>

of the two needs to be sacrificed, do prefer the

first one.

The greatest challenge for the leader is to

be dynamic but not rude, gentle but not
weak, impetuous but not a bully, thoughtful
but not indolent, humble but not servile,
proud but not arrogant. Humorous,
yet not silly.
A leader sees, more than others can, further
and earlier than them.

24

>

>

Children listen with the eyes.

Leadership is inseparable with its
example. If you want to convince
someone that he is wrong, do the right
thing. Without caring to convince him.
People believe in what they see. Give them a chance to see. He who does not
believe in miracles, does not mean he is a realist. A leader should be the most
optimistic person in the world, reinforced by the courage hope gives. He is a fighter
afraid of nothing and nobody, but also a person, full of kindness, generosity and
with a desire to lead.
Elegant and intelligent solutions generate more light than heat. Every time we
offer them to those we lead, we need to bear in mind that greediness does not
create culture and that our goal should be to influence society in a positive way.
Emotions do affect the fate of every company decisively. What should be a point
of superiority and flag of our organization is the effort to discover that life has
meaning when mission is combined with pleasure and desire to conquer fate,
changing it where necessary.

Believing in that is enough so as to make our team

outperform itself.
Meaning = Happiness

25

Many people
have children. But
there arent many
children who have
a mother and a
father. The ability to reproduce
comes with age.
But fatherhood and
motherhood require
leading abilities.

For a leader it
is not sufficient
by being merely
correct. With
his presence and
actions he proves
that leadership
is a prerequisite
for survival and
precondition of
success.
By doing what
needs to be done
and not necessarily
what others might
want done.

26

Unlike the impression that we might, frequently, have in mind, not every
leader has necessarily a dedicated crowd that follows him. Many times a
leader is no more but a man who moves on his chosen way without caring or
even looking back to check if or how many others follow his footpath.
The, so called, leading skills might not necessarily attract crowds,
but do allow us to create even without them. Amongst them is courage,
tenacity, patience, sense of humor, flexibility, perseverance, self-sufficiency,
the accurate perception of reality and the ability to maintain composure and
self-control even when things do go badly.
Within the more feminine qualities of a leader lie concern for aesthetics
and the environment, protectiveness, insight and compassion, as well as
everything else which makes people feel secure. To feel that the person who
cares for them is quite dynamic but also noble and know how to administer
freedom being offered through his title or position with sparingness.
Summarizing, a leader is someone who knows the way, shows the
way and walks on it. Simply put someone who knows where he wants
to go, gets up and gets there. This is about a State of mind, which doesnt
relate to the position provided by the organizational chart. Frankly speaking,
this is something that cannot be taught, but can however be encouraged or
inspired.

There is no such thing as the way to be a

perfect leader. However there are millions of
ways to be a good leader.
Leaders live by their own
choices, not by conjectures or
luck. They are born for such a
thing, and most likely it exists
in their DNA.
27

Happiness is when what

you think, what you say and
what you do are in harmony.
Mahatma Gandhi

28

2.

YOU CAN NEVER BEAT THE

MOUNTAIN. YOU CAN ONLY
BEAT YOURSELF
Leadership has its cost. Each time
an external threat appears, all team
members expect the one who is
stronger, more well-fed and more
confident to come forward and confront it, thus protecting the rest. This
is what it means to be a leader. The
Cost of leadership is to renounce
interest for yourself.

29

Leadership concerns others, not ourselves.

The leader is not the one who can do the job better than his people. He is the one who can
motivate and persuade them to do it better than he can. He doesnt care about his career.
He is primarily interested in the careers of others. When having children we instantly
become leaders as well as servants.
We undertake the responsibility to sacrifice our life for the sake of someone else, to place
our own desires and ambitions into second pace, giving priority to the interest of our
children. It is certain that only by subjugating our ego, can we feel fulfilled. Something
similar also happens with our partners.
Being ahead of and leading others should not be the purpose of our life. Our life goal,
should be to be ahead of our own self. That is why demands from ourselves ought to be
much higher than the ones expected by others. The final test of every leader includes
all the things that he consciously needs to leave behind as a legacy, so as to help others
continue doing the same good work.
30

Anyone not willing to sacrifice his own interests for the sake of
common good, cannot hope to make a difference.
He may gain power, but he will never become a leader. If we want to
offer value to others, we must start by appreciating and giving value
to ourselves.
The way I perceive others is compatible to the way I see myself - if I
search for disadvantages into others so am I doing to myself, thus being
continuously discouraged. And vice versa.
Let us consider that when someone clearly knows what his values are, his
life decisions are made easier. What we do believe reveals our philosophical
approach towards life.
Work does not diminish whilst obtaining offices. It increases instead. In the
sense that we need to risk a bigger part of ourself for the sake of others-this
is the humanitarian definition of the leader.

The best thing we can do to a person is not

to share with him our riches. It is to reveal
him his own.

Live as if youre temporary, do your

job as if you are eternal.

It is not about you and your own good but

for your colleagues and their own good.
Whenever a leader replaces the unselfish service he provides to his
associates with his personal ambitions, he officially becomes their
boss, not their leader.
There is no room for values, principles and feelings in those
overwhelmed by ambition.

31

Be curious, not judgemental

Arrogance =
Knowledge - Wisdom

>

Expression is to say what you

want. Impression is to say
what others want
to hear.

>
Leaders that bring out the
best of results, never say I.
Not because they are trained not
to say I but because they do not
think as I.
They think as we. As a team.

32

>

We should Never let ourselves

feel as great as not to deal with
small daily matters.
They are aware that their mission is to make the team function extraordinarily. They
undertake responsibility on that without evasion, although they do know that, in
the end, it is the team that will be receiving the praise instead of them. This kind of
behavior and way of thinking creates the necessary confidence, which allows for
successful completion of work. A good leader always undertake a larger part of the
responsibility that he truly deserves and receives a smaller part of the appreciation
he actually deserves.

>

Seek the Blame - Give Away the Fame.

On days of questioning and doubt, the leader should be at the frontline. On the other hand,
he does withdraw at the back rows when the time for recognition approaches. There is no
alternative way for our, nothing but perfect, companions to attain the best result in the
elusive goals we have set them up to.
I am personally convinced that the leader must be strong enough to fight, but also tender
enough to cry. As much human as needed so as to make mistakes and as much humble
so as to admit them. Tough enough to endure pain, but at the same time flexible enough to
come back and continue his way.

There is no life that is worth

living. You offer the value that
makes it worthwhile.
Our basic psychological need is to belong. To belong to
whichever group we have chosen. But at the same time to be at
the peak of this relationship.
If you do not know where you stand and where you head to, no
one can help you.

33

 34

3.

WHEN YOU JUDGE ANOTHER,

YOU DO NOT DEFINE THEM,
YOU DEFINE YOURSELF
Character =
Personal Desire - Social Interest.
The most important things in life and in businesses can not
be measured. The saying If you can measure it, you can
manage it proved to be an obstacle in creating large organizations, just as it became a hurdle in the evaluation of the
real world economy (We should of course agree on what
large organization really means).
It is character, not numbers, that make the world go round.
Good character must be praised more than outstanding talent. To a certain extent, most talents are gifts. On the other
hand, a good character is not offered to us. We must build it
up piece by piece with thought, choice, courage and determination. No man can go out there exceeding the limits of
his character. Ultimately, what we are communicates much
more eloquently than anything else we say or do.

35

How can we measure the qualities of human existence which give

meaning to our life and career? What would you say about grace,
kindness and integrity? What value should we attribute to passion,
dedication and trust? How much do cheerfulness, the breath of a human
voice and a touch of self-esteem add into our lives?
Please tell me if you can, how can friendship, cooperation, dedication
and spirit be evaluated.
Frankly speaking, an organization which ignores the intangible features
with which the human beings which are our companions in life enrich
their careers, will never build a large collaborative force or a large
organization.
Successful leadership does not have to do with whether one is hard or
soft, sensitive or assertive, but rather with a number of features. First
and foremost is character.

Every man has three characters,

the one that he presents
the one that he has
and the one he thinks he has.
Character is power, makes friends, attracts protection and support and opens ways
to happiness. Character strength is cumulative. You can not imagine that you have a
character - you must forge one for yourself.
Whilst you, the leader, can teach many things, character is not easily taught to adults
who enter your office without having one.

You need to have the courage to make

character count more than all other features
you are looking for into others.

36

Be more concerned with your character than your

reputation, since your character is what you truly
are, while your reputation is merely what others
think you are.
The world is full of people who want to be right, when in
fact the secret of ones power and his path towards real
value is his ability to admit his error when he has failed. His
fellow travelers will then have more confidence in him and will
follow him much more easily.
If he stubbornly refuses to admit that he
was wrong, he erodes their confidence
in him and his ability to lead. On
the other hand, sometimes
our talent and charisma
as leaders have the
ability to take us further
than our character can
sustain. That should
also frighten us.

37

Fear and lack of confidence

Fear has one partner in crime; Lack of confidence. Lack of confidence is this little
voice in our head that says, You cannot get that promotion, you will never join
the team, you are not attractive enough, or you simply can not do it.

>

Fortunately enough, there is an antidote to the lack of confidence:

AND THIS IS CONFIDENCE. Self-confidence is the unwavering faith in
ourselves that we can make happen what we want to happen.
It is not lack of confidence, which is limiting us up - it is our reaction
towards this shortage.
Confidence allows us to keep trying until things do go better, to ask for help and
advice, to ignore spectators who are keen to tell us that you can not do it right
after the first stumble or you were never good enough and never will be.
Confidence is contagious. If we believe in ourselves, others will too.

38

>

No personal
charm is as great
as the charm
of a joyful
and optimistic
temperament
Great leaders are also committed to what

Even when a leader is courageous

they undertake. Commitment means

and confident, if he doesnt pos-

throwing ourselves into what we do with

sess the ability of intense concen-

everything we do have. It has been said

tration he is likely to deviate from

that some people drink from the fountain

his path. Concentration consists

of wisdom, while others just taste it.

of two parts.

Leaders do not only try. Leaders

must have a strong sense of values
if they are meant to succeed in the
long term.

The first one is perseverance, the

most important and vital factor towards ones success. Perseverance
means being reluctant to abandon
effort until a goal is achieved. Perseverance does not require talent, only determination. The second component of concentration

Values are
enduring patterns
of behavior.

is focus otherwise the ability to

They are the essence upon which our

remain focused in your goal, to

reputation is built. They will help us

organize yourself and reduce any

ascertain whom to count on, how people

distractions. Why can leaders can

will react in given situations and who we

inspire others? Because they have

want as our friends. Chances might be

passion for what they do and what

good if we follow the golden rule, that

they believe in. They are consis-

is doing the right thing when no one is

tently enthusiastic and optimistic.

watching and live our lives in the way our

They bring real joy in whatever

grandmother told us to.

they do. Even when things dont go

Only then will we be demonstrating

a sense of values that others
will easily respect and will most
probably follow.

well, they can inculcate others the

belief that together, they can make
the situation better.

39

Great leaders have principles - they are not only

effective, but moral as well.

