80 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
response? ‘‘Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy
them, but will soon give them deliverance.’’ (2 Chron. 12: 6–7)
Perhaps the most humble political leader of the twentieth century
was Mahatma Gandhi. Like Moses, he totally subordinated his ego and
comfort needs to his overriding mission, the deliverance of his people
from bondage. Gandhi always dressed simply, lived frugally, and es-
chewed the emblems of power and prestige.
Gandhi’s humility transcended the large political and social forces
that he was trying to harness for the liberation of his people; it extended
to the personal. On one occasion, a mother brought her child to ‘‘the
great Mahatma.’’ ‘‘He insists on eating candy, which is bad for him,’’
she complained. Surely the great man could influence her son to stop.
Amazingly, Gandhi sent her away and asked her to come back in a
month. When she returned, he immediately instructed the son to stop
eating candy.
‘‘And why could you not tell my son this when we came to see you
a month ago?’’ asked the woman. ‘‘Because I myself had not stopped
eating candy at that time,’’ answered the great statesman. That’s the
kind of humility that can move one person or a million.
Chairman Roger Sant and CEO Dennis Bakke of AES are two lead-
ers who readily forgive the honest mistakes of their employees. Why do
they have such a tolerant attitude? ‘‘Maybe because of the humility that
says, ‘We’ve been on the front lines and made big decisions and big
mistakes... On our first two or three projects, [we] really screwed up
...Weshould have been hung out to dry.’ ’’
Sant and Bakke’s first power plant lost $20 million per year for six
years. They bought an oil field that lost another $20 million. They
bought prototype turbines that cracked.
‘‘That whole investment lost dollars for years, until people at the
plant figured out how to fix it. Now it’s doing very well, very little
thanks to us,’’ note these top executives who have learned humility
from difficult experience. ‘‘The good news about owning up to your
mistakes right away is that it is so much easier to move quickly and find
a creative solution. You don’t sit around wasting time trying to figure
out whom to blame.’’^15