by Kerr, James
Not so long ago, we respected bankers and hedge-fund financiers and vulture investors as though making money alone was enough. Patently – after the sleazy collapse of financial standards – this is not true anymore.
There is nothing wrong with making money but as a sole ambition it certainly isn’t inspiring an emerging generation that values human connection, social interaction and authenticity more highly. In an increasingly secular Western world, people are looking for answers to the question that organized religion has provided for thousands of years: how to live. In an age of austerity, there is a desire for something that makes a lasting difference, a secular spirituality rather than evangelical materialism.
In a society badly let down by the promises of corporations, it seems that ‘capitalism’ has an opportunity to redefine itself and play a different game. It’s not enough just to win anymore, we must win with flair. We must leave the jersey in a better place.
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Fortunately for the more hard-headed businessperson, the result of this shift in approach is not just an altruistic fantasy or a meaningless sop to society. It is a very real driver for organizational performance, cohesion and conviction.
It is likely that the teams – whether companies or causes – that contribute a healthy social footprint will be those that survive and thrive over the coming decades. They’ll recruit better talent, engender more loyalty and profit from a virtuous circle of purchase and recommendation, and build a sustainable culture of contribution and success. From their value to society will come their value as a company.
The cynics – those just in it for the money – have been found out. Theirs is no longer a sustainable model; increasingly, wealth on its own is no decent definition of success. It doesn’t play well at dinner parties or in a eulogy.
By taking responsibility for something more than profits, we tap into a collective vibrancy that is not only good for the world but also good for business. To ‘leave the jersey in a better place’ means to work incrementally towards a better collective outcome. It means to be a custodian of the future, an architect of tomorrow, a steward of society. It means to live with respect, humility and excellence. It means mana.
As leaders it means that we will truly lead, not just manage, and that others will spill blood for our team. People want to believe in something bigger than themselves; purpose propels and moves people, and moving people is the purpose of a leader.
‘Service to others,’ said Muhammad Ali, ‘is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.’ But it’s about more than rent, it’s about respect: honouring that which we are capable of becoming, being great rather than just good, playing a bigger game, a more expansive game, a more ambitious game.
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It all comes back to sweeping the sheds.
The word character comes from the Ancient Greek, kharakter, meaning the mark that is left on a coin during its manufacture. Character is also the mark left on you by life, and the mark we leave on life.
It’s the impact you make when you’re here, the trace you leave once you’re gone.
Character rises out of our values, our purpose, the standards we set ourselves, our sacrifice and commitment, and the decisions we make under pressure, but it is primarily defined by the contribution we make, the responsibility we take, the leadership we show.
‘Test rugby is all about testing your character,’ says current All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. ‘It’s about putting you under pressure and seeing how you cope.’
John Wooden said, ‘Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.’
Character is forged by the way we respond to the challenges of life and business, by the way we lead our life and teams. If we value life, life values us. If we devalue it, we dishonour ourselves and our one chance at living. This is our time.
Leadership is surely the example we set. The way we lead our own life is what makes us a leader. It is what gives us mana.
Be a Good Ancestor
Our time is limited. Understanding the fragility of life is the first step in understanding our role and responsibility as a leader. Our greatest responsibility is to honour those who came before us and those who will come after, to ‘leave the jersey in a better place’. We are the stewards of our organizations, the caretakers of our own lineage. Our actions today will echo beyond our time. They are our legacy. Manaaki Whenua, Manaaki Tangata, Haere whakamua. Care for the land, Care for the people, Go forward.
Be a Good Ancestor
Plant trees you’ll never see.
—— E tipu, e rea, mō ngā rā o tōu ao.
Grow and branch forth for the days of your world.
XV
LEGACY
—— Te tōrino haere whakamua, whakamuri.
At the same time as the spiral is going forward, it is also returning.
WRITE YOUR LEGACY
This is your time
When a player makes the All Blacks, they’re given a book. It’s a small black book, bound in fine leather, and beautiful to hold.
The first page shows a jersey – that of the 1905 Originals, the team that began this long whakapapa. On the next page is another jersey, that of the 1924 Invincibles, and on the page after, another jersey, and another, and so on until the present day. It is a visual whakapapa, layered with meaning, a legacy to step into. The next few pages of this All Black handbook remind you of the principles, the heroes, the values, the standards, the code of honour, the ethos, the character of the team.
