274: John Kay. Billie Jean King. John Milton.
Good morning, dear friends
Summer has eventually arrived on Africa’s southern tip (although can Cape Town’s wind take a breath? Pretty please).
One of my favourite distilleries, Pienaar and Son, has just released their brilliant South African spin on Yuzushu and Umeshu. It’s a limited release and definitely worth getting a bottle or three.
The John Platter Wine Guide has released its 2025 ratings, and I was happy to see the Staanspoor Syrah in the mix. Thanks to the ever-fabulous Wine Cellar I discovered their maiden vintage last year. It is delicious (which is as sophisticated as my wine language gets).
Whilst you’re wine shopping, you may also want to bank some of Natasha Jacka’s Alinea. She’s an exciting young winemaker who keeps finding ways to be even more excellent.
As part of my ongoing quest to effectively share my reading and learning, I’m experimenting with a social-media-friendly ‘book review’ format – Why You Should Read It, Six Quotes Worth Keeping, Five Pointed Provocations, Four Moves to Make.
I’ve had some good feedback already, but I’d appreciate your input. Please let me know what you think, and, if it is useful, please share it with colleagues.
In this week’s letter:
- John Kay provokes us to contemplate what it means to lead.
- Billie Jean King sharpens our sense of what failure isn’t; and
- John Milton reminds us that our thoughts create our heaven, or our hell.
If you enjoy it, please share it.
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/strategy
Strategy is short and sharp and sharp this week.
This provocation is from Economic Professor and all-round guru of the modern economy, John Kay’s The Corporation in the 21st Century: Why (almost) everything we are told about business is wrong:
“An orchestra has a conductor, and a sports team has both a captain and a coach. The players do not, to any large degree, do things because they are the things the conductor, captain or coach has told them to do. The violinist follows the score; the footballer uses his talent and experience to move into position, to pass or to shoot. The music and the game would continue even if the conductor dropped his baton and the coach fell asleep. The great conductor, captain or coach will be a source of inspiration and imagination to his colleagues. But if these leaders understand their responsibilities, they never assume the role of Big Boss or The Man Who Knows.”
Too often, our culture tells us that leading is commanding, Kay reminds us that the best leaders orchestrate, navigate, inspire imagination and coach.
If leading like a conductor appeals to you, take 20 minutes to watch Itay Talgam’s Lead Like The Great Conductors. It is guaranteed to make you smile.
If you prefer to lead like a coach, read about Gregg Popovich’s famed team dinners here.
(You can read more from Kay here).
//self
Two weeks ago, we quoted one of the world’s youngest chess masters, Tanitoluwa Adewumi, on failure’s lessons.
This week, tennis legend Billie Jean King reinforces the point, “For me, losing a tennis match isn’t failure. It’s research.”
Failure is painful. The pain is data, an important reminder that we want to and can do better. Being curious about how to improve is the first step. Failure in the pursuit of excellence is both inevitable and invaluable.
///soul
David Brooks’ How to Know a Person contains this reminder: “People don’t see the world with their eyes; they see it with their entire life.”
Or as the poet, John Milton, wrote, “The mind is its own place and in itself / Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”
When someone doesn’t see it as we do, it is because they don’t. They’re in their life, in their universe, with their history, as are you. To orchestrate, we must understand. To understand, listen.
(You can read more of David Brooks here).
Best wishes
Karl
PS: You can learn about my executive coaching practice [here] and find me on LinkedIn. If you’re interested in creating space to strengthen your leadership team’s strategic, communication and reflective powers, I facilitate curated leadership journeys. The details are [here]. Please do share this letter with friends. They can subscribe [here].