13 Disruptive Leadership Tips from Albert Einstein
Let me begin by saying that Albert Einstein was far more than a theoretical physicist and Disruptive Leaders don’t spend their lives creating chaos for those around them.
As a philosopher and humanist, Einstein’s insights about life and the world we live in are both simple and profound, are not only in harmony with his Theory of Relativity, but actually reflect the model for what Disruptive Leadership is all about, which is creating the opportunity and momentum to break the status quo and change lives for the better.
Let’s look at some of that:
- “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” The role of a leader is to create leaders. Leadership in a business sense is about changing the dynamic to empower growth for everyone you serve, employees, customers and the community. It’s not lip-service, it’s about taking actions that impact lives. It’s not about reacting to changes in your environment, but about innovating and creating change from within that impacts the world around you.
- “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Nothing changes if you don’t change the status quo.
- “I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.” Live for today! Yesterday’s gone. Today’s tomorrow waiting to happen, so focus on what you can do today and you’ll benefit from it tomorrow.
- “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” Keep a growth mindset. Every day brings another opportunity to learn something new.
- “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Never give up. Perseverance pays. You know what they say – third time is a charm (or the fifth or the tenth).
- “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.” You can read and theorize as much as you want; but after a while you have to stop spinning your wheels and procrastinating. You need to do it. Experience is always the best teacher.
- “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” You need to know what you’re dealing with, and understand the implications of your actions before you can master the playing field.
- “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it well enough.” Disruptive leaders look at simple solutions and don’t permit themselves to get bogged down in over-complicated solutions that serve to undermine their effectiveness.
- “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” Change your perception. Disruptive leaders reframe and challenge existing views and find gold.
- “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Get over it and move on.
- “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” Stay curious about everything. Learn and explore.
- “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” I know you know the facts, but what if…..There’s always a ‘what if,’ and that can make all the difference. Never stop questioning.
- “Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible.” My favorite. My friends, there is no greater satisfaction that accomplishing what others have said could not be done.
When all is said and done, everything’s relative. If two people set out on the same path and the same time and at the same speed, you would expect their perceptions to be equal. Should one of them pull ahead or round a bend, everything changes. Perceptions change. Momentum is gained.
Go after change. Challenge the status quo. Change is good, but it comes slowly. Only after you build momentum and it peaks, will it create impact. When it does, you’re free to take on your next challenge. Shine on.