Leadership Wisdom from the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: The 8 Rituals of the Best Leaders. Робин ШармаЧитать онлайн книгу.

       CHAPTER THREE The Miraculous Transformation of a Corporate Warrior

      I was astonished by what I had just heard. Could this young man in the peak of health really be Julian Mantle, a man who had fallen from the pinnacle of greatness as no one I have ever known? And if it was him, how could he possibly have undergone such a stunning change in appearance? I knew Julian had sold his mansion, his summer home and even given up his prized red Ferrari. I knew he’d given up the trappings of the corporate world and trekked off to the Himalayas on some fanatical mission to seek answers to the deep questions he was struggling with. But surely a simple visit to that ancient and mystical place could not have so profoundly transformed a man who had all but worked himself into the ground.

      Disturbed by the bizarre scenario that had just unfolded before me, my mind began to race to some of the other possibilities. Perhaps this was a prank masterminded by one of my less-than-mature managers to inject a little levity into what was sure to be a tensionfilled week? Or maybe the young man was an infiltrator from a competitor seeking to get inside our operation to see how bad things really were? Perhaps this visitor in monk’s clothing was a deranged trespasser out to seriously harm me. But before I could examine these options more fully, the young man spoke.

      “Peter, I know it’s hard for you to believe it’s really me. I’d feel exactly the same way if I were in your shoes. All I’m asking from you is a little faith, a little bit of belief in life’s small miracles. There’s a purpose to my visit.”

      “And what might that be?” I asked, still not certain who was standing before me.

      “Frankly, I’ve heard you are in big trouble and I’ve come to help. If what I’ve heard about GlobalView since my return from the Himalayas is true, you cannot afford not to listen to what I’ve come to tell you. I’ve discovered information that will return you and your business to the heights of success you once enjoyed. I’ve been given knowledge that will lead you to certain market leadership. I’ve learned lessons that will show you how to have the most loyal, dedicated and inspired employees of any company in your field. This information was given to me by a very learned teacher, who I met high in the mountains. The timeless wisdom he shared with me is not widely known here in the West. Yet it is so potent and so very profound that I am certain it will revolutionize your entire organization and do wonders for your bottom line.”

      “Go on,” I replied, my curiosity piqued.

      “The wisdom I’ve come to share with you is contained within a unique and extremely powerful system, a leadership blueprint of sorts. It’s actually foolproof. Follow the system and then just sit back and watch your company return to prime health. Well, actually, it’s designed to do far more than that. If you follow the formula with conviction, your business will be much more successful than it ever was. It will improve it in ways you never could have imagined. Morale and productivity will soar. Your people will be more committed and creative than you’ve ever seen them. They will be much more responsive and adaptive to change. Your team will start to work together again and deeply care about the work it is doing. And, to state the obvious, profits will go through the roof.”

      “Okay. You’ve got my attention,” I responded. “But first let me ask you something. Assuming you are Julian, and that’s quite an assumption, why are you dressed like a monk? The Julian Mantle I knew wouldn’t be caught dead in anything less than Armani.”

      “Fair question, my friend,” the young man replied with a mischievous grin, which I quickly realized looked very much like the one Julian was so well known for in his younger years. “Mind if I start my explanation at the beginning?”

      “I’m all ears,” I replied, leaning back into my plush leather chair for what I sensed would be a good story.

      The young man proceeded to relate, in minute detail, the rise and fall of the legendary Julian Mantle, from his days as a brilliant young student at Harvard Law School to his unparalleled success as a litigation lawyer handling some of the most complex corporate law cases in the country. He spoke candidly of his victories and also of his welldocumented decline. He talked about his dreams, his fears, his failed marriage and his heart attack. He even referred to the intricacies of my golf game and said that he sorely missed our fun-filled afternoons in the sun.

      “They were pretty great,” I interrupted, sensing that, somehow, this young stranger dressed in the attire of the sages really might be my long-lost friend Julian Mantle. Who else could have known all these details? I sat there silently, unsure of what to say next. Then I stood up and walked over to him.

      “Julian it really is you isn’t it?” I said apologetically.

      “Yes it is. And it’s really great to see you after all these years. That golf ball you gave me for my fiftieth really meant a lot to me.”

      I was delighted to see him. We embraced as only old friends can and began to revisit memories of our glory days together. But, in the back of my mind, one thought still nagged me. I still couldn’t find a rational explanation for Julian’s amazing youthfulness.

      Feeling my unease, Julian asked with his trademark flair, “A little curious to discover my beauty secrets?” his lips curving into a full grin.

      “Stop teasing me, Julian. First you show up unannounced after all these years wearing that foolish-looking robe, bouncing rocks off my office window and scaring the daylights out of me on what has already been a stressful day. Then you stun me by telling me who you are and that you can offer me some priceless wisdom that will somehow save my bleeding company. And now you won’t even explain how you managed to knock years off the way you look. You’re walking a fine line, Julian,” I said in mock annoyance.

      “After my heart attack, I decided to make some drastic changes. I’m sure you heard that I sold the mansion and the summer home and the rest of my toys.”

      “At least you could have kept your Ferrari, Julian. That was such an amazing machine. I still remember seeing you fly around with that blonde bombshell you used to date in the passenger seat, her long hair waving through the wind.”

      Julian smiled for an instant. “The one with those hot pink miniskirts?”

      “That’s the one.”

      Then he grew pensive and serious. “I had to cut every tie I had to my former world if I really wanted to get somewhere new. I loved the Ferrari, but I knew it had to go. Otherwise it would have been like trying to go on a sailing adventure but hoping to keep a little rope tied to the dock for security. It just wouldn’t work. So I sold everything that symbolized my hard-driving, ‘take-no-prisoners’ lifestyle and headed for India, a land I had always suspected was rich in knowledge and truth.”

      Julian then described how he trekked across that vast country in search of information he could use to improve the way he worked and lived. Sometimes he traveled by train, sometimes by bicycle or by foot. He visited ancient temples and studied under respected teachers. He met others who were also searching for answers to life’s larger questions and made friendships that have lasted until this day. But during his first months in India, the wisdom he sought eluded him. Then, as he searched deeper and deeper, he began to hear whispers of a band of monks living high in the Himalayas.