The DNA of Achievement

Like all complex skills, leadership is multifaceted, nuanced and, above all, perishable if not actively engaged and consciously developed. It is also a continuum: At one end, leadership is barely distinguishable from management; at the other end, it is independent, creative, decisive and risk-tolerant. At its optimum, it provides the foundation, vision, and yes, the courage, that evolves people and organizations to a place of true differentiation, and thus, competitive advantage.

t just four years old, he witnessed a gang murder in the street while he was playing in the front yard with his mom. The gang knew what he had seen, and for that they sentenced the little boy and his mother to death. The death threat was delivered the next day: A loaded gun pressed against the mother’s temple, warning they had three days to leave town. They left the next day, leaving behind her husband and her other children, her home and her belongings.

Now the boy sits in front of me, in prison. He wipes his nose and occasionally coughs. He buries his head in his mom’s chest and breaks down in tears as she recounts their story.

It’s hard to hear the little boy’s mother over the coughing and crying of 60 other children and their mothers in the crowded waiting room, which also serves as my office at the Dilley Family Detention Center. This mother and son are among thousands of Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States, and just one of 30 families I will meet during my week in September 2018 as a volunteer attorney at this family prison in Dilley, Texas. I am overwhelmed. How did I get here?

ou know the feeling when you find some money in the pocket of an old pair of jeans?

No matter the denomination — $1 or $20, the discovered bills in your hand leave you feeling like you found a prize, a gift, some treasure.

That’s also how I feel when I get a hug or a high 5 from a passerby, and since 2001, I’ve traveled the globe amassing a fortune of this treasure.

Why? Because you live in the same world that I do, a world where the headlines about this shooting and that massacre hurt to read, but not as much as they used to because so many occurrences have desensitized and disconnected us from each other. I want to initiate change.

had always worked at places with very black and white structures and management: You executed your duties, you reported to those above you, you wore one hat, and you never saw the big picture or how your work contributed. It was work, and there was no true passion.

People are so curious about what I do and, ultimately, my journey. How on earth did I land myself in the position of running an entire region for a marine construction company, overseeing incredibly talented employees who do something I have never done and for which I have no specific industry training? In my mind, the answer is simple: I became a leader at Global.

In 2007, I was offered an opportunity to support the writing of inspection reports for a local diving company. The reports are a compilation of the findings and recommendations for clients after subsea inspections. I was terrified I wouldn’t know what to do, but with some good teachers I was able to support the business and was eager to learn. In 2009, after Offshore Divers was purchased by Global Diving & Salvage, Inc., I started my new role as the administrative assistant running the Anchorage office. I was responsible for implementing Global’s processes and systems in their newly acquired region. It was incredibly exciting and challenging to be a part of this new adventure with the company.

e will be the first generation to leave our children the legacy of a world that is in worse shape than when we were born. That’s a pretty daunting statement, but I’m afraid it’s true. And, if you read the reports being released by a wide range of expert climatologists, it is a pretty dire situation.

Not one to be discouraged by what seems like an unsurmountable mountain to climb, I have chosen to focus on one aspect of climate change that I feel is manageable: food security.

A changing climate will lead to food scarcity and price increases. It will lead to changes in where and how food is raised. It will also lead to access issues for the most vulnerable populations. And yet, nearly one third of the food we currently produce is wasted. ONE THIRD! If wasted food were a country, it would be the third largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world, behind the United States and China.

or the past 30 years, I’ve pursued the answer to this question: “What distinguishes the best entrepreneurs and innovators from the rest of us?”

I’ve done this as a startup entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and as a corporate entrepreneur launching and building new businesses throughout the world. For the past 15 years, I’ve both studied and taught entrepreneurship and innovation at UC Berkeley, and have also taught entrepreneurs, executives and policy-makers around the world.

Throughout the past several decades, our understanding of the practice of entrepreneurship has evolved substantially. We have identified habits, techniques and tools successful entrepreneurs employ that aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators can emulate to improve their own odds. These proven approaches provide a definitive answer to the oft-asked question whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught. While a semester studying entrepreneurship with me may not turn you into the next Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma or Richard Branson, your chances of success will definitely be better than when you started.

sk any superintendent in the field of public education and they will tell you the job of leading a school district is not only unique in structure and objective, it is also genuinely difficult work. To do it well requires courage, tenacity and resilience. Ever cognizant of the political nature of our position, we frequently offer more grace to people than we receive in return. But this is always worth the effort because we hold a heartfelt belief in the work we do, in the employees on our teams, and in the people and causes we serve.

Throughout the past 15 years, the nature of my leadership in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has transformed significantly. I recently watched a 2008 Ted Talk on tribes by David Logan. His perspective resonated strongly as I reflected on my own leadership trajectory and considered not only the why of my work, but also the how. My focus has evolved from developing my individual capacity as a leader to intentionally and systematically building the capacity of leaders at all levels of the organization. Creating highly functional teams so that all humans can realize their highest potential is my current why. The true challenge, however, is how to accomplish that goal.

ho knew that adversity could ignite an exciting opportunity, or that an extremely debilitating personal challenge would lead to pursuing a passion?

I hail originally from the eastern state of Bihar, India. I received my law degree in Delhi, and my young family moved to the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where my husband is a government officer.

This time of my life was already demanding — raising a family, working as a lawyer, freelance teaching and devoting time and energy to relatives. But I was in for a shock when I ended up with a debilitating stomach ailment. Not only was it painful, but it took three years to be diagnosed, and even then there was no respite. Seeing the worried faces of my kids, I realized that I had to find a way to manage my illness. While I had extreme limitations with food and physical activity, I needed to reassure them that I was capable of supporting them just like any other mother.

eird title, I know, but this really is about five pushups. I am not a big commitment kind of guy. I have tried some serious commitments and failed — for many, a relatable experience. I have tried the 21-day approach for things such as working out, dieting, writing, saving money, being on time, productivity and so much more, hoping to establish a new positive habit, but the effort usually crashes in about a week or two. Sometimes I have achieved the 21-day commitment, but a lack of true alignment, the effort really taking hold, has led me to quit. With that, the inevitable feeling of failure creeps in and I resolve myself to mediocrity.

Then, about a year ago, I had an epiphany. I woke up about 30 minutes before my alarm clock and I was feeling miserable. I was sore for no reason and I assumed what I always assumed: I was getting older, things were wearing out and I was eating more than was good for someone my age. Every aspect of my life felt like it was winding down, which is a horrible feeling. So, I decided I would make a small change. Nothing drastic, just something superficial to be healthier. I decided that I would do five pushups every morning as soon as I woke up, no more, no less, and I would do it no matter what. I decided that I could commit to this little action without much argument from my other self who wanted to stay in bed or snooze a bit longer!