>
>

They comply with ethical principles whilst

formulating their objectives and whilst exerting
influence. Because of their integrity and faith, they
not only inspire confidence and credibility but also
because they care about their people and treat them
with respect as well.

In order to be convincing,
you have to be credible, to
be credible you have to be
reliable, to be reliable you
have to be honest.
Your integrity is your most precious possession. If
you try to deceive someone, this will turn against
you. Big Is have small ears. One of the greatest
paradoxes of leadership is the need for a leader to be
as much stubborn, as open minded. A leader should
insist upon his vision and remain focused on the path
towards his destination, but he must also be openminded throughout the process.

Having personality means

I stand my ground and I do
not change it unless I come
across the position which
is more correct.
40

Leaders are fearless.

Become a strong
leader, even if you
follow a weak one.

First they ignore

you, then they
laugh at you, then
they fight you, then
you win.

Mahatma Gandhi

Although negotiations are a hard

game, you must never allow them
to become a dirty game. Once
you make a deal, do not step
back, unless the other party fails
to act as promised.
41

The sole
prerequisite
for our
development
is our desire
to move
forward.

42

4.

IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO

LEARN, NO ONE CAN HELP YOU.
IF YOU ARE DETERMINED TO
LEARN, NO ONE CAN STOP YOU.
Every act of conscious learning requires our willingness to suffer an injury to our self-esteem. Every time
we learn something new, we wonder why we did not
know it until now while other people did. This is why
young children learn so easily, before they are aware
of their own personal importance.
Great leaders train throughout their lifetime and constantly learn new things.
They convert every success, hurdle and failure into a
lesson that will guide them in the future. They do believe that if we are wise enough to listen, this will help
us move further and faster. They also know that we
can learn much more from negative leadership than
from positive leadership, because we learn how not to
do something and hence how to do it.

43

>

A degraded education
will always result
in a degraded
organization.

44

The first stage of

learning is silence.
The second stage
is active listening.
Knowledge comes
from listening,
understanding comes
from knowledge,
from understanding
comes wisdom,
from wisdom comes
prosperity.
Stories coming from his own experiences,
constitute one of the most powerful weapons in a
leaders arsenal.
However, he who dares to teach, either through
stories or not, must never cease to learn.

>

All that really matters

is what we will learn,
after knowing it all.
First priority is not
victory, it is teaching.
Teaching defines
leadership.
The willingness to learn is important, but the
willingness to act based on what we learn is also
crucial. We should act irrespective of the fact of
the mistakes we will make.

45

>

If people do not make mistakes,

they do not try new things.
If they make the same mistake
twice, they do not learn new
things.
The only real mistake is the one
from which we learn nothing.
46

The chains of habit

are too light to be
felt, until they are
too heavy to be
broken.
The most serious mistakes are not made
as a result of wrong answers. The truly
dangerous thing is wrong questions and
the worst question is always the one
that has never been asked. The ability
of the leader largely depends on his
ability to ask questions, on his ability to
examine and on his ability to study.

We do not grow
up by knowing all
the answers, but
rather by living
with the questions.
There are people who, instead of listening to
what is being said to them, they already have in
mind what they are about to say themselves. It takes
courage to stand up and talk and much more courage to
sit down and listen.

I remind myself every morning: Nothing of what I will be

saying today will teach me something.
So if I am going to learn -and I should learn- I will have to do it by
listening.

The inability of a person to

communicate is a result of his failure to
listen effectively.

47

We can learn when we listen. And by paying attention we do not only win money but
respect as well. So as to listen fully we should pay special attention to what is being
said behind the words. We must listen not only to the music, as well as the essence
of the words of the person talking. We must not only hear what one knows, but also
what he really is. The most important thing in communication is being able to hear
the words that are left unspoken.

Ears operate at the speed of

sound, which is much smaller
than the speed of light
received by our eyes.
Productive listening is the art of developing a deeper silence within ourselves.
By doing so we can slow down the hearing of our mind so as to balance with the
natural speed of our ears and thus listen to the underlying meaning of words. On
the other hand, good listeners remember that words have no meaning it is people
who have meaning and meaning comes from within us.
Assigning a meaning to a term is an internal process. Since our experience, knowledge and behaviors differ, we often misinterpret ones point, under the illusion that a
common understanding has been attained.
A good listener tries to understand what the other person really says. At the end
they may disagree intensely, but because they disagree, they will want to know the
exact point of their disagreement.

The way to remain fresh

is to never stop traveling,
wondering, listening and
learning.

48

Never stop asking people

of what they think.
Therefore, be a very good
student of life, so that you
can be an excellent
teacher of living.
I owe my life
to my parents,
but the good life
to my mentors.
And if you think education
is expensive, try ignorance.
Todays student,
is tomorrows leader.

Vision is not
enough; it must
be combined with
venture. It is not
enough to stare
up the steps;
we must step up
the stairs.

Hence do read and learn how to lead,

so as to succeed, because each time
you have to talk is as if giving an interview for a leading role.
You should never pretend to know what you
do not know, you should not feel ashamed to
ask and learn from your subordinates and you
should listen carefully to the views of your staff.

>

Learn from your fellow colleagues at any level before you

start giving instructions.

Be a student before
becoming a teacher.
49

>

Someones right to be heard does not

automatically include the right to be taken
seriously. It is also rare for someone to sit
down and listen what one does not want to
hear.
Communication is not related to speech, but to listening. Some may
be hearing, but at the same time not paying attention. Listen carefully
to others when they speak. Give your time and energy to others - let
others communicate the way they want to - do things for all other
reasons rather than promoting your own needs.
Many communication efforts might end up to nothing
when talking too much. The best sales people are
excellent listeners-this is the only way we can find out
what the buyer really wants.
Another important aspect of real listening is the self discipline to abandon or put
aside our own prejudices, our reference frameworks and desires, so as to get
to know as much as possible about the speakers world, to put ourselves in his
position. The connection between the speaker and the listener represents an actual
extension and expansion of our own self. This is the procedure through which we
obtain new knowledge to which we are constantly exposed.

Additionally, real listening temporarily

includes total acceptance of the other person.
By sensing such an acceptance, the speaker feels less and less vulnerable and
becomes more willing to open up his mind to the listener. As this happens, speaker
and listener begin to appreciate each other more and more and this is the point
where the duet of understanding begins.

50

Never discourage
anyone who
continually makes
progress, no
matter how slow.
He who asks a
question is a fool
for a minute; he
who does not
remains a fool
forever.

51

Growing and developing as a leader.

To conclude:
If you want a year of happiness, cultivate wheat, if you want 10
years of happiness, plant trees, if you want 100 years of happiness,
develop people.
My working experience in multinational companies has taught me the following:
We had been trained hard, but it seemed that every single time we concluded in
forming teams, we had to reorganize.
Later on in life, I learnt that in organizations we have the tendency to respond
towards any new situation by reorganizing. This might be a wonderful method in
creating illusions of progress, where as in fact it produces confusion, inefficiency
and demoralization. Development is not a smooth process. It is done in waves.

Business planning = managing human assets =

Human resources planning = assisting people so as to
develop themselves through advisory and preparation
programs.

Peoples growth and development is the

highest duty of leadership.
Stagnation due to reorganization, fills our mind with thoughts
of failure and slowly drowns our will to succeed. So we should
always move forward. Simple reorganization is a solution given by
defeatists. Success has no meaning without continuous growth
and progress. Even if we are on the right track, our competitors will
overrun us if we remain idle.

This is the only limit towards growth.

To move eternally.

52

IF YOU DONT MAKE DUST

YOU EAT DUST
Our mentality for turbo development should be the following: I wake up hungry for success and no matter how
many things I accomplish, I still go to bed seeking improvement. Not only do I refuse to let my competitors override
me, but I also keep in mind that in the long run, we cannot
evolve through continuous learning without feeding ourselves in the short term, by acting here and now.

53

I must follow others Am I not a leader?

Paradox = sufficient resources,
but poor quality of
workforce.

54

5.

LEAD PEOPLE
-NOT NUMBERS

The purpose of leadership is to produce

more leaders, not more followers.
Everyday leaders. What should they
know? The only thing they need to know
is that their fellow colleagues represent
their most valuable intangible asset.
Whatever helps them, helps the business. Irrespectively of what we achieve,
someone is helping us. And it is them. If we do
not know them by name, we should not be surprised if they wont follow us into battle.
Systems enable success, but people transform it
into reality. That is why, when recruiting, the first
quality we look into is character. We should not
be the kind of leaders saying My only aim is to
isolate your stupidity.
A leader is someone who believes in you and
makes you believe in yourself, as this is the only
way to utilize your skills and abilities. The greatest tragedy would be to never fully utilize either.

55

>

Indications of outstanding leadership appear

primarily amongst fans:
Have the fans reached their potential?
Do they continuously learn?
Do they cooperate as effectively
as they should?
Do they achieve the required results?
Do they happily change or do they moan?
Can they manage conflicts?
To be a leader, one must convince people to deliberately want to follow him
and no one wants to follow someone who does not know where he goes.
Discontent and frustration are not caused by the absence of positive results but by
the lack of vision. However, people follow the leader before they follow the vision.
People do not follow non committed leaders. Dedication can be displayed in
a whole range of issues, including the hours we choose to dispose into work, the
way we can work so as to improve our capabilities or what we actually do for our
colleagues with personal sacrifice.
First of all a great leader shows his greatness with the way he treats
his colleagues of a lower caliber. Through our influence, vision, ethics and
authenticity we can create a better reality for the family, the community and the
organization for which we work, where the people around us and those who follow
us will be equally inspired to dream, learn and act.

How can 100 people be guided by a single

person though?
If one single person was not able to lead 100 others, then neither wars,
cathedrals, space exploration, nor philharmonic orchestras would exist.
Someones ability to give instructions to 100 colleagues is the basic
building material upon which collective human effort is based as a
whole.

56

The phases undergone by a group

until becoming a team: formstorm-norm-perform. There is lot
of quietness in form, but it is the
deep silence within the centre of a
storm.

The key thing to being a good

leader is to keep people who hate
you away from those who are still
undecided.

Even if that is your dog, you have

power over someone.
Start treating him better.

Dont panic,
Organize!
57

95% of the productive assets at Gregorys stores where I am

in lead, head towards their home every night.
It is my duty to maintain such a working environment, so that
people come in every morning and join us to work together, with joy.

Inspired leadership continues to be based on faith preservation.

One of the most important aspects for a leader is his effect on moral.
Lets consider our fellow colleagues as our children and they will
follow us deep down the steepest valleys.
Let us treat them as our own beloved sons, and they will stand
by our side, even until death.

A rose turns beautiful and blesses

those who look at it and smell it,
only when it blossoms and blooms.
A leader is not someone who forces others so as to make him stronger; a leader is
someone willing to give his power to others, so that they have the strength to stand
on their own feet. Not being able to do everything for them, is not an excuse for not
doing what we can for them.

