Nelson- a man who history will remember as having sacrificed his life for the fight against Apartheid. This book succinctly presents lessons that encompass the totality of Nelson. As a man with contradictions, Nelson continued to hold dear his single goal; To promote the democratic process, and heal the wounds of South Africans. He is an epitome of what a great leader should be and no surprise that he studied and practiced principles from great leaders before him such as Abraham Lincoln. The lessons Richards shares are not heresay but are lessons he learnt first hand from his interaction with Nelson.
The 15 Lessons
- Courage is not the absence of fear
None of us is born courageous; it’s all in how we react to different situations
Courage is not the absence of FEAR but learning to overcome it. You can pretend to be BRAVE. FEARLESSNESS is STUPIDITY. COURAGE is not letting the fear defeat you.
PRETEND to be BRAVE and you not only become brave, you are BRAVE
- Be measured
CONTROL is the measure of a leader.
Most of the mistake Nelson made in life came through acting hastily rather than too slowly. Don’t hurry, he would say; THINK, ANALYZE, then ACT.
- Lead from the front
Sometimes leading from the front is admitting you have been wrong
- Lead from the back
- Look the part
Mandela is a man of incredible disciple
Like Lincoln, who took every opportunity to have his picture taken, Mandela is aware that images have a tremendous power to shape how we are perceived
To UNDERSTAND all is to FORGIVE all.
- Have a core principle
When your conditions change, you must change your strategy and your mind. That’s not indecisiveness, that’s pragmatism
- See the good in others
Religious beliefs were imposed on people in the same way that apartheid was.
- Know your enemy
Don’t address their BRAINS, address their HEARTS
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
When you have won over your enemy, never GLOAT. The time of your greatest triumph is the time when you should be most merciful. Do not humiliate them under any circumstances. Let them, in fact, save face. And then, Mandela said, you will have made your enemy your friend
- Keep your rivals close
By taking a rival under his wings, he would make him at least think twice about it. And then, at least, he would be close enough to see it coming.
- Know when to say NO
If you delay or avoid saying NO because it is unpleasant, better to do it right away and clearly. You will avoid a heap of trouble in the long run.
- It’s a long game
We should not let an illusion of urgency force us to make decisions before we are ready.
It’s not the velocity of one’s decision but the direction of it. RAPIDITY is not what make some BOLD. In fact, taking the long view often requires being willing to change long cherished or deeply held ideas.
Miracles, if they existed, were man-made, it was hardwork and discipline that helped you push things in your own direction. You should not rely on luck or divine intervention
Does history make the man or does the man make history?
Count no man happy until you know his end
- Love makes the difference
- Quitting is leading too
- It’s always both
He understands that CONSISTENCY for it’s own sake is a false virtue, and that inconsistency is not automatically a flaw. He knows that humans are complex creatures and that people have a myriad of motives
- Find your own garden
Each of us needs something from the world that gives us pleasure and satisfaction, a place apart
Be the change that you seek
There is no destiny that shapes our end; we shape it ourselves
Mandela inspires TRUST. Trust is a foundation for leadership. We trust that a leader is honest, able and has a vision of where to go