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The older one gets, the more aware we become of how paradox is everywhere. Success in business comes from letting go rather than controlling.
The best leaders are those whose influence is forgotten when a decision goes right. The most memorable interviews are usually those where you cannot recall who conducted them.
I’ve got a feeling we may witness a similar paradox at the Rugby World Cup. The Springbok team which delivered the proud jersey’s biggest humiliation when losing to minnows Japan, may well become one of the greatest to ever pull on the green jumper. Those 7/1 odds on the Boks lifting the cup are terribly attractive.
There is a new intensity, commitment and pressure in the way Heyneke Meyer‘s charges have been going about their business. They are hitting the right pitch at the perfect time. Starting with that exceptional Villa Park where it was such a privilege to see them blow Samoa away.
That laser-like focus and determination is a characteristic shared by the top team at AB Inbev which this week succeeded, at the sixth attempt, to acquire SABMiller. With the tight-fisted new team running the show, the deal probably means the end of SAB’s Springbok sponsorship.
A long-term commitment cancelled because of changed financial priorities at the franchise’s biggest moment. Another in life’s endless paradoxes.
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