58

>

>

Whoever is under the power

of a leader, is under his
protection as well.
If you want to make a difference, the next time you see someone
being cruel to another human being, take it personally. Take it
personally because it is personal. You might think If I stop and
help this man, what might happen to me or better If I do not stop to
help this man, what might happen to him. The heart of humanitarian
studies includes painful truths. Just like slavery and apartheid, poverty
does not come naturally. It is people who create and tolerate poverty
and it is them who will overcome it. Fighting against poverty is not a
gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.
It is the protection of a fundamental human right.

The right for dignity and for living a

decent life.
This should be the preferred future we should be choosing.
My life is not defined by the things I have done, but by the people

No real leader
burdens his fans with a load greater than
what they can support and no true leader sets such
who I have loved and have loved me back.

a fast pace that the fans are unable to follow.

If the challenge is far beyond their skills levels, they tend to get
frustrated - if it is well below, they tend to get bored.

Leaders must strike the right balance. You

can only drive people up to where they
can go, not up to where you would want
them to go. And under all these circumstances, we should
always bear in mind that the adversities met in this difficult road,
should not be avoided. In all this effort, let us keep away, those
people trying to reduce our ambitions. Pessimistic people always
do that, but only the truly great make us feel that we too, can
become great.

59

>
Success can be measured with what we possess (prosperity,
property, work positions), but GREATNESS (Leadership)
can be measured only by the effect we have on PEOPLE.
Individual effort is good enough, but collective effort is
better. None of us is as smart as all of us together. We
therefore need to create a network of team builders. It is
a fact that working groups can be dysfunctional as they
are composed of imperfect human beings, but building a
strong team can be both solid enough and extremely simple,
although painfully difficult to achieve.

Effective teams make their

dreams come true. It is a matter
of highlighting the greatness
in people. In order to reveal
greatness we must create a
sense of us and let go of the
feeling of I.
60

>

To find greatness in people, we

must first practice the art of
forgiveness.

Show me the people you honor and I will

know what kind of a person you are.
When a true leader finds the right people to stand beside him, he no
longer has the need to lead - he is satisfied by just showing them the
way. It is better to lead from the swings and put others in front, especially
when celebrating a victory or when nice things occur. Put yourself in the
front line when there is danger.

If you do what I ask you to do, victories will belong to you

and losses to me.
If anything goes wrong, consider it my fault. If something goes relatively
well, we did it together. If something goes really well, then it is you, who did
it. Hence never give an order that can not be executed. That is all it takes to
make people win the game for you.

This is the art of independent mutual thinking and action.

In this case, people will appreciate your leadership.
Love without power has no substance, but power without love is deadly. We
must consider ourselves responsible at a higher level than anyone expects
from us. We should never forgive ourselves. Exceptional leaders take good
care in enhancing the self-esteem of their personnel. It is amazing what
people can accomplish If they believe in themselves.

My life has by far exceeded my expectations, not only

because of my personal effort or my way of thinking, but also
because of my colleagues who have enriched my existence.
It is not just about choosing the right colleagues. It is about us being the
right colleagues ourselves and this has nothing to do with ones effort to
become popular.

61

What helps
people, helps
the business.

62

6.

REMEMBER
WHO YOU ARE SERVING

The nicest things in life are not things:

Leadership is to serve without criticizing your fellow
travellers in society and life.
Just to earn your living does not constitute a real,
vivid life. What we have done just for ourselves dies
with us but what we have done for others and the
world remains immortal. During the acquisition of
power we are in a dual position of leading as well as
offering. We are called upon so as to dedicate our
lives for the sake of someone else. To abandon our
own desires and to put the interests of others as
our first priority. According to the perfect design
we are made of, it is through selflessness that we
can actually reach self actualization.
You have not really lived until you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay
you for it. We will pass by this world only once
every good thing we can do or any kindness we can
show to any other creature, must take place now
let us not postpone it or neglect it since we might
not be given another chance.

63

The best way to find

ourselves, is to lose ourself in
the service of others.

>

He who can not offer anything, can-

standards of their vision instead.

not feel anything. The essence of

They do not treat others as oppo-

leadership is not to offer tangible

nents and they believe in prox-

things, or even visions.

imity rather than dominance.

It is to offer yourself and your

They do not feel unique and do

spirit. If we do not think of others

not expect others to approach

and do not do anything for them,

them. It is them who always

we will miss one of the greatest

make the first step.

sources of happiness.

So listen carefully when oth-

Great leaders do not live in com-

ers speak. Give your time and

petition with their colleagues,

energy to others - let others

as they do not live by other

do what they want within

peoples standards, but by the

the objectives set and the

64

Consider offering, not as an

obligation but as a privilege.
Great teams should know that the
person on top will fight for them
as a tiger.

other reason except for pro-

Everything is fair at times

of love and war.

moting your own needs. No

True leaders understand that leadership is not for them but

man was ever honored for

for those they serve instead. Their purpose is not to elevate

what he received. He has

themselves, but to elevate others. A leader is not someone

been honored only for those

who forces others so as to make himself stronger.

things he offered to others.

A leader is someone willing to hand in his power to others,

agreed principles and values; go things for every

so that they have the strength to stand on their own

feet. Always remember, that the best boss is the one
who is much less of a boss. Less government is the best
government.

65

>

Criticism = against judgement

or the abuse of judgement
Criticism:= saying negative things even when we say:
I am telling you this because I care about you.
People who cannot put themselves in the service of
others use criticism as a daily activity.

How criticism takes place: I lessen the other directly. I tell him: you are a
liar, you are unjust, you are unacceptable and other adjectives that do not aim at
correcting the other person but at relieving ourselves. Criticism is equivalent to
controlling violence and should not exist.

The aim of blaming someone is neither to deal with the other person so as to
correct him, nor with myself so as to find out whether I am wrong.

The cause of blaming is feeling of inferiority we all sense in our lives for several
reasons.

When do we blame others? When we do not feel important and try to get on
top of the situation or on top of others.

What we should be doing instead? Observe without blaming so as to

become masters of our own thinking.

Great leaders do not blame their colleagues, because they believe that
one blames, either when one does not understand or when one does not know or
when one believes that others want to get on top of him or for some other reason

66

we dont want to change our position in life and hence we blame the opposite
approach. i. e. when someone stays firm on his opinion and criticizes the other for
supporting his own. When for some reason, we do not want to change our position
in life we criticize others for insisting on theirs which might not be bad, but simply
different. What might be another reason for criticism? Our will to get on top and
thus feel and demonstrate our superiority. Criticism destroys cooperation.

Gossiping involves blame.

Complaint is blame i. e. What kind of a person are you that doesnt help me in
finishing my work?

How did we learn to criticise - it is self explanatory -our ancestors have

created criticism. Years back, people used to live together in a dominant way.
The strict patriarchal family derogated top down (so blaming is a residue of past
years ). If we want to raise self assured children then we need to be democratic
and respectful, We should say for example This bothers me and I want us to find a
mutually acceptable solution and avoid blaming.

Consequences of blame:
Whilst blaming I do nothing else, hence I do not improve. Blaming
makes no sense whatsoever and it is an obstacle towards selfimprovement.
Blaming creates tension since we view the others as opponents. We have
to be tensed so as to survive through conflict and as long as criticism exists our
feelings of inferiority increase, courage decreases and therefore fear increases
and that fear immobilizes us. When we say, what kind of an idiot are you or what
kind of a fool are you. That indicates that we focus on intelligence. When we say
how bad are you, we emphasize on character. Criticism enhances cowardice, it
is fraudulent and wipes out the wings of self-esteem and courage.

67

Criticism is a great
drag in our lives.

When one criticizes, his dominant sentiment is fear and this creates hostile relations and he either attacks or remains speechless.
What else can arise from blaming? Rejection, disappointment, anger, shame, subjugation. It Increases fear which is the worst feeling one can have when coping with life, and
lies behind every difficulty we have in life. On the contrary, calmness leads to fear reduction. Blame should therefore be replaced by observation.
This means that one should accept others as they are and should not be bothered, as it
is his choice whether to cooperate with the other person or not. One should hence reduce
blame and increase his ability to observe.

When do we criticize? Many people try to connect to others through criticism. Whilst
criticizing, one criticizes the person who makes him feel inferior. We call someone stupid and
we feel as if we are superior. If one does not blame himself then he does not criticize others.
When one does criticize himself then he criticizes others too. The more we like ourselves, the
more criticism will be reduced. The other person cannot make us mad. It is us who choose to

>

get mad by the thoughts we select to make.

The opposite of criticism is

acceptance and encouragement.
Acceptance means: What is done is done, let us move ahead. We feel that we
belong somewhere. Let us not pay attention to what we do not possess and what they deny us
from having. On the contrary, lets think positively. Noting the positive side of others shows that

68

One of the values that

unite us is joy and not
criticism.

we are educated and self-improving.

What should one do then? I should not criticize others but accept them as they are
instead. Whilst criticizing we should blame the action and not the person.

Blame vs. Encouragement. One treats his colleagues as if they know and are capable
of doing great things. In our discussions with fellow colleagues one should not give
emphasis to negative sides but to the positive ones instead. It is the only way to help
them improve.

69

The idea we have of

ourselves represents our
capital. By acting, doing or
thinking one subtracts or
adds to his own personal
capital, always taking into
consideration who one is,
prior to any action taken.

>

All of our emotions and

thoughts are related to
other people because
we are social beings.
As long as we live we observe.
What does observing mean? Recording without feelings, thoughts or
assessment. Taking a picture. Logically explaining. We are interested in
observation as it leads us to self-knowledge. Eventually, we are the ones
responsible for taking care of ourselves.
When I only just observe without judging, then my feelings are: calmness, clarity,
purity, normal breathing, better conclusions. Observation and interpretation may
relax us. The internal dialogue we have with ourselves is responsible for all the
mental illnesses of our time.

A strict person feels he

is on top of others, while
whoever is stable feels
equal.
70

 71

No matter
what, you can
only live this
moment.

72

7.

THINK ABOUT THINKING

Before you speak, Think:

Is it T rue?
Is it H elpful?
Is it I nspiring?
Is it N ecessary?
Is it K ind?

All our actions during our passage from this world are based
on three ideas.

The idea we hold about ourselves,

the idea we hold about the world
and the idea we hold about life.
All our actions relate to what we want out of our lives and
thus our mind organizes and prepares what we really want
in life. For example, if one thinks that the world is friendly
he will not only have fewer fears but also will be more cooperative.
It is our soul that actually decides on how one understands
things and it is our soul that interprets environmental stimuli with the aid of our own individual logic.

73

Eye witnesses in court have different views since they filter everything they
have seen through their own individual logic which is different for everyone
in the world. From the time our individual logic is created (at the age of 6),
we cease to observe. Most things in life are being learnt until the ages of 4-5
but we misinterpret them. The greater the difference between common and
individual logic the worse it is.

>

Every person possesses three supporting

pillars in life. The first one has to do
with our ability to socialize, namely
the connection one has with people of
his closer and wider environment. The
second one relates to our family and
relationships with the opposite sex and
the third one relates to our work.
What you think about these three pillars, means more than anything else
in your life. It means more than what you earn, more than the place you
live in, more than your social position, more than what anybody else thinks
about you. Are you aware that one of the great problems of our times is that
we are governed by people who are more concerned about their popularity
rather than their thoughts, ideas and values that may lead towards the life
improvement of mankind?

