Reflections From the Celebration
The Leader of the Future Celebration (2006)
- Thoughts for the Evening
- Award Presentation
- Reflections from the Celebration
October 24, an evening to be remembered, never to be forgotten, the evening in New York, when 150 friends of the Leader to Leader Institute celebrated The Leader of the Future in person and in print.
In a dazzling white and deep red design, the ball room of Mutual of America's 35th penthouse floor was transformed into the perfect setting for the launching of a new Leader to Leader Institute Award -- The Leader of the Future -- to be given, annually, to the most effective, ethical, principled leader of the future. Our choice, for 2006 was Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes when we invited him. Featured in the December Business Week as one of the "best leaders," he was second in this lineup of eleven great corporate executive leaders.
In September, Alan Mulally became the new President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company; so we celebrated his leadership in his previous position and his leader of the future promise of the transformation of an American icon, the fifth largest corporation in the United States. Attached is our tribute to Alan, as he accepted the 2006 Leader of Future Award.
His acceptance was from the heart, no notes, just appreciation of where he had been, his vision of the future, mission, the people of the enterprise, the customer, "building vehicles that bring people together." Rarely had anyone heard a more moving, more personal, more inspiring acceptance speech. No notes, he spoke from the heart.
That was half of the celebration. The second presentation was our 21st book, The Leader of the Future 2. Marshall Goldsmith, our co-editor made the eloquent presentation, with six of the authors present in the room.
Col. Thomas Kolditz, author of the book, Leading as Though Your Life Depended Upon It, coming out in Spring 2007, was present along with several West Point faculty members responsible for the award-winning West Point special issue of Leader to Leader journal.
Each guest took home a copy of The Leader of the Future 2 in a nice Leader to Leader Institute book bag. Usually at dinners in New York City, the guests are out of the door at 9:30 pm. This was a 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm celebration. At 10:15 pm, guests were still talking, connecting, meeting new friends. Alan Mulally stayed until we shooed people onto the elevators. Alan's warmth, arriving early to meet every guest, staying until the last elevator left, gave our guests a powerful image of the leader of the future that will brighten the days to come.
Geneva Johnson gave "The Thought for the Evening" that was so profound, so moving that many guests requested a copy. It follows. It is on our website as well. Geneva is a founding board member of the Peter Drucker Foundation, now the Leader to Leader Institute, and famous for her transformation of Family Service America as its President and CEO. Geneva also held a series of local, state and national posts with the United Way Foundation.
I look back at October 24th and realize it can never happen again in just this way: a new Leader of the Future Award, and a book of the same name, celebrated in the warmest, mutually appreciative gathering of great leaders from all three sectors. Sometimes it is magic. It was on October 24th.
Sixteen years ago, spring of 1990 when we were establishing the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, some thought our emphasis on leadership, on principled and ethical leaders, on "leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do" was "the soft stuff." Today we are swamped with requests for our materials for speeches, for collaboration -- coping with volume is a challenge, a good one. Today, there is the realization that if we don't have effective, ethical, principled leaders in all three sectors, the other stuff doesn't matter.
In an overpowering way, it seems that, once again, our time has come. We will respond in 2007 as we did in 1990-2000-2006, and you, our customers and fellow travelers will help us chart the course. To serve is to live.
