64 Shots by Kevin Roberts

Author:Kevin Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: powerHouse Books
Published: 2016-04-25T04:00:00+00:00

A leader should radiate energy for people to plug into, to rev up on, and to go to work with.

“Leaders are like the wind. You don’t see the wind but you can see all around you what the effect of it is,” said George Kohlrieser, leadership expert, psychologist, and veteran hostage negotiator.

The leader turns negative energy into positive energy. Positivity generates the winning behaviors in any organization. Creativity is the leader’s priority, and ideas require the spark of energy. They require vitality, vim, and oomph.

There are different ways to spark energy. Theater is helpful because it creates momentum and can tip the scales. When I was CEO of Pepsi-Cola Canada in the late 1980s, we had been second to Coke for an eon. I reckoned if we could take our guys over the edge, we could get leadership. We did.

To celebrate what felt like a once-in-a-lifetime milestone, I organized a presentation in Toronto for our bottlers, retail partners, media, and civic leaders. The context of the event was free trade. The Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney, was there. I endorsed the idea of competition, and its benefits for Canada. I talked about how Pepsi in Canada was a company driven by local entrepreneurs, versus Coke being owned by the U.S. company. Then the theater curtains opened. Out trundled a big Coca-Cola vending machine. I put on safety goggles, picked up a machine gun, and blew it to pieces.

Everyone hit the floor, ducked for cover. The noise was shattering, the damage even more so. But it was theatrics all the way, a totally safe operation. I had enlisted the co-operation of the Canadian Mounties to supervise, we used blanks, and the machine was rigged. The media went nuts. The line was: “Here’s Pepsi—going past Coke.” My sales guys fielded “that crazy guy” talking point on every call. It was an instant success. Shock and awe jolted the team over the edge. It is vital to turn up with zip, zap, and zig. Make a show of it.

Energy use must be focused, because leadership is pressured, times are fast, and big-city living is draining. Take time for family and friends; this is where true happiness comes from. Take time for fun and celebration. Take time for rest and quiet. Get away to the mountains, bush, desert, and beach. I have a sanctuary in Grasmere, a sleepy village in the Lake District in England. The poet William Wordsworth lived in Grasmere for 14 years and declared the Vale “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found.”

I escape to the desert in Arizona; I love the Wild West. And to a bush haven in Auckland, New Zealand, truly out on the edge. Escape to wild places in order to center, reflect, regroup, and recharge your creative energies. Silence can break down the barriers to creativity. The sessions that I run for leaders are in faraway retreats.

Good energy gets you in the zone, juicing creativity. The zone demands physical, mental, and spiritual health. Exercise well, sleep well, eat well, feel well, and give well—and you will lead.

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