The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom and

power without conscience. The world we live in,
is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.
We know more about war than we know about peace,
more about death than we do about life.

74

The Only Way To Win

Is To Do It On Purpose
Decide what you want out of life.
Write it down and keep it close to you at all times.
Learn to share your goals only with supportive friends.
People will envy you and you will never know it.
Write down your plan on how youre going to do it.
Take your first step today.
M
 ake up your mind that you will not stop trying until you
accomplish your goal.
Drown yourself in Personal Development daily.
Have a due date to accomplish your goal.

YES, I'VE MADE MISTAKES; LIFE DIDN'T

COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS.

75

>

Now is the time to care.

It is about time t o assume our responsibilities
towards the world.
It is the time to guide those who depend on us.
It is the time for a change.
It is the time to be realistic to our self.
It is the time to stop blaming others.
As leaders, we live to think. If our ideas cannot
change and speed up neither the production
process, nor the sector we are in, nor
commerce nor our society, we have added no
value whatsoever.

Let us change our thoughts and we

will change the world.
If we really want the key to success, let us start by doing the opposite of what
anyone else is doing. Having ideas, means we have the main asset needed
and there is no limit to what we can do with the organization we are leading, or
with our own lives.

Having ideas represents any leaders

greatest asset.
On the other hand, we should always aim at learning something new. Others
views provoke us to look at the truth and to put into test both sides. We should
not comment or criticize others when we only listen to second hand views
without getting into the trouble of studying them ourselves.

Do not be afraid of new ideas.

If Plan A didnt work, the alphabet has

at least 22 more letters! Stay Cool.

76

Read to lead in order to succeed

Do not worry if you cannot find anyone like you, or anyone
agreeing with you. There are actually hundreds of people like
you who have been waiting for a leader.

That person is you.

This way of thinking will help you find a way to build icebergs,
not only skyscrapers.
The world is full of non-logical people. That is the reason
for having rules. But with a lot of thought and background
information, a person can rise above rules.

He can make the rules.

On the other hand, great leaders, are almost always great
simplifiers overruling arguments, discussions, doubts,
systems and procedures so as to provide a solution that
everyone understands.

Decision making is a skill. Wisdom is a leading

trait.

77

You can find Humour in Everything

These are the things you ought to be
thinking. Whatever is true, whatever
is honorable, whatever is fair,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is noble.
The way we think is evident in the way we act. If
you understand correctly, the result is correct. If
you comprehend wrongly, the result is wrong.

>

A true leader is the one who foresees more than others do, further than others
do and well before others do. The trademark of a great man lies in his wisdom to
set aside important issues so as to achieve vital everyday matters.

Our attitude towards different

situations, is the mirror of our mind.
It reflects on our thoughts no matter how far -reaching they are. We have to think
anyway, so why not think far ahead? Think far ahead and you will reach success. This
is the way to end your life well, since anyone can start well.
Here is a tip from an old dog: In order to gain ground in this fast changing world, in
our effort for self-improvement, we need to grasp the spirit of the great pioneers in
all aspects of life. Their dreams have contributed to everything that is of value in our
civilization and their spirit serves as a source of life in our society.

This is our opportunity to develop,

to utilize and to put our talents and
skills at the disposal of humanity.
Think little goals and expect little
achievements. Think big goals and
win big successes.

78

You might use ideas as the starting

point for discussing values within
your organization because clarity
affords focus.
When leaders reframe customers
into guests, and results into
experiences, profits escalate.
Your most unhappy customers are
your greatest source of learning.
Four things do not come back: the
spoken word, the sped arrow, time
past, and the neglected opportunity.

79

 80

8.

THE BEST FORM

OF INSPIRING IS BEING

In order to inspire any of our fellow human beings

we must firstly and above all understand his feelings.
We should keep in mind that it is both
positive and negative communication
that bring people together, but they
might just as well keep them apart.
They say that you might be good.
Better than anybody else. But you
will never be as good as you could be
without a mentor inspiring you. Unless someone has previously experienced the meaning of inspiration he
will not be able to inspire others. He
will not be confident enough to visualize the hope of becoming successful.

81

Can the gift of inspiring be obtained? And if so, in which way? By trying
to make others feel better with what they do for themselves rather than
for you. The persons who succeed in reforming and leading great teams
are nearly always pragmatists as well as visionaries. It is them who
manage to make things happen and whose yearning for more and more

>

never fades away. Most often these people are gifted with a scientifically
structured mind combined with a poetic soul.

It does happen in most of the

major organizations worldwide.
They are leaders but in reality
they do not lead.
The good manager basically organizes and communicates. It is the
leader who encourages and cares. Leadership is based on inspiration,
not domination, in cooperation, not submission. The leader not only has the
vision but also the belief that anything can be practically done. This explains why
he inspires and activates all these necessary forces so as to make it happen.
The leader believes in others and at the same time makes them believe in
their own selves. He shares with them his beliefs, his priorities and desires. He
influences without having to invoke the safety of hierarchy. Great leaders motivate
people to get into action, offering them the sense of purpose and belonging.
We are true leaders only when our actions inspire others to dream, learn
more, accomplish more and progress.
Leadership is a matter of inspiring ourselves and others. A true leader gets
the best out of everyone. He convinces each and everyone by igniting their
potential. He helps others to overcome their limits, defeat their personal
weaknesses, egos, fears or indolence, as well as their willingness to do only what
is absolutely necessary. The leader helps others in achieving better and greater
things than what they could or thought possible. A true leader encourages his
team to dance to the rhythm of a music which is not yet written. He is aware
that a persons best character comes to light when he feels alive, happy and full
of inspiration. There is a scale to joy. Let us claim the uppermost for us and
our people.

82

One needs to be inspired to inspire.

He can inspire others only if he himself is
filled with confidence and hope
of success.

A leader must inspire or his

team will expire.
People usually work harder and more creatively when they enjoy what they do. It is the leaders responsibility to do what is necessary, so that they realize the value of their work and manage to
derive that pleasure. The leader adds meaning to the lives of his associates. He helps them develop their love towards continuous learning,
their creativity, their entrepreneurship, just by being their role model.

The duck organizing the flocks flight in perfect formation

does not need to shout. It just flies ahead in a way that
others can follow.

83

We do not lead people by telling them what to do, but through the actions
they see us take instead. That is why the real leader never says Do what I tell
you but come with me or do what I do instead, taking care at all times so as
not to leave his followers behind.
The leader walks along and cooperates with those who join him. He is neither
afraid of getting close to them, nor afraid that they might get disappointed if they
come too close. The leader knows that only by standing by someone, can you
influence him. The true leader is self-luminous and above all a leader on his

>

own self. A living example of what he stands up for.

Moderate leaders only talk.

The good ones explain.
The very good ones show how things
get done in practice.
The truly great ones inspire.
Top leaders guide their people from
high up whilst living inside their soul.
Real leaders are the ones who help us overcome the limiting factors of our personal laziness, selfishness, fear and sense of inferiority. They help us succeed
in bringing better and more difficult results than we could have brought if we were out
there on our own and without any assistance. Success is never certain if the leader
is not obsessed with this goal. The motive for any professional success is a combination of active forces arising not only from the organization itself but by the desire of each
employee to embrace the common values and principles, codes of communication and
behavior and to contribute into the formation of their character, intensity and duration.
Understanding the elements that do motivate employees constitutes a main subject of
the science of Psychology. Although motivation can often be used as a behavioral predictability criterion, its influence may vary considerably from person to person. In many
cases motivation must be combined with ones personal ability as well as other factors
that relate to the environment and can influence ones behavior and performance.
Precisely because motivation affects so dominantly ones performance at the
working place, organizations must comprehend that and proceed in restructuring their working environment in a way that encourages productive behaviors
and discourages negativity.

84

SUCCESS IS NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR LIFE.

IT IS ABOUT WHAT YOU INSPIRE OTHERS TO DO

It is generally accepted that in the process of mobilizing a person there are three different psychological
processes involved:

Provoking interest, Direction, Intensity.

The first process is what actually activates us. It is powered by ones inherent need,
to desire at any given moment, what is missing, from his life. Direction refers to the
method employees use in order to achieve their own objectives.
Intensity refers to the amount of energy that employees put up towards achieving
these objectives - the level of intensity is associated with the importance and difficulty
of each target.

85

 86

9.

WHAT KIND OF ENERGY

ARE YOU PUTTING INTO
THE UNIVERSE?
Feeling bored in life and not getting up
from bed every morning with a passionate desire to do things, is an indication
that we have neither interesting nor big
goals. Top world players desire something more than just a victory in their
next game. They want to walk along the
entire route. To claim the trophy at the
final game. This ultimate target is what
awakens dedication and passion in them.
The leader does not just limit himself in
persuading people to do things. He creates the desire in them to crave for doing
things. No target can be achieved if, before any one else, the leader of the team
doesnt become obsessed with that specific purpose.

87

Every organization has its own consciousness. Its civilization evolves based not
only on nature, tradition, experience, care, social conditions and the accumulated
knowledge of its people but on the economy, strategy and technology as well.
In any case, teamwork just by being so powerful but yet so rare, is of outmost
importance.
Corporate tribes develop their own cultures. The contribution of the leader
in those tribes is measured by the opportunities and possibilities he provides
his people with, so as to develop,evolve and excel. In the end, his even greater
contribution will depend on the extent his colleagues will prove themselves both
willing and determined to continue with the same desire for self-improvement and
success even when he, the leader departs.

>

Leaders ought to help people seek their dreams, believe in them, enjoy them
and work hard so as to realize them.

The mission of the leader is to

drive people from where they are
now, to a point they have never
reached before.
The top demand of a leader is the
development of his people and his
own self.
What can I do? the director asked his boss one day.
Something brilliant, the boss replied.

The target becomes clear only

when you listen to your heart.
People without purpose are unsuitable for leaders because their lives are
like books with fancy covers but empty pages. Correct organization of work is
not enough. The leader should ignite passion and utilize it for the purpose of his
mission, - if he is not conscious of the mission, he is in the wrong position.

One person with passion is a

preferred to forty who are merely
interested but without passion.
By restricting our choices into what seems possible or reasonable, we alienate
ourselves from what we truly desire. What is left is pure compromise

88

Laisser faire leadership=Non Leadership

Would you like to die without having

fulfilled your mission?
Live as if you were just passing by,
but offer as if you were eternal
Chase your passion, not your pension.

Life is now. Seize it, make it extraordinary, discover

your passion and chase it. Above all, make your every
moment count. Today is the day!
89

If you do not
have the time
to do it right,
should you
have the time
to do it all over
again until you
do it right?

90

10.

I GET EASILY SATISFIED

WITH SUCCESS
AND EXCELLENCE
Desire lies behind every motive. However, the key to the success we seek is no
other than the determination and commitment in pursuing the objective we
have set. This is a commitment towards
excellence, towards becoming better every day. Let us define a precise objective with measurable criteria. Let us give
it life. The criteria by which we evaluate
our own performance define the environment of excellence for the rest. We have
to invite the most talented among them
so as to observe and appreciate what
excellence really is. It is the duty of the
leader to determine the true meaning of
excellence. He himself must become the
measuring unit of quality.

