By John Baldoni
"It's okay if other people think you're God, but you're in trouble if you start believing it."
David Cornwell, a sports attorney, recalled that quote as one uttered by his father, a surgeon. While Cornwell was speaking on Larry King Live about Tiger Woods' foibles, the quote has relevance to anyone in a leadership position, not just doctors and big name athletes.
Sure, leaders have to believe in themselves — otherwise no one else will. Their conviction in their own abilities has to be strong as well as resilient, but such self-assurance cannot be allowed to become arrogance. So often when we see business leaders making poor decisions it seems as if their ego is speaking louder than their voice of reason.
And yet we need to remember that, while it's easy to throw stones at people and power, and lampoon their outsized egos when they stumble, so often that outsize ego is the result of the relentless fawning of others. You do not rise to power without followers, but if that followership is more sycophantic than supportive, the leader can lose his bearings.
Keeping your ego in check is an exercise in humility, with the emphasis on the word exercise, so here are a few tips:
Accept praise, but never believe it totally. Ancient Romans had a tradition of welcoming home victorious military commanders with a state-sponsored procession that included the commander riding in his chariot. Legend has it that a slave standing next to him would hold a golden laurel above his head and whisper into his ear, "Remember you are mortal." True or not, it is a good lesson for anyone who achieves success to remind himself that success is earned, not bestowed. You need to keep earning it.
Listen to your best friend. While the word "friendship" may have become diluted in this era of social media mouse-clicking, the relationship between people who know and respect each other remains essential. Such friends (be they spouses or colleagues) are not afraid to give each other the straight dope. Senior leaders need the friendship of one or two close associates whom they trust above others to tell them the truth. Treasure those friendships.
Reflect on your shortcomings. Taking time out to gain perspective on what you are doing is valuable. In the Catholic tradition, penitents are taught to go through an examination of conscience, reflecting on their transgressions. A frank look at what you have done wrong, as it applies to decisions made, behaviors exerted, and treatment of others is vital to a leader keeping his head on straight. Too much dwelling on the negative is not good, but a frank assessment of shortcomings is advised.
Ego affirms a leader's ability to take charge. But checking the ego demonstrates a leader's ability to take charge of himself. That is critical to developing strong organizations which can achieve sustainable results.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Three Ways to Keep Your Ego in Check
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Movies that must be watched
Given below is a list of movies that are highlighted as worth watching. It was collected over time from Satish Narayanan, Falgunan & Anthony Ong (SVBers)
From: Anthony Ong
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 11:16 AM
To: Falgunan Meenangode; Satish Narayanan; Ajay Krishnan
Subject: RE: Netflix club.
Falgunan, pretty good list…Always good to see “Back to the Future” as part of the list…One of my all time favs…. Here is David Huang and my list…
1) The Cooler – William H Macy (a dude so pathologically unlucky he’s hired by casinos)
2) Clockwork Orange – Andy McDowell (disturbing like a car crash – you know you shouldn’t watch, but can’t help it)
3) Dirty Pretty Things – Audrey Tatou (cool movie about body parts sold on the black market)
4) It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world – ensemble (classic comedy; they did a remake called “Rat Race” that was pretty good too)
5) The Visitor – Richard Jenkins (makes you wonder about the title… who really is “the Visitor”?)
