Give, to one who doesn't seek
'There is one more duty...that I ask of you before you go home.
What would you have me do, Caesar?
I want you to become the protector of Rome after I die. I will empower you to one end alone---to give power back to the people of Rome...and end the corruption that has crippled it. Will you accept this great honor that I have offered you?
With all my heart, no.
Maximus...that is why it must be you.
But surely a prefect, a senator...somebody who knows the city, who understands her politics.
But you have not been corrupted by her politics.
And Commodus?
Commodus is not a moral man. You have known that since you were young. Commodus cannot rule. He must not rule.'
That's Caesar asking Maximus to shoulder the responsibility of giving Rome back to its people, in the movie, 'Gladiator'. The exchange is a brilliant demonstration of why someone who doesn't seek power should be the one entrusted with it. Its the very lack of lust for power that made Maximus, in the eyes of Ceaser, the one to be entrusted with it.
In the business world too, when it comes to a single minded focus on consumers, brands must be entrusted with people who are dogged in their pursuit of creating value for consumers. The stakes that they have close to their heart will be the brand's, not theirs. Which means they will do whatever needed, to make the brand matter to its consumers.
Consumers alone.
In organisational terms, that would mean acquiring resources and building competencies that translate into consumer value. Everything else is non-value add. Now in no way am I suggesting that this be an activity bereft of emotion. I am only saying, this be an activity that's led by someone who isn't on a trip of self-satisfaction. That it be someone who's focused instead, on Customer satisfaction. Because the latter's what keeps businesses and brands, alive and kicking.
What would you have me do, Caesar?
I want you to become the protector of Rome after I die. I will empower you to one end alone---to give power back to the people of Rome...and end the corruption that has crippled it. Will you accept this great honor that I have offered you?
With all my heart, no.
Maximus...that is why it must be you.
But surely a prefect, a senator...somebody who knows the city, who understands her politics.
But you have not been corrupted by her politics.
And Commodus?
Commodus is not a moral man. You have known that since you were young. Commodus cannot rule. He must not rule.'
That's Caesar asking Maximus to shoulder the responsibility of giving Rome back to its people, in the movie, 'Gladiator'. The exchange is a brilliant demonstration of why someone who doesn't seek power should be the one entrusted with it. Its the very lack of lust for power that made Maximus, in the eyes of Ceaser, the one to be entrusted with it.
In the business world too, when it comes to a single minded focus on consumers, brands must be entrusted with people who are dogged in their pursuit of creating value for consumers. The stakes that they have close to their heart will be the brand's, not theirs. Which means they will do whatever needed, to make the brand matter to its consumers.
Consumers alone.
In organisational terms, that would mean acquiring resources and building competencies that translate into consumer value. Everything else is non-value add. Now in no way am I suggesting that this be an activity bereft of emotion. I am only saying, this be an activity that's led by someone who isn't on a trip of self-satisfaction. That it be someone who's focused instead, on Customer satisfaction. Because the latter's what keeps businesses and brands, alive and kicking.
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