homebusiness Newsentrepreneurship business NewsAmid Sam Altman’s dramatic ouster and return to OpenAI, Robin Sharma lists the biggest mistakes leaders make
Amid Sam Altman’s dramatic ouster and return to OpenAI, Robin Sharma lists the biggest mistakes leaders make
In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari fame author Robin Sharman says titans are complex people but points out that there's a fine line between genius and madness.
Less than a week after his termination on November 17, Sam Altman is all set to resume as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at OpenAI, ensuring he doesn't miss another weekend without a job. Why was he fired? Nobody really knows for sure yet but the board that “didn’t have confidence in his ability” hasn’t been able to stay put entirely. Three new board members have replaced the previous leadership that ousted Altman.
Altman’s ouster and return came as the AI community continued to disagree over how swiftly to develop tools capable of generating a broad range of images, software code and blocks of text quickly, with minimal prompting. Some have argued that, left unchecked, the technology poses threats to users, while others say that a slowdown would be irresponsible and could put people at risk.
Seems complex? The complex is what it is, bestselling author Robin Sharma said when asked about his perception of the OpenAI battle in Silicon Valley and the power dynamics at play.
In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari fame author said, that titans, not specific ones, but in general, are complex people. “There is ego, competition and a sense of mission. They are just complicated people. It's like, I love great art. And the great artists are just complicated people, great geniuses,” he said.
Sharma was quick to point out that there's a fine line between genius and madness. So, to get to the pinnacle, whether it's business, arts, athletics, or humanities, the aspirants become complex, insecure, brave, and creative. They're just complicated people, he said.
The life coach and motivational speaker explained that the role of leaders is to build a great culture and to grow more leaders, have a great mission to make the world better through the products and services of their company and help people get the job done.
But leaders make mistakes too. Over 25 years, Sharma has mentored countless billionaires, business titans, and professional sports personas that have led them to embrace a philosophy of leadership that not only prioritises professional success but also personal fulfilment and well-being.
When asked what are some of the biggest mistakes he has seen leaders make, he said there are quite a few.
- Fall in love with success
- Listen to frontline people
- Stop doing what makes them the champion
“You fall in love with your success. You start talking in monologues. You start listening to your frontline people. And, because you think you're the dominant brand in the industry, you fall into the trap. Even a lot of athletes do, they think they’re a champion, they’ll always be a champion. So you stop doing the things that made you a champion. And it's a very quick descent into obsolescence,” he said.
Also Read: A message from the best selling author Robin Sharma for Rohit Sharma and the Indian cricket team
Sharma quoted the founder of co-founder Intel Andrew Grove who said only the paranoid survive. The author thinks people should be “cheerfully paranoid.” In other words, be an optimist and be cheerful, but don't take your eye off the fact that if you lose your hunger, there's a chance you're gonna get knocked out of the game, he said.
He believes the key to mastery is preparation. "Being granular, being over prepared is a key skill for leadership."
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