The rest of the pages are blank. Waiting to be filled.
It’s time to make your mark, they say. Your contribution.
It’s time to leave a legacy. Your legacy.
It’s your time.
The First XV: Lessons in Leadership.
A rugby team has fifteen players who work together towards a common purpose, to win. These principles work in the same way. Each has a role, each a responsibility, each a position on the field.
Combined they are the First XV.
I Sweep the Sheds
Never be too big to do the small
things that need to be done
II Go for the Gap
When you’re on top of your game,
change your game
III Play with Purpose
Ask ‘Why?’
IV Pass the Ball
Leaders create leaders
V Create a Learning Environment
Leaders are teachers
VI No Dickheads
Follow the spearhead
VII Embrace Expectations
Aim for the highest cloud
VIII Train to Win
Practise under pressure
IX Keep a Blue Head
Control your attention
X Know Thyself
Keep it real
XI Sacrifice
Find something you would die for
and give your life to it
XII Invent a Language
Sing your world into existence
XIII Ritualize to Actualize
Create a culture
XIV Be a Good Ancestor
Plant trees you’ll never see
XV Write Your Legacy
This is your time
Whakataukī
—— Haere taka mua, taka muri; kaua e whai.
Be a leader, not a follower.
—— Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
Any success should not be attributed to me alone; it was the work of us all.
—— Waiho mā te tangata e mihi.
Let someone else praise your virtues.
—— Waiho kia pātai ana, he kaha ui te kaha.
Let the questioning continue; the ability of the person is in asking questions.
—— Kāore te kūmara e whāki ana tana reka.
The kūmara (sweet potato) does not need to say how sweet he is.
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br /> —— I orea te tuatara, ka puta ki waho.
When poked at with a stick, the tuatara will emerge. (A problem is solved by continuing to find solutions.)
—— He rangi tā Matawhāiti, he rangi tā Matawhānui.
The person with a narrow vision sees a narrow horizon, the person with a wide vision sees a wide horizon.
—— Ki ngā whakaeke haumi.
Join those who can join the sections of a canoe. (Look for a leader who can bring people together.)
—— Kohia te kai rangatira, ruia te taitea.
Gather the good food, cast away the rubbish.
—— Te tīmatanga o te mātauranga ko te wahangū, te wāhanga tuarua ko te whakarongo.
The first stage of learning is silence, the second stage is listening.
—— Ā muri kia mau ki te kawau mārō, whanake ake, whanake ake.
Hold to the spearhead formation of the kawau.
—— He iti wai kōwhao waka e tahuri te waka.
A little water seeping through a small hole may swamp a canoe.
—— Kia urupū tātou; kaua e taukumekume.
Let us be united, not pulling against one another.
—— Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku māpihi mauria.
My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul.
—— Whāia te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei.
Aim for the highest cloud, so that if you miss it, you will hit a lofty mountain.
—— Ko te piko o te māhuri, te-rā te tupu o te rākau.
The way the sapling is shaped determines how the tree grows.
—— Tangata akona ki te kāinga, tūngia ki te marae, tau ana.
A person who is taught at home will stand with confidence in the community.
—— Mā te rongo, ka mōhio;
Mā te mōhio, ka mārama;
Mā te mārama, ka mātau;
Mā te mātau, ka ora.
From listening comes knowledge;
From knowledge comes understanding;
From understanding comes wisdom;
From wisdom comes well-being.
—— Whakapūpūtia mai ō mānuka, kia kore ai e whati.
Cluster the branches of the manuka, so that they will not break.
—— He tangata kī tahi.
A person who can be taken at his word.
—— Ka tū te ihiihi
Stand fearless
—— Kaua e mate wheke, mate ururoa.
Don’t die like an octopus, die like a hammerhead shark.
—— Taringa whakarongo.
Let your ears listen.
—— He aha te kai o te rangatira. He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero.
What is the food of a leader? It is knowledge.
It is communication.
—— E tipu, e rea, mō ngā rā o tōu ao.
Grow and branch forth for the days of your world.