91

>

Quality never occurs by accident. It is always the outcome of concentrated, systematic, hard work, smart
strategic planning and effective implementation. It reveals that out of the apparent alternatives that emerge
in front of us or the ones that we have created, we
have made the correct choice.
Many people are not accustomed to moving in
environments where excellence is a prerequisite.
At the end of the day one does or does not, fulfill
the objectives he sets and recognizes. Even
those people can become our partners in
our battle for the best. Let us do whatever
we can so as to find ourselves amongst
special people. Let us not regret
the effort or time spent. Constant
improvement is challenging even if we
are the best. In fact, it becomes more
important when we are truly the best.
To a certain extent success is born
when we constantly raise the bar of
our ambitions and expectations.
We must therefore celebrate our
achievements and at the same time
do not neglect to raise the standards
up just a little bit after every
success.
This is the secret of excellent
leadership and the art of being
special.
To become the first one or better every
day. At all times one should have in mind
that it is not necessary to be perfect so as
to enjoy a better, richer and happier life.

92

In his life every

man carries a
bucket full of
water and a bucket
full of gasoline.
The leader knows
which is the right
time to use either
of the two.

93

 94

11.

VUCA WORLD=
VOLATILE
UNCERTAIN
COMPLEX
AMBIGUOUS

In a world which is changeable, uncertain,

complex and ambiguous, change is the process
that makes things happen.
Change occurs every time a group of people
expresses common principles and values at the
very same time, in the same way and at the
same place.
Real success is not related to
what we have but to where we
are heading instead. In order
to change ourselves, to change
the organizations we belong to
or the world itself, we ought to
have the ability to reimagine all
of them differently.

95

Action -Reaction-Corrective movesImplementation and back to where

we started
This is the way through which leaders shape characters and behaviors.
We should not be afraid of our colleagues reactions, for we have not to stigmatize
their possible failures during the change process for two reasons:

1
2

Why stigmatize failure when in most cases this is what brings us closer
to the attainment of our objectives?
For every possible organizational failure the fault lies exclusively to the
decisions and actions taken by the leader.

In the battle for survival, the winning species is not the most dominant or the
most clever, but the one which is more receptive to change. Nothing is more
restraining for an organization than the faith that yesterdays way of working, will be
the appropriate one for tomorrows work.

>

The only permanent thing is

change.
What is not certain, is that things change in a progressive way which is optional.
Thus it is a matter of choice.

Change your thoughts and you

change the world,
or at least the way you perceive the world.
There is always the possibility to fail of course!
However failure is not always fatal. On the contrary the ability to change, certainly
is. To change the game - especially at the moment we are ahead of it - proves that
we really possess the power needed to do it, and the passion for it. If we really wish
to become the prophets of change we must be willing to renounce what we are, to
become what we want to be.
It is certain that we will never be able to break the rules of the game if we are not
previously aware of how the game is played.
Only then, we will have the possibility to chase a really interesting target - and
during this course we will be able to evolve in something worth becoming.

96

Your life does not get better by

chance, it gets better by change
Love reassures
fear and
kindness
facilitates
change.

Yesterday I was clever

so I wanted to change the world.
oday I am wise
so I am changing myself.

97

Its easy to stand with the crowd.

98

12.

NO GUTS, NO STORY
NO GUTS, NO GLORY
Courage = Guts - Fear

Any person who is afraid, should try to stop being in fear.

We should bear in mind that fears are always imaginary
as they belong to the future and that 95% of our fears
will never come true. Fear is the key factor for wrong solutions in our lives.
By nature the feeling of selfishness is a result of fear
i.e. I am not as important and unique as I would like to
be and hence I am not the center of the world and hence
I am afraid that nobody will need to be besides me.
I am afraid that I will end up being alone
Shame is a form of fear. Im afraid that Im not who I
want to be and I would like to be better so as not to feel
ashamed of myself. Fear immobilizes us, as when we
feel it, we stop moving. What is there to wait for when we
freeze from fear? We are waiting for a miracle from another person, who will come to rescue us. When we are in
fear, we unconsciously seek the attention, the support
and a helping hand from others.
Our goal should be to master our own mentality and convert our pessimism to optimism. This will teach us to
show courage when coming up against the variety of difficulties we encounter through our lives.
99

Ive missed over 9,000 shots in

my career. Ive lost nearly 300
games. Twenty-six times they
trusted me to take the winning
shot and I lost it. Ive failed
over and over again in my life
and that is the reason I have
succeeded. . Jordan
Courage is the exact opposite of fear, it leads to action which involves
concern for the others. Courage signifies action and interest not just for me but
for the others as well. Audacity is defined as a reckless action that has to do only
with myself and my own interest. Courage is the most important feeling that takes
us forward in life. The percentage of courage that someone has is one of the main
differences amongst people.
Criticism on the other hand reduces courage and stalls our lives.
How can we possess more courage? How can we improve our lives? The truth
is that, when we compare ourselves to others, no one is either in a better or worse
position unless we acknowledge it, regardless of life achievements. We need to
recognize action in ourselves no matter what the outcome is. And to point it out.
And why is this important? Because it represents half of our courage. The
first step always requires more energy. Same like in a car.
Above all the leader must have courage. The majority of people is unable to achieve
the quality of life it pursues because it is restrained by its own fears.

100

>

Success is
not final,
Failure is
not fatal,
It is the
courage to
continue
that counts.

>

Thoreau said:
The vast majority of people
lead a life of silent and calm
desperation.
It is not that the strong leader is fearless. Everyone is afraid at some specific
moment. Courage is the willingness to continue doing what is necessary and right
so as to overcome lifes obstacles even when you are afraid. If you are fearless,
courage loses its meaning.
Courage means, doing what you are afraid to do. This is the fine line between
fear and courage. The only antidote to fear is courage.
The courage of a great leader to fulfill his vision, arises from his passion, not
his hierarchical position. Time by itself is neutral and does not change things.
Leaders do change things with their courage and initiative. A coward leader can
become the most dangerous person. Courage is the ability to see something as if
weve never seen it before and change our views due to this fact.

101

Taking risks and action

Do not pay attention to what you do not have and what you are being
denied. Think positively and admeasure the positive aspects of life. The
idea we hold of ourselves represents our capital. Prior to our every action,
procedure or, thought, we should consider who we actually are, the idea
we have of ourselves, what we can or cannot do. Whenever we discourage
ourselves we reduce our own capital.
This is the way to subtract or add to our capital.

What would have been the ideal way for a father to encourage his son who
as a student has made many mistakes in a written text?
My son, I am sure you will succeed. I can see you have made less spelling
mistakes and you do consider grammar rules while you write. This shows
interest. Moreover you have kept proper text margins throughout the text.
This is something that I find extraordinary. Well done. You have put a great
effort.
Courage is more exciting than fear and in the long term, easier. You do not
have to become a hero overnight. Nothing as important as this, can be so suddenly
created. Just a step at a time, facing every issue that arises, regarding it not as
terrible as it may seem and discovering that we have the strength to face it.
Good ideas dont get automatically adopted. They should be put into practice
with courageous patience. Our doubts can become traitors who lead us towards
losing the good we can often achieve, just by not being courageous enough to try.
Any person can fail numerous times, but he should not be considered a failure
until he gives up. Postponement and fear are the enemies of success. Thus, my
advice is this: be fearless and if you cant, then keep your fears for yourself, but share
your courage with others, even when we talk about marginal situations.
The war lasts for a lifetime, but battles are daily. He, who will be able to move
ahead when efforts become really painful, is the one who is going to win. The ideal
person endures lifes mishaps with dignity and grace, doing what is best in any
circumstances.

Running away from fear = when

we are afraid we become yellow
because our blood leaves our head
and moves to our feet, so that we
can run.
102

>

Courage doesnt
always roar.
Sometimes courage
is the quiet voice at
the end of the day
saying: I will try
again tomorrow

It always seems impossible until it is accomplished.

No matter how difficult a situation might or seems to be, just stretch your
antennas and chase the possibilities - always chase them, since they are always
there. Create your future from your future and not from your past. Start doing

>

what you actually can as well as what you dream you can.
This is the right path to follow so as to create a human super athlete of life.

Daring involves ingenuity, strength

and magic.
I have lived a long life having many fears, most of which never proved true.
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble purpose.

Everything you want is

on the other side of fear.
The only difference between fear
and excitement is your attitude
about it.
103

Whenever
something bad
happens, you have
3 choices:
You can let it
define your life,
let it destroy you
or let it strengthen
you.

104

13.

LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE

LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE

Predisposition:
It is defined as the psychological tendency that
is expressed by evaluating a particular entity
with some degree of benevolence or disfavor.
Our predisposition to different situations reflects
our attitude: Knowledge may explain many of the
behaviors we choose to project. The study of creating different attitudes is the study of how people form their evaluations upon people, places,
things or issues.
Theories on classical learning, conducive learning as well as social learning are the ones mainly
responsible for the formation of predispositions
and attitudes.
In contrast with our personality, predispositions
are expected to fluctuate as a function of experience. Imagine a place where everyone chooses
to bring his energy, passion and a positive attitude each and every day. That place will create
only winners.

105

In my 54 years of experience, joy, tranquility

and pain my life has been changing daily.
I have become much more patient, less
judgmental, infinitely better as a listener and
a person who can help people belonging to a
team realize the long term benefits and the
ROE (Return on Effort) which arise from the
use of specific leadership techniques.
The ideal person can bear the mishaps of life with dignity and grace, making
the most of them under the circumstances. One is not here just to make a
living. One is here so as to enable people live a better life, with greater vision
and a superior spirit of hope, development and achievement. One should be

>

here with a sole objective: to enrich the world.

What follows next is my advice to you:

Do you feel, sad, bad, or happy?

The choice is yours.
And it is your truth.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond any measure. What frightens us most
is our own light, not our darkest part.
We often ask ourselves: Am I as brilliant, gorgeous, talented and beautiful enough
so as to save the world? In fact, yes you are. What should be done, can be
done. What you actually believe means more than anything else in your life.
What you believe means more than you earn, more than the place you live in,
more than your social position and more than anyone else thinks about you.
You cannot always control the circumstances, but you can certainly control your
own thoughts. The way we act reveals the way we think.
You are what you have been taught to be. You will become what you will
choose to be.

106

A good plan that is applied today

is far better than a perfect plan
which will be applied tomorrow.
One today is worthy of two
tomorrows.

107

The moment youre ready to quit

is usually the moment before
the miracle happens.

Dont give up.

>

We are capable of
improving ourselves every
single day. Over the course
of our lives we walk along
the long road of learning
and development. We must
try not to feel threatened
if we make mistakes along
the way. I have discovered
the secret that is well
known to most climbers.
Only after having climbed
a high mountain, do we
realize that there are
many more and higher
mountains to climb. Stand
still for a moment to relax,
admire the wonderful view
surrounding you and look
behind at the distance
traveled. Yet quickly, get
back on the road again.

