4
Knowing the World
I took a good deal o’ pains with his education, sir; let
him run the streets when he was very young, and shift
for his-self. It’s the only way to make a boy sharp, sir.
—Charles Dickens
Pickwick PapersOne of the problems with standard leadership courses is that
they focus exclusively on skills and produce managers rather
than leaders, when they produce anything at all. Managerial
skills can, of course, be taught. And they are useful skills for
leaders to have. The ingredients of leadership cannot be
taught, however. They must be learned. As then CalFed CEO
Robert Dockson put it, “The things that matter can’t be taught
in a formal classroom setting. Walter Wriston at Citicorp and
A. P. Giannini at the Bank of America weren’t technicians.
They were men of vision. They knew what they wanted to do
and where they wanted to take their companies.” Since by defi-
nition leaders are unique, what they learn and how they use it
to shape the future is unique, too.