Legacy

“Leaders are born, not raised” – Piffle! This is like saying Olympic athletes are born into the world and guaranteed to win gold. Being a good leader means learning from others. It’s for this reason that I took our CSO’s recommendation to read Legacy by James Kerr.

What a belter it was. Most people know how fearsome the All Blacks are. But few people know the secret behind their success. Did you know that the All Blacks have won 75% of all their games in the last 100 years? The highest win ratio of all time in any sport. Their secret? A mantra – “Better People Make Better All Blacks”.

James Kerr, spent five weeks with the All Blacks speaking to players and coaching staff to uncover the 15 lessons business leaders can learn from. Here’s a taster.

“Sweep the sheds” - After every match, the All Blacks will stay behind and tidy-up after themselves. A lesson to any of us, that no matter who you are, no job is ever below you.

“No D*ckheads” – To be an All Black, you are selected on your talent AND your character. No one individual can be bigger than your team. If your team has talent but aren’t headed in the same direction, you can’t win.

“Be a good ancestor”. All Blacks build a strong legacy for future players. They say “leave the jersey in a better place than you found it”. Take stewardship of your business, this is your mark on the legacy you’ll leave behind.

Legacy offers genuine practical advice for anyone working in any business at any level. Being a Planner by trade, these lessons in leadership are not taught, they’re learned and we’d all do well to learn from the All Blacks.