Leadership Lessons 25
Visionaries who inspired
What matters in life or leadership is not only what do you do but also what you leave behind. You will certainly die- but you dreams may still have the potential to outlive you.
The imaginative potential of life, people and society is immense. These imaginative potential depends on both an analytical understanding and intuitive sense and ability to dream beyond yourself. In a way, some of the visions are like big waves and when you ride a big wave that may take you to a far distance that you never imagined to go.
It is one thing to have a vision and it is an entirely different thing to have a clear understanding about how to move towards such a vision and the sheer passion and determination to realize the vision. It is not only important to have a dream, but to internalize that dream to drive you forward with a sense of mission with passion.
This mix of imagination, initiative, integrity of mission and immense energy that drive you to make the dream possible is what make magic possible ; to make seeming impossible things possible and to make change happen within you, beyond you , in organisations and in society.
That is what makes human being creative. That is what makes history. That is what make beautiful poetry and politics; beautiful buildings and cities.
I am immensely inspired by visionaries that made change possible, imagined countries, imagined 'out-of box' and complete different visions.
When Steve Jobs envisioned smart phone or a devise that would change the way you write, think or communicate, he was changing the world. He did not live many year. His dreams outlived him; his dreams live enough as I am using my phone to write this very note.
What makes Jawaharlal Nehru great is that he could dream of a democratic India and lived his dream and made the dream possible by building the foundations and institutions of India that outlived him.
Another great visionary leader who inspired me was Vikram Sarabhai who too died in his fifties and his dreams got realized and still alive.
Another great and passionate man of vision and mission was Varghese Kurian who had the rare vision of sending milk by wagons of train when there was hardly any great milk production in India. Dhirubhani Ambani was made of great dream. So was JRD Tata. So are great writers and painters. Their imaginative potentials outlive them.
I will end this note by mentioning a great visionary leader many may not know.- and who immensely inspired me and indirectly influenced me. There are also such people who made their vision possible and simply walked away without much of fame and name.
Cecil Jackson-Cole was someone who made change happen with a sheer sense of vision and mission. When the famine happened in many countries in the midst of second world war in 1942, Oxford Committee for Famine Relief was formed to support those at the receiving end of famine and humanitarian crisis. And Cecil Jackson-Cole was its first secretary as a student in Oxford. He was a young student leader who sought to make a difference with his life and work.
That has emerged as one of the largest and most influential organisations across the world- known as Oxfam. Another organisation he founded in 1972 was Actionaid- another global leader in the area of humanitarian support, human rights based approach to development and empowerment of the marginalized across the world. (which I had the privileged to lead as an International Director )The third organisation he helped to form was Help the Aged in 1961- which became Help Age International.
He did all these not as a full time 'staff' . He gave his time and resources to them. He was also a successful businessman who built his own business in furnishing and recycling. And gave all those for the larger cause, before he died at the age of 78 in 1979.
What an amazing visionary!! Hardly anyone knows him. He never thought of big name or fame for himself. He led from the front and then behind and when the mission accomplished he walked on to do new new mission, new things and he was indeed one of the great change makers in the recent history though he did it silently.
But his dreams Oxfam, Actionaid and Helpage International are almost everywhere in the world- with billions in total income, tens of thousands working and working together in more than hundred countries.
Not many know about Cecil Jackson-Cole, but people certainly know about Oxfam, Actionaid and Help Age International. I discovered him when I had a chance to be in the leadership one of one of his dreams- Actionaid International - that contribute immensely though its founder disappeared in the history without being even noticed.
There are such invisible and less celebrated visionary leaders who sought to live and work to make this world a better place for the future generation.
In India and the world, there are such unknown visionaries who made lasting impact with their vision and mission. I hope to write a book on such people within a year or so.
They all contnue to inspire me, making life worth living
JS Adoor
To be continued
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