What leadership lessons may we learn from the great English playwright and poet?
In her article, published in a monthly series focusing on business and leadership lessons from prominent figures in history, Laurie Kulikowski describes the inspirational process that changed the way people looked at literature.
Here are some of the key points:
- be not afraid of greatness: “some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them” (Twelfth Night)
- maximise exposure: take an active role in your local community and pitch your business story to local media;
- learn from failure: no one wants to befriend failure, but if we do, we certainly don’t forget its visit anytime soon!
- get to know your employees, as King Henry V, disguised as a commoner, wandering among his troops to understand their readiness and their morale.
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Thanks for the article, Tommaso. I love Shakespeare and I’ve always known that there is much to learn from his Works. There’s so much interesting literature that can teach us much about life in general but, in Shakespeare, I’ve always found such a wealth of information that I hardly look elsewhere for inspiration.
Here are a few more Shakespeare quotes that I love and have personally adopted and applied to my life:
– To be, or not to be: that is the question” ~ Hamlet
Even though this is an introspective soliloquy it has always represented for me the thought process that is required before making important decisions. I would only add that one should not over think things too much…delay in action can be disastrous. On the other hand, in some cases, not acting can be the better solution as Shakespeare has Falstaff say in King Henry IV:
“The better part of valour is discretion”
– “Though this be madness, yet there is method in ‘t.” ~ Hamlet
Simply, always try to think outside the box…or better still, forget the box is there and let your imagination run riot.
– “If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” ~ The Merchant of Venice
This one teaches us to respect each other. It is very easy to offend or hurt someone’s feeling and much harder to make amends. Also, karma ensures that what you sow you reap so treat others as you want to be treated.
I could go on and on but I think everyone can understand how educational [and still valid] these Great Works can be.
Finally, some food for thought…could Shakespeare have had Italian origins?? Google for the mystery and decide for yourself. 😉
Thanks Enzo! There’s so much we could learn from the great Guglielmo ScrollaLanza..
Si, esatto!! Grazie, Thomas Jordan 😉