Julia Middleton's thoughts on leadership » society http://juliamiddleton.net Julia Middleton, the CEO of Common Purpose shares some of her thoughts on leadership. Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:56:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Does everyone leave a legacy of knowledge? http://juliamiddleton.net/2011/01/legacy-of-knowledge/ http://juliamiddleton.net/2011/01/legacy-of-knowledge/#comments Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:52:51 +0000 Julia http://juliamiddleton.net/?p=275 I recently met a very senior, very analytical and very inspiring leader from China. We were talking about the need to pass on knowledge in societies. He told me that this was a ridiculous idea in China. “No one passes on knowledge,” he said, “knowledge is what you hold on to.” After all why would you help your competitor? So that he could beat you? He said you may pass your knowledge to your son – certainly not your daughter – but even then you would not hand on all of it, you would keep some back in case the son turns on you. He said that this is why some knowledge has been lost in China.

]]> http://juliamiddleton.net/2011/01/legacy-of-knowledge/feed/ 1 Enterprise or self interest? http://juliamiddleton.net/2009/05/enterprise-or-self-interest/ http://juliamiddleton.net/2009/05/enterprise-or-self-interest/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 10:00:48 +0000 Julia http://cpjuliamiddleton.wordpress.com/?p=24 I had a difficult conversation with an investment banker friend yesterday. He expressed relief that things were starting to look better, and to indicate that the basic banking model was not totally flawed. I asked him what kind of people would be needed at the top in the future. Even though he is a good friend, and knows that I am far from anti-banks, I could hear him curdle. He said that the people at the top of enterprises would always be motivated primarily by making money, and that there was nothing wrong with this.

There is nothing wrong with being motivated by money (quite the opposite), but it’s the “primarily” word that’s the problem for me – I think it belittles enterprise. I have always understood that the role of enterprise is to create the wealth, deliver the goods and provide the services that society needs. This is a fine objective for enterprise, one that puts it at the heart of society. Surely there is a difference between enterprise and self interest?

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