6) Once Upon a Time in America – Al Pacino/James Woods (Sergio Leone’s last film. Long, but pretty good)
7) Das Boot –Jurgen Pronchnow (makes you feel like you’ve been cooped up in a U-boat )
8) La Femme Nikita – Anne Parillaud (I think Brigette Fonda did a horrible American remake… the original’s the best even though Parillaud’s not my definition of classically ‘hot’)
9) Europa Europa – Marco Hofschneider & Julie Delpy (based off real life events in Nazi Germany)
10) Yojimbo – Toshiro Mifune (Clint Eastwood westerns are a total rip off of Mifune’s flicks)
11) Good Will Hunting – Matt Damon/Ben Affleck (the film that put these two guys on the map)
12) Blood Diamond – Leonardo DiCaprio (a bit derivative in how it depicts the diamond trade, but performances from Djimon Hansou are touching)
13) Boyz ‘N The Hood – Cuba Gooding Jr (John Singleton’s seminal flick. If you’re going to watch a movie of this genre, this should be it)
14) Amelie –Audrey Tatou (cute/girly flick that make Paris look like the most wondrous city in the world. A nice light hearted break…. Good to watch with the wife)
15) Whale Rider – Keisha Castle Hughes (girl empowering movie, but still good… nice representation of Maori culture)
16) Deliverance – Burt Reynolds (so disturbingly good… makes you unable to listen to “Dueling Banjos” without getting the shivers)
17) The Bank Job – Jason Statham (cool British flick about a bank robbery – based on an actual event)
18) Curse of the Golden Flower – Chow Yun Fat/Gong Li (mix between martial arts and epic drama)
19) The Pursuit of Happyness – Will Smith (will never look at a BART bathroom the same again)
20) Sophie’s Choice – Meryl Streep (Ich kann nicht wahlen!)
21) The Last King of Scotland – Forest Whitaker (contrary to the title, nothing to do with Scotland – Whitaker does a great job portraying Idi Amin)
22) Joy Luck Club –Ming Na Wen (total chick flick about Chinese American women, but it’s one of the few Amy Tan titles that didn’t make me gag… worth watching the genre once – great watching with women – make sure to get a hanky ready for her cuz she’s gonna bawl)
23) Magnolia – Tom Cruise (after watching such a schmaltzy flick, just watch this movie for Tom Cruise’s character(total testosterone overdrive) – everyone else you can skip)
24) The Others – Nicole Kidman (thriller/horror film set post World War II)
25) Final Destination – ensemble (thriller/horror – You can’t cheat death – this first of the series was pretty good. The sequels were cheap knock offs)
From: Anthony Ong
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 12:27 PM
To: David Huang
Subject: FW: Plz give me a movie name
- Glory-starring Denzel Washington
- No Country for Old men-starring Josh Brolin/Tommy Lee Jones
- There will be blood-Starring Daniel Day Lewis
- Untouchables-Starring Robert Deniro
- Infernal Affairs-Starring Andy Lau
- Saving Private Ryan-Starring Tom Hanks
- The Passion of the Christ-Starring Tom Caveizel
- Gladiator-Starring Russ Crowe
- Mrs. Doubtfire-Starring Robin Williams
- Dead Poet’s Society-Starring Robin Williams
- Jaws-Starring Roy Schieder
- Seven-Starring Brad Pitt
- Schindler’s List-Starring Liam Neeson
- Hero-Starring Jet Li
- Silence of the Lambs-Jodie Foster
- Unbreakable-Bruce Willis
- Memento-Carrie Anne Moss
- The Shining-Jack Nicholson
- Amadeus-Tom Hulce
- Full Metal Jacket-Matt Modine
- The Thing-Kurt Russell
- Letters from Iwo Jima-Ken Watanabe
- Heat-Al pacino
- Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 version, not the remake)
- Road Warrior-Mel Gibson
- The Fly (not the original, the remake)-starring Geena Davis
- Apocalypse Now-Starring Martin Sheen
- Fargo-Starring Frances McDormand
From: Falgunan Meenangode
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 11:12 AM
To: Satish Narayanan; Ajay Krishnan; Anthony Ong
Subject: Netflix club.
Guys,
These are some of the movies I liked so far. Suggest yours so that I can add to my list J
Thanks,
Falgunan.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Revolutionary Road
Doubt
Vertigo
The Reader
Casino
Iron Man
Downfall
The Notebook
The Bucket List
Blood Diamond
In Cold Blood
Misery
Back to the Future
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Unforgiven
Taxi Driver
Chinatown
Kung Fu Panda
Heat: Special Edition
Psycho
Ben-Hur: Collector's Edition
GoodFellas: Special Edition
Crash
We Own the Night
Jaws
The Green Mile
The Godfather
Pulp Fiction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Visitor
No Country for Old Men
Pride and Glory
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