108

Winners stay focused on the dream and

make plans, whereas the rest of the
people just focus at the obstacles
and look for excuses.
History records the success stories of winners, whereas oblivion is the
reward for the rest. People have the tendency to find both moaning as well as
protesting just as interesting and entertaining. Unfortunately, there are times
when someone finds it difficult to choose which of the two is best. Many people
enjoy it much more when someone else is making the decisions. In this way
they feel justified when moaning and complaining. However,

nothing can
prevent the person with the appropriate mental approach from
achieving his goal and at the same time nothing in this world
can help the person who has the wrong mental framework. My
attitude towards things is never to feel satisfied enough so as not to continue
moving forward while at the same time I live each day with great love and joy.

The words I cannot represent the

most powerful force of denial of the
human soul.
There is only one way to succeed in anything
you do and that is by giving it everything you
have got.
Never excuse yourselves. Move ahead as far as you can go when you actually
get there, you will be able to see even further. Even if you are in the dark. The true
dreamer is that person who knows the way to navigate even in the dark. Our mind is
our vehicle towards success. Keep stimulating your mind every single day, so as to
keep your momentum growing.

The road to success will be full of delays, traps

and self-pity - my advice on that is simply not
to stop!

The pessimist moans for the strong

wind. The optimist just hopes that the
wind will change. The great leader
simply adjusts the sails accordingly.
109

The first person to reach his

target gets the oyster, the
second one just gets the shell.

>

10% in life is what actually happens

to you and the remaining 90%
represents your reaction to it. At the end of
the day, it is important to remember that it is not possible to achieve what
should be done, if we remain the same although we realize that something
should change. Every single morning, I wake up hungry for success and
regardless of how many things I manage to accomplish, I go back to bed seeking
improvement. I am basically an optimist. It is not for me to judge, whether being
optimistic comes naturally or from my upbringing. Part of being optimistic is to keep
your head towards the sun and your feet moving forward. There were quite a few
difficult moments in life when my faith was put to test, but I neither wanted
nor gave up to despair. That road leads to defeat and death.

The opportunity of risk = If you never make mistakes

110

For most of us, the greatest danger

is not to be aiming at a great,
unachievable target, but rather that
this target might be too low and will
be achieved in comfort.
Our mind is our vehicle to success and we must constantly feed it with new
motives in order to increase our dynamism. We should never allow neither
praise nor criticism affect us.
Drifting away from our target by either one is a sign of weakness.
Difficulties represent opportunities for better things.
Difficulties represent our springboard for even greater experiences.

Having problems is not the problem.

The real problem is to expect that
there will be none and to think that
having to face them is a problem.
One of the tests in leadership is the ability to
recognize a problem before it becomes an
emergency.
The future belongs to those leaders who see
possibilities before they become obvious.
When one door closes, another one always
opens - the laws of nature always balance.
Just remember, that if you do not perform at the top of your abilities, being
able to overcome all difficulties, there will be someone else out there, having
the same skills as you, who will. And one day you will confront each other
and he will be the one with the advantage. Therefore, you should have the
highest of expectations from your own attitude.
The Winners advantage is neither his charismatic origin, high IQ, nor his talent.
The winners advantage relies on his attitude rather than his ability. Attitude is the
criterion towards success. Positive attitude boosts performance. You should not
be bothered by possibilities of defeat They do not exist. Swim upstream, follow a
different path and ignore conventional wisdom.

111

Do not be afraid.

Youve only got three choices in life: Give up, give in or give it all
youve got. I Will Be Grateful For This Day.

Forget all the reasons why it wont work and believe the one reason
why it will.

You should be easily satisfied only

by whats best.

This is the kind of predisposition virus that must

be spread within any organization or team, bearing in mind that most people quit
at the very moment they come close to success. They quit just a meter before the
finishing line. In the last minute of the game. A few seconds before victory.

So my advice is this:
Throughout your life, work as if you do not need the money. Love your life
as if you have never been hurt. Dance as if no one is watching you. Sing as
if no one is listening. Live your life as if you live in an earthly paradise. Put
everything youve got into your life and the outcome will be self settled. We do
not stop playing because we grow up. We become grown ups because we stop
playing. And a small piece of advice for the youngsters. As you move along in
life you will face many obstacles. Overcome them. They are not as high as you
think.

112

A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile
often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are.

You are confined only by the walls you build yourself

FEAR has two meanings:

1. Forget Everything And Run
2. Face Everything And Rise
The Choice is Yours!
The world will not be destroyed by
those who do evil, but by those who
watch them without doing anything

Albert Einstein
113

The Universe is saying: Allow me to

flow through you unrestricted, and you
will see the greatest magic you have
ever seen.
Klaus Joehle

You can cross no sea

simply by looking at the
water.
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
In any moment of decision the best
thing you can do is the right thing, the
next best thing is the wrong thing, and
the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Theodore Roosevelt
114
114

The Only Way To Win Is To Do It On Purpose

People who do not take risks will
generally make about two big mistakes
per year.
People who generally do take risks will
make about two big mistakes per year.
Think of failure as a gift. You belong to the 1%. Ninety nine out of a 100 failures
will come from those people who have the habit of finding excuses.
Successful is he who lays down a solid foundation made up with the bricks others
throw at him.
Winners act as winners before they even become winners. They keep collecting bricks
all the way through. Choose to be a happy person - See the bright side of life and through
this positive approach you will be able to handle your feelings and dominate your life.

Opportunities can be created by taking action

and not by complaining and moaning. Destiny
is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of
choice - it is not something you should expect,
it is something to be achieved.
Do not measure yourself with what you have
already accomplished, but instead with what
you should have accomplished according to
your ability. If opportunity does not knock at
your door, then build yourself a door.
By doing so, you can create a whole horizon of possibilities. The Top is never
the spot you are right now and there exists just a single moment in time that
is important NOW! It is the most important of moments, since it is the only
moment over which you have some power.

You may lose your money.

You may lose your friends.
You may lose your job.
You may end your marriage. Even so you may
still recover as long as you keep your hopes
high.
Never lose hope.

It always look impossible until it is done.

115
115

Integrity
is the soul
of leadership!
Trust
is the driving
force of
leadership.

116

14.
A LEADER IS WORTHY
OF HIS FOLLOWERS TO THE
EXTENT HE IS WORTHY OF
THEIR TRUST.
The key ingredients towards success is
the ability to trust, the degree of competence and cooperation and the clarity of
intentions. In order to be persuasive one
must be credible,in order to be credible
one must be trustworthy,and in order to be
trustworthy, one must be honest. This is
the way of creating trust within your team.
The person who trusts others will make
less errors than the one that distrusts
them.

117

 Your handshake is your word of

a handshake worth more

>

A leader becomes worthy to his fellow mates up to the extent he is worthy of their
trust.

Without trust there is no hope for

the future and when no hope exists,
the present becomes powerless. Our
future will not matter unless we
live in the right way every single
moment. The more we are successful in reducing the level of
uncertainty, the more we increase the level of trust and confidence.

Many people have children, but

on the other hand not too many
children have suitable parents
Parenthood requires LEADing skills
When you are a child, there is joy. There is laughter. But most of all, there is trust. Trust
for your fellow men. When youre an adult, suspicion, hatred and fear come along. If the
world was ruled by children it would be a place of eternal bliss and happiness.

118

>

 honor. As far as I am concerned,

than a signed contract.

Unfortunately, it is the adults that rule the world and there exists war,
hostility and endless disasters. Adults represent the death of hope. Adults
take responsibility for doing things, prove themselves unsuccessful and then

>

create a new generation of children and say, Children are the hope of the
future. And they are right in saying so.

Children are the hope of the future.

But adults are the condemnation
of the present, and children will
eventually become adults.
The most important lesson one learns in life is that the only way to make
someone trustworthy is by simply trusting him - and vice versa, the safest way
to prove someone untrustworthy is by not trusting him and by showing him disbelief.
However, rest assured that the person who does trust others will eventually make less
mistakes than someone who never trusts anybody.
In numerous occasions this is needed so that a team functions on the level of
trust and cooperation required for exceptional results. This can be defined as
the period of emerging trust.

119

A true leader has the

confidence to stand alone,
the courage to make tough
decisions, and the compassion
to listen to the needs of others.
He does not set out to be a
leader, but becomes one by the
quality of his actions and the
integrity of his intent.
Douglas Mac Arthur (1880-1964)
United States Army General

120

15.
A LEADER IS NOT WORTHY OF HIS NAME
UNLESS HE IS SOMETIMES WILLING TO
STAND OUT THERE ON HIS OWN
There exists a gap in the market,
but is there enough market to fill this gap?
The difficult part in leadership is to make a choice
when none of the options seem to be - good enough.
Ive never encountered a major decision taken by a
large organization, which was taken unanimously.
That is because important decisions can bear risks and it
is inevitable that some people will oppose them.
Few people think, but they all have an opinion of their own
to express. Those who think of small goals should expect
little achievements.
On the contrary, great leaders target on big goals and enjoy big successes. In those circumstances a great leader, should be skilful enough in handling unpleasant decisions with strictness and discipline. Be willing to make
decisions every single moment. That is the most important skill of a great leader.

121

A tiger doesnt
lose sleep over
the opinion of
sheep.

122

>

Strong convictions precede great actions

Do not fall victims to what one can
call as the syndrome of ready-aimaim-aim.
You must be willing to open fire even when no one supports your decision.
Unfortunately, we live in a society obsessed with the public opinion and
firing up might be difficult at times.
Machiavellis theory represents a model of human behavior suggesting that
leaders must do, what is necessary for the common good regardless of the
public opinion. Leadership never had any connection to popularity. The
person who wants to direct the orchestra must sometimes turn his back to
the audience.

>

If you want to run an organization, you have to stay firm in your principles
and values regardless of the opposition.

You should always though, keep in

mind that the route ahead might
not necessarily mean taking forward
steps.
My personal experience on the subject
can be summed up into the following few words:

Throughout my life, they used to call me

a rebel but whenever I thrived over very
difficult situations, many people, including my
opponents, embraced me This is what I usually
say to others that are trying to change things
as well. I tell them that I have been a rebel in
the past and everybody stood against me, but
the same people who used to accuse me are my
supporters today.

123

FREEDOM IS NOT DOING WHAT WE WANT,

BUT WHAT WE SHOULD.

Let no man
pull you low
enough to hate
him.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
124

16.

REMEMBER THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN A BOSS AND
A LEADER; A BOSS SAYS GO!,
A LEADER SAYS LETS GO!
What I have and who I am are of no importance.
What matters is what I do with what I have.
Sometimes we live our lives energetically and sometimes
our life just happens to us. However, we always have a
choice on the way we deal with it. It may be difficult to do
great things but to manage great things is even harder.
It is our duty to live our lives in a way that others will be
able to accept our instructions without feeling humiliated. Our position by itself does not give us the right to lead
people towards their battle for self-improvement. On the
other hand, there can be no leadership without some sort
of mystery. It is always helpful to have a bit of something
special in you that others cannot completely understand.
When it comes to leadership, there is nothing more
strengthening than silence when there is no need to talk.
When there is nothing important to add, silence becomes
the peak virtue of the powerful, the refuge of the weak,
the modesty of the proud, the pride of the humble and
the wisdom of the wise.
And when speaking, one should also keep in mind that
the right to be heard does not necessarily include the
right to be taken seriously.

