5 mins read . by Sandeep Mahagaonkar . January 14, 2017
“People who manifest the qualities of MASTERY – these models of excellence will inspire you and guide you toward the fulfilment of your highest potential.”
-Tony Buzan
I have always had role models. It is through them I have learnt (and continue to learn) many of the positive aspects of work and leadership. These people are not particularly from specific domain or field of work. Some are from today’s day and age and some perhaps lived generations or centuries before us. It has always fascinated me how we get inspired by certain people, particularly the ones whom we may have not met or spoken to, but have discovered them through various sources. This could range from fictional characters in novels to real life heroes of whom we have read, heard or listened to. In today’s age of internet and proliferation of digitized media, interviews, talks and published articles from experts from all walks of life are very easily accessible.
Social media powerfully presents this opportunity to gain visibility to many such experts. If an article or keynote talk by an expert catches our attention, it’s relatively easy to get more information of this person and invariably Google does the job for us. Finding new role models and inspirational figures has never been so easy. I have been fortunate to have worked with many inspirational leaders in my professional career. I have also met and played alongside exceptional leaders in the world of sports.
My observations of leadership traits of every individual that I have had the opportunity to work (and play) with has made me grow very interested in the exploration of the characteristics these people possess. What fascinates me the most is the different leadership traits we could pick from each individual as each of them is interestingly unique in their approach and style. I have not been able to place two leaders side by side and say their leadership styles match. This presents great opportunity to observe, learn and model the positive aspects in our own leadership roles. Imagine creating a fictional character with inspiring leadership characteristics of various leaders and bringing this person to life. What if this person is you?
When I started this website, I created a section named “Inspirations” and wanted to publish the interviews and conversations I had with people who have inspired me. Although that remains the prime goal, I intend to extend this section to also include my writings on inspirational figures. The idea is to write about people who could inspire us through what they have personally or professionally achieved. Someone who could make us realise the value of being exceptional and help bring our dormant potential alive. Certain actions, certain gestures, certain speeches, a certain something that makes us take notice and our subconscious murmurs – this is what I aspire to become.
This first writing on Inspirations is about Steve Lucas.
Steve Lucas currently is the CEO of Marketo – a leading digital marketing software and solutions provider. He also serves on the board of two organizations and prior to Marketo he was the President of Enterprise Platform & Analytics at SAP – a market leader in enterprise software. When Steve decided to leave SAP late last year, I was greatly disappointed. I really saw him as the future CEO of SAP and when I enquired him of this decision to move out of SAP on a Linkedin message, he was graceful to respond “It was just time!”
Although I was with SAP for nearly a decade, I have not had the opportunity to meet Steve in person (he’s on my list of must meet’s for 2017). My inspiration is through the various keynote presentations that he has delivered and most of which are available on YouTube and SAP TechEd sites (links are provided at the end of this article).
The first video that I saw of him was shared on Linkedin in which he talked about SAP HANA Platform. It was a short video with a strong message – powerful enough to draw attention and take serious notice. As I explored more of his presentations, certain aspects became very clear. Here was a man who genuinely believes in what he does. Here was a man who could tell us what it means to be a leader – with Passion mixed with incredible understanding of the subject; Energy that could make the audience and teams come alive; Humor eloquently accommodated in talks that are generally presented with grave seriousness; Authenticity to embody a style that resonates his core-beliefs and enthusiasm; and the Courage to talk his mind.
What was really compelling to know about Steve was that he is a type 1 Diabetic, which is a rare form of Diabetes – a condition he developed nearly 20 years ago. In one of his presentations he mentions of his medical condition and tells the audience that he initially practised injecting insulin on oranges before he started injecting himself. He takes as many as 3000-4000 shots of insulin each year to treat his medical condition. This both appalled and inspired me. Looking at Steve you cannot say he could have any such medical condition as he looks supremely fit. His ability to challenge a life’s challenge and to have maintained supremacy over it is an exceptional trait – especially when it is so easy to give in, question why-me and play a sub-par game and get dominated.
I have personally drawn a lot of inspiration from Steve. I have felt energised watching his keynotes and other presentations. I am sure he has inspired many other people and would surely continue to do so. If you want an adrenaline rush either watch Usain Bolt run or watch Steve Lucas speak.
Couple of my favourite talks:
Steve Lucas at Red Hat Summit 2015
Steve Lucas at SAP TechEd: Executive Keynote
And this interview which I love to the core (this one is meant to be light hearted):
Between Two Schnitzels feat. SAP’s Steve Lucas