—— Te tōrino haere whakamua, whakamuri.
At the same time as the spiral is going forward, it is also returning.
—— Manaaki Whenua, Manaaki Tangata, Haere whakamua.
Care for the land, Care for the people, Go forward.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All Credit To
Thank you to Sir Graham Henry, Wayne Smith, Steve Hansen and Gilbert Enoka for your time and insights.
To Richie McCaw and his All Blacks – for welcoming me into your environment and for bringing the Webb Ellis Cup back where it belongs.
To Sean Fitzpatrick, Andrew Mehrtens and Anton Oliver for your time and for leaving the jersey in a better place.
To Steve Tew, Brian Finn, Darren Shand and Joe Locke for your professionalism and the unsung work you do behind the scenes for New Zealand rugby. To the engine room of the 2010 All Blacks – Dr Deb Robinson, Peter Gallagher, Nic Gill, Peter Duncan, Alistair Rogers, Mike Cron, Bianca Thiel, Grunta – and Poss. Thank you, and congratulations guys.
Kevin Chapman and Warren Adler, thank you for your faith – I hope we’ve left a legacy. George Kerr, for your acumen and support. Julie Helsen and Jan Clarke for the work you do with disadvantaged NZ children; you are heroes. To Nick Danziger, my wing man, for your talent and friendship.
Thank you also to Owen Eastwood of Hoko and Lewis Silkin, Will Hogg of Kinetic Consulting, Justin Hughes of Mission Excellence, Kevin Roberts of Saatchi & Saatchi, Paul Vaughan of Cardinal Red, Robbie Deans, Bede Brosnahan of Gazing Performance Systems, and my colleagues and clients over the years for your business insights and support.
Thank you especially to Roger Hart, Ed Woodcock, Martin Grimer, Jim Paterson, Stephen Woodward and everyone at Aesop Agency for being ‘the best storytelling agency in the world’ and for your invaluable input, creativity and intelligence, particulary Dan Calderwood, for your design eye, and Fiona Chapman and Amy Loughnane for your eternal patience.
To the writers I’ve quoted, my special thanks. I’m all too aware I’ve clambered on the shoulders of giants in the making of this book and I hope I’ve done your ideas justice in such a short space. A special mention to Daniel Kahnemann, Daniel Pink, Victor Frankl, Bruce Chatwin, Stephen Sinek, Bob Howitt, Greg McGee, Matthew Syed, Bill Walsh, Jim Collins, John Wooden, Vince Lombardi, Phil Jackson, Pat Williams and Clive Woodward. Also, my thanks to Wynne Grey, Gregor Paul, Spiro Zavos, Pamela Hawely, Keith Quinn, David Benuik, Delice Coffey, Keith Rogers, Reg Birchfield, and all the other business and rugby journalists who have informed this work, and kept me informed.
And thank you to George Plimpton, whose Paper Lion started it all.
Thanks to Inia Maxwell, Kateia Burrows, Lauren Timihou-Farnsworth, and the staff at Te Puia, Rotorua, and also NZTC International for their help with the whakataukī. I’m keenly aware that I’m working with some sacred Māori beliefs and can only say that I do so with the utmost respect and reverence. My ancestors, too, are buried in Aotearoa.
Andreas Campomar, Charlotte Macdonald, Sam Evans, Rob Nichols and Clive Hebard at Constable & Robinson, thank you for supporting this idea and making it happen. Thanks to Fritha Saunders for your belief, Howard Watson for your concision and precision, and Pippa Masson, my agent, for your sage advice.
To Simon Coley and Jodi Redden, Sofia and Lu Lu, thank you for my home away from home in New Zealand – this book, these words, are not enough. Kristina Stoianova, Cindy Baxter, Matthew and Ainsley Johnstone, Katherine Bonner, Keith Tannock, Andrew Donaldson, Sam Martin, Rob Kerr, Jane Kerr, and Paul and Val Pelham – thank you. In your own ways you have helped make this project possible.
Sam and Charlie, my sons, thank you. You are my legacy.
Finally, my eternal gratitude to Holly.
For everything, for ever.
—— Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini. Any success should not be attributed to me alone; it was the work of us all.
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—— The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading. In order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.
Samuel Johnson, quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
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