World Shapers!

 My heroes in life are many.  I admire and have read a great deal of the writings and speeches of Winston Churchill.  I am particularly enthralled by people who have caused great change, often without the power of title, elected office or wealth—people like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Yunus.  I admire sports figures like Michael Jordan and Lance Armstrong for their talent, humility and sportsmanship.

I met Muhammad Yunus last spring when he spoke at Vanderbilt.  He struck me as a humble man with a strong dislike for being told what he couldn’t do.  Winner of the Nobel prize, he was led to do what he thought right—making personal loans to villagers near where he worked and taught.  He sought no personal gain or publicity.  What began as a sense of empathy for those around led him to create Grameen Bank, a $4.7 billion institution employing over 11,500 people and specializing in “micro-loans” to men and women in developing countries.

I am often asked who is leading in the business world now?  Who are the people who will set the standards for tomorrow, people who are changing the world around them? Many are among us today.

Owen will be recognizing members of our community as World Shapers in our upcoming annual report as well as in our various brochures and online marketing activities.  Some are students, some are faculty, many are recent graduates; others are older alums, more established in their careers.  I admire all of these individuals—and thousands of others who are part of our community—for their vision, their unwillingness to accept the status quo, their perseverance in shaping their worlds in ways that meet personal, professional and societal goals. (If you want to read a few of these stories for yourself, visit www.owenworldshapers.com)

Life’s lesson is that it is never too early or too late to lead.  Change is never easy but those who do it well make it look easy.