125

Advice and moralization are forms

of enforcement over others.

Nothing is neither
good nor bad.
Everything relates to
how we utilize it.
Most people tend to put prestige
above their own personal interest.
A genuine leader is not the one aiming for consent but he who creates consent.
The secret of leaders success with regard to the position he holds in a company
coexists in four words:

Get to know humans.

If you get to know them, you can
make them happy and a happy person
is the person who likes doing what is
required.
I believe that it is the duty of each and everyone of us to act as if the fate of the
world depended on us. We should not only live as if we were in a survival situation,
because it is then that we will face failure and the excuses losers find for themselves.
Of course no one can do the job alone.

However, one person can make the

difference. We must live, not for our
own comfort and success, but for the
prosperous future of the human race
instead.
126

INDIVIDUAL LOGIC
Suppose we ask different people to tell us about the visions that come in their
mind when a common word such as sea is mentioned to them. Many alternatives will be heard such as vastness-passion-freedom -sand -love fishing
peace and many more, not necessarily identical for everyone. Who chose on
how we feel when we all listen to the same word? That person was us and each
one chose something different. It is our own way of thinking that brought up the
picture. This is our individual logic. It is due to this individual logic that when we
hear someone say something, one of us gets frustrated and the other one says
what happened to you, I did not perceive it that way.
Individual logic, created during our childhood represents conclusions based on our personal observations, our life activities and experiences, according to which we select our alternatives for
the rest of our lives. Since I have already made my conclusions, I stop observing and commence
moving based on opinions already formed by my inner self. There is a permanent confrontation
as to what I want vs what I must do. It is quite common not to realize what must be done but instead what we want so as to be in good terms with our individual logic. And this is where the power of will comes along. Willpower guides us as to how to choose our mates, our work, our clothes
and thus we are totally responsible for our choices. Individual logic originates from the way we
interpret events. The first incentive of individual logic grows at home is it open or closed, our
parents gossip or encourage? How does a parent get involved with his child? Do they all play together or does one of them does not bother?

Metaphorically speaking, individual logic represents the different types of eye

glasses, having different design, color, quality etc. that we all wear and with the aid
of which we perceive the world. When by looking through the glasses we sense that others do
not love us, this is how we feel. When we take off the glasses we can see things clearly.

But why do we need individual logic? Because it is our guide to life.

Individual logic = a booklet showing how one should be, so as to get on in life =
ones personal success guide.
Individual logic has absoluteness inside it and whatever lies within our individual logic is not in
our best interest as we have the tendency to see lifes negative rather than positive aspects.
When I sense the negative sides of life, I feel victimized and feel myself up with pain and anger.
Feelings as such are not favorable so as to be happy everyday. The three-year old child we
once were and that used to gain experience through which it reached conclusions about life,
still makes decisions for us today that things are different and this must change. When talking
about making changes one does not mean to be in line with the exact opposite of what he believed to date but to broaden his own perception. One should thus not only sense things in black
and white, but in all in between shades of grey as well. All issues arise from our individual logic.
When it comes to others, we need to be more lenient since we know that others have their own
individual logic as well.

Conclusion: One cooperates better when one is not totally fixed on ones individual
logic and on the contrary takes into consideration the feelings of others as well.

127

The common
denominator
of leadership =
willpower

128

17.

STRENGTH DOES NOT COME FROM

PHYSICAL CAPACITY, IT COMES
FROM AN INDOMITABLE WILL.
Mahatma Gandhi
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it
is a matter of choice - it is not something to be awaited for, but something that must be achieved. Make
a start with what you can do, or with
what you dream that you can do.
Daring includes ingenuity, power as
well as magic.
Let us try to explain how willpower
can result to happiness in our lives.
What we all mostly desire is to make
the best possible impression so as
to be socially accepted and belong
to social groups of our choice. Being
interested in others reveals the extent of our willingness to belong.

129

Fate is conquered
with sweat. The more
we sweat, the luckier
we will be. This is
the hardest thing
to achieve when
dealing with difficult
things.

130

>

Through our senses we get all available information from the outside world.
The serial sequence guiding us is the following: sense-thought- conclusionfeeling-action.

There is no movement without feeling. There is

no action. A persons feeling is the equivalent of
adding fuel for the car.

If the feeling springs out naturally,

we are at its mercy. If we decide on
how to express it, we master our
mentality.
We should be in touch with our inner self so as to master our mentality.
We have to be aware of our thoughts, our feelings and our purpose.
Having mastered that no one can manipulate us. When someone is in
control of his feelings, one stops being a victim.
The reason we want others to determine our feelings is because we
enjoy being victims and complain. When controlling own feelings, one
becomes courageous accepts responsibility for ones own choice and this

>

very choice marks ones own freedom. One stops being a puppet. One is
responsible for his own actions and their consequences. That is optimism
towards life.

We live our lives by what we think

we are and not by what we are in
reality.
Every emotion and whatever action follows it relates to society and our
relationship with it. Since we are social beings, all of our feelings and of our
thoughts relate to others and the domineering feeling leads us in life.

At this point we must slightly differentiate

ourselves by explaining that when we say I
feel or my feeling is, we describe a thought
rather than a feeling.

131

Our emotions are divided into binding and

disengaging ones.

We speak when we want to express our

feelings or give instructions that the other
person will obey or when we want to judge.
However, 90% of our speech relates to our
ego and not to a necessity.
It relates to our feeling that we are the center of attention and thus,
important. All detaching feelings relate to fear, jealousy, anger, shame, sorrow,
and anxiety (the feeling that I cannot succeed). Moaning, complaining, and crying
are results of the aforementioned feelings and represent tools being used to
subdue others. When one feels ashamed, one delays action. By showing shame
we want others to approach us instead of us approaching them. Essentially, one
feels ashamed and blushes so as to be noticed. When I feel frustrated I want the
others to stand beside me. When I am sad or angry, I again want something from
the others. When I experience fear, what I really need is support. Support by others
and not by my inner force. Anger is always a secondary emotion. One has
previously always sensed fear or inferiority. This sense shows inability to
overcome a certain situation and expresses the need for enforcement as it
cannot be handled otherwise. Anger is a bad feeling because it makes us
forget all the positive feelings we have for each other and leads us to more
mistakes. Moreover, when someone makes us angry, he is the one who
actually decides how we are going to behave.

132

>

Anger= the human suicide bomb.

Happiness on the other hand also depends on
me. I get even greater satisfaction by being
happy with the joy of others and it is a sign of
great social interest.
It is a kind offering and when you offer to others, you get more satisfaction yourself,
you are calm and hold your life in your hands. When there is love and understanding
everything can be solved.
Here is a small example related to what has been said above about feelings. Let us
pretend that we buy either a cheese pie or a ham and cheese pie at Gregorys food
courts, a famous Greek enterprise selling snacks and coffee. Our first feeling is
that of satisfying our taste and getting value for the money invested in our choice.
At the same time we also feel satisfied for the wisdom we have shown with regard
to the sum we have spent. This makes us satisfied with our ability to choose right.

>

The more capable we feel we are, the more courageous we become and by feeling
optimistic we keep our arms wide open. Just multiply this experience by the 200
decisions made per day.

Happiness is therefore dependable on the

persons stature. The road to happiness is the
difficult one. The road of misery and moan is
the easy way.
This is called willpower and this is the road to happiness. We are the masters of
our own mentality.

133

I have three
precious things
which I treasure
and I am
attached to.
The first one
is politeness,
the second one
austerity
and the third
one is
humbleness
which keeps me
from putting
my ego above
others.
Pride, on the
other hand

134

18.

EVEN THE HIGHEST

MOUNTAIN HAD
ANIMALS THAT STEP ON IT
Can you tell the difference between ambition and
vanity? Ambitious is the person who wants to be
appreciated for what he does and vain is he who
wants to be appreciated for who he is.
No one is purely either of the two. All ordinary
people possess both. The sense of inferiority that
exists in all of us rises or drops depending on the
size of our ambition. Ambition can be stalling for
our life. Wanting to be better compared to others (social ambition) is like wishing to be better in
jokes than the person who tells a joke, and everybody telling jokes in the whole world. Ambition is
therefore an unfulfilled feeling. The sense of inferiority is fictitious because no one is truly inferior.
On the contrary, one wishes to be a more valuable
person than others.

135

Really powerful people are really humble.

They do not try to impress, they do not try to influence.

They
just
are.
They attract people like a magnet. They are often very silent and fo-

cused, having full awareness of their inner self They never try to convince, manipulate or become aggressive in order to achieve their purpose.
They basically listen. If there is something they can offer so as to assist us,
they will do so - if not, they remain silent.
A great leader is always willing to look small.

Talent is God given. Be humble.

Fame is man-given. Be grateful.
Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
After crosses and losses
men grow humbler and wiser.
136

>

>

>

It is common knowledge that it is

much more difficult for a leader
to keep and maintain his position
rather than it is to establish it.
Success is a ruthless competitor who flatters and nourishes our
weaknesses and leads us to complacency. We rest upon the glory
of our achievements and we tend to lose the spirit of humbleness
which helps us realize all the factors that contributed to our success.
We tend to forget that we are only individuals in our group and that
strength lies in unity. We are strong only as long as each individual in
our team functions accurately and consistently.

Our ego prevents our ability to influence,

more than anything else under our own
control.
If you can not leave your pride aside, you cannot become a leader.
Humility, on the other hand forces you to make a proper assessment
of your own self.
Life is a great lesson of humility. Many people think that humility is the
opposite of pride whereas in fact, it is a point of balance. In reality, the
opposite of pride is lack of self-esteem, it is a sense of insignificance. A
humble person is completely different when compared to any one who

>

cannot recognize and appreciate himself as a part of the miracles of this

world.

Pride is concerned with who is

right. Humility is concerned with
what is right. Humility leads to
strength and not to weakness.
It represents the highest form of self-respect. To admit our mistakes
and correct them. Successful leaders balance pride with humility.
Absolute pride in performing, absolute humility in front of the size of
the project.

137

Whenever you
do a thing, act
as if all the
world were
watching

138

19.

VISION WITHOUT
ACTION IS A FANTASY.
ACTION WITHOUT VISION
IS CONFUSION

Act regardless and execute exceptionally.

Think like a man of action and act like a man of thought.
Various ideas pass through all peoples minds even when
taking a shower. The person who makes the difference is
he who comes out of the bathroom, wipes himself with
the towel and begins to implement some of the ideas
that came up through his mind just a few moments ago.
Action is just a step away from imagination. An important and large one though.
Millions of people have seen apples falling down. It was
only Isaac Newton that asked himself why. We must
search for what needs to be done. Ultimately, this is the
way universe chooses the way forward.

139

People are divided into three categories.

Those who are immovable,
those who can move
and those who do actually move.

>

Everything in life seems to be attracted

by the person who chases it. It is better to
regret something you have done rather than
something you havent done.
At the end of the day what we think, what we know or what we believe, is
of little importance. All that matters is what we do. Just think of the great
difference between I must do something and something must be done.
So when someone offers us a seat at the space shuttle, we should not ask
whether this is a window or an aisle seat. We must seize the opportunity to
test our limits in real conditions of great stress. In an organization that enjoys
a leadership culture, there exist no pending issues. The concept on which the
whole system is structured, guides its members towards continuous action.
People who constitute such an organization are well aware that a day full of
concerns, without action and a mind loaded with negative thoughts, is much
more exhaustive than a full days work.
Whenever knowledge meets dreams, we have more than one, reasons to act.

You do not drawn just because you fell in

the water. You drawn because you stayed
there.
Every time we need to do what is best with
what we have wherever we stand Regardless
of predictions or probabilities.
There should be no fear of risk-taking. Just
as life teaches those who are willing to
learn:
The more violent the fall, the higher the
bounce.
The competitor to be feared is one who
never bothers about you at all, but goes on
making his own business better all the time.

140

Only three things

happen naturally
in organizations:
friction, confusion
and underperformance.
Everything else
requires
leadership.

Peter Drucker

Learn from the past, prepare for the future,

but act now, today.

Ultimately life is always in the present tense and we live it

only once, moment by moment.

141

Strong
organizations
are built in
SOLID HOMES,
not large
houses.

142

20.

KNOWING HEART

EQ: the capability to control, perceive, and evaluate

yours and other peoples emotions.
EQ is the intersection of heart and head.
Our character relates not only to society but to our
view of life in society as well. Character is the outcome of conflict between desire and the social interest. It is the action as well as the movement of a person.
Good characters lean towards social interest. Most
mental problems are based on selfishness and private interest. What we enjoy doing in life relates to
what makes us feel important and superior. When we
feel that we cannot manage we feel inferior and insufficient.
Our interest is thus limited to us, to ourselves. Many
people dress up either perfectly or terribly because
they are selfish and are only interested to draw attention or get distinguished in the society they live
in. That is to say that different and possibly opposing
actions might reveal the exact same thought.

143

None of us wants to feel inferior in life. We want to belong to a balanced group and
want to have confidence in ourselves which in turn means optimism for life. Many
times we experience difficulties in finding something positive for us, because we
think that we need to do extraordinary things so as to be worthy and hence start
liking ourselves. If we do not do great things as Socrates or Alexander the Great
did, we feel inferior. We are happy only when we accomplish something difficult
or even impossible. What we do not realize is that behind every mistake there is
something that we do not know or alternatively we know something wrong, so it is
not a matter of inefficiency as we think.

>

Our religion also wants us to be humble and unhappy because, according to priests
preaching, those people will be the ones who will go to heaven. No one is born
feeling hatred for another person due to his skin, color, origin, or religion. People
learn to hate, and if they are capable of learning to hate, they can learn to love as
well, because love comes more naturally to the human heart than hatred. Selfsufficient people love others because they expect nothing from them, so they do
not cause them any discomfort and do not burden them either. When one does not
care for others, one feels lonely whereas when there is love and understanding all
matters can be solved. The only thing that is unbearable, is not to love. Correcting
our selves should not be our greatest concern. What we should be really interested
in, is our ability to learn how to love. When we do not feel love for our fellow life
travelers, whatever we learn we use it so as to dominate others and thus we become
unpleasant. On the other hand, anyone can become a great person because
everyone has the capacity to offer. There is no need for a college degree so as to
offer to society. The only thing needed is a heart full of grace. A soul which is full
of love.

The heart is the emperor and

collaborates with the mind.
Let us not make small dreams then, because it is the big
dreams that have the power to move our hearts. Great
leadership relates to human experience and not procedures.
Leadership does not relate to techniques and methods as
much, but to the opening of our hearts instead.

When you do things from your soul you

feel a river of joy moving in you.
Its impossible. said pride, Its risky. said experience,
Its pointless. said reason, GIVE IT A TRY. whispered the
heart.
144

Leadership is neither a
mathematical formula nor a
program, but rather a human
activity drawn from the heart also
considering the hearts of others.

Even in communications
the most important thing
is to hear what is not
being said.
Faith moves mountains,
love transforms hearts.

Treat employees like they make a

difference and they will.
Jim Goodnight CEO, SAS
145

Offering our love to others not as an

obligation, but as a privilege.

Our life philosophy should

be as follows:

I am an adventurer,
looking for treasures
in the hearts of
others.

This is the way to fulfill our dreams.

Many of our dreams initially seem
impossible, then improbable, in the
end inevitable.
This is how the dance of empathy
for others starts.
To handle yourself, use your head.
o handle others, use your heart.

146

>

If you do not think about others and do nothing for them, you are bound to
lose one of the greatest sources of happiness. Remember that happiness exists
when we offer and not whilst possessing or acquiring things. Whatever we have
done solely for ourselves dies with us what we have done for others and the world
remains immortal.

Offering frees us from the familiar territory

of our personal needs by widening our mind
towards the mysterious world of the needs
of others.
The person who cannot give anything, can neither feel
anything. Reach out your hand. Share. Smile. Embrace.
Happiness is a perfume you cannot just pour on others without dropping a few
drops on you. It is not meant for you. It is for them. It is identical to borrowing from

>

them for a short term and lend it back for a long term. The person who did his best
for others, during his time, will live forever. This is an attitude towards life, not a
routine.

Educator teaches his teammates. An

Educarer will touch their soul.
An

People do not care about how much

we know until they are certain about how
much we care.
Therefore, avoid conflicts and embrace warmth. As you
look back in your life, you will realize that the moments you have truly lived are
those moments when you did things in the spirit of love. The highest proof of
virtue is to have unlimited power without abusing it.

We must teach our children:

To smell the Earth -To taste the rain
To touch the wind -To see things grow
To hear the sun rise and night fall
To
care

John Cleal

147

Management:
Things getting
done through
human effort

148

21.

THE CROWNLESS
KING

In theory, there is no difference between theory

and practice. But, in practice, there is.
One of the major issues
that prevent people from
winning today is the lack of
faith in themselves.
Come to the edge, he
said. They replied: We are
afraid. Come to the edge,
he said. And they came.
He pushed them, and they
flew The challenge for
the leader is to find the human passion and eliminate
their fear so they can fly.

149

The 4 axioms
Since the very beginning of the civilized world, it can be said
that there are four basic and primary things that the majority of
people in a society wish for:

1 > To live in a safe environment,

2 > To be able to work and support themselves.
3 > To have access to good public health and
4 > To have sufficient educational opportunities for their children.

Never discourage
anyone who
continually makes
progress, no matter
how slow.

150

>

Management is the tool being used to bridge the

gap between actual and desired performance.
On the other hand, the effectiveness of ones leading skills, is measured even
more when he is able to manage brilliant minds. Managers tend to evaluate
every person in relation to the others around him. This is their reference point.
A leader would evaluate your performance in relation to your own potential.
Real leaders are teachers, who run a leaderful organization.

Grounded leaders are there for the others, work

vigorously and influence with the full impact of
their vision and power. Far too many managers believe that
people are interchangeable. The truly gifted people never are. They have
unique talents. These people can not be forced into roles for which they are
not suited.

Effective leaders leave the talented people to

do the work they were born to do. Those people do not
need management they must be allowed to move freely. You are better off,
if surrounded by that kind of smart people, rather than having a huge budget.
Smart people will quickly lead us faster to the desirable result we want.

My goal is to boost peoples minds and I must

do it respectfully.
No one likes to offend people and it is easy to do so when you are unaware of

>

what they know.

The tradition in management is:

Divide and conquer.
The tradition on leadership is:
Unite and lead.

151

If you move ahead of the herd,

you should also take a look
behind you, every now and then,
so as to ensure they are still
there.
Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination, in cooperation, not
intimidation. You can get the most of others not by igniting a fire beneath them,
but by igniting the fire in them instead. Ones mind can become a source of

>

fire ready to burst. It is not simply a container to be filled with thoughts and
knowledge.

Strategic planning = strategic people planning = hr

planning, as they call it today.
We need to manage the talent, skills and expertise of our valuable
employees. It is a matter of promoting their greatness. We must bear in mind
that we are dealing with people here, not with policies or procedures.
We must establish the strategic people planning dept. as an indispensable
part of operational planning, dealing with projects such as the requirements
for specific competences, recruitment, training, restructuring, grade changes,
compensation, career options, job security, wages, health and safety, staff
support etc.
All above tools should exist in a working environment where employees are
considered to be reliable as well as intelligent. The challenge for leadership
will be to refocus, update and incorporate those skills to the new forces of
this constantly changing environment. This project should become everyones
responsibility. This will give the organization the dedication and the sense of
responsibility required.

Naturally in order to add value

to others, one must at first
appreciate them.

152

A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than by fear

LIKEABLE
BUSINESS
GRATEFULNESS
AUTHENTICITYTRANSPARENCY

ADAPTABILITY

SURPRISE & DELIGHT RESPONSIVENESS

LISTENING

STORYTELLING - PASSION

SIMPLICITY
TEAM PLAYING

The reason for the pyramidal and hierarchical way

of structuring the organization chart.
Information and decision spreading that sets and ensures
the roots for everyone, in any organization so that they move
in the same direction.
This is the way to dominate in any industry, any market,
against any competition at any time.

153

 154

22.

ITS EASIER TO BUILD

STRONG CHILDREN THAN TO
REPAIR BROKEN MEN
Recruitment = the most important step
in building a great organization

Be careful when recruiting people, irrespective of the talents they might possess. Be courageous and consider
character as one of the most important qualities you are
looking for in others. During your search for candidates,
aim for these three qualities:

Integrity,
Intelligence
and Energy.
If your new employees do not possess the first quality,
the other two will kill you.
The leader will usually work with the colleagues he deserves. My philosophy towards leadership is to surround myself with nice people who have the ability, judgment and knowledge, but above all, the passion to offer.
Of course choosing the right colleague is,of course, not
enough. You have yourself to be the right colleague as
well.

155

I was never the smartest person

in the room.
Since the first person I ever employed, I never was the
smartest person in the room. And this is a big deal.

And if indeed you are going to

have a leading position and you
truly are the smartest person
in the room, you have a real
problem. The more you are surrounded by people

with great potential, the greater is your chance for success

and happiness in life.

A point that needs special

attention relates to recruiting
people for the distance they
are able to cover not the limit
you would want them to reach,
because this is where problems
start.

Your teacher can open the door, but you must enter by
yourself.
Chinese proverb
156

Leaders dont force people to follow. They invite

them on a journey.

157

Authors
Sotiris Kyriakou
skyri@gregorys.gr

Dimitris Papanikitopoulos
d.papanikitopoulos@linkagegreece.com

Creative Design:
MSPS
info@msps.net
www.msps.net
Art Director:

Dimitris Plivouris

Printing - Binding:
Lucas Restemis
restem@otenet.gr

2016 Sotiris Kyriakou