I had a very interesting evening with some friends at the Aldo Wine Bar in Manhattan. We arrived at different times but the courtesy extended was exceptional. The ambiance certainly matched the service and the wine. When you are investing time with like-minded people who are on the same page, a few hours can go by so fast.

We started talking about the quality of the excellent service, among other things at Aldo and one of my friends mentioned that the leadership must be good. The discussion then began about the importance of good leadership. Notice, I did not say a good manager because all managers are not leaders.

Nothing HAPPENS without leadership, nothing CHANGES without leadership, nothing DEVELOPS without leadership, nothing IMPROVES without leadership, nothing is CORRECTED without leadership, nothing ADVANCES without leadership, nothing SUCCEEDS without leadership. Everything rises and falls on leadership.

Everyone should read The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell. This is the first thing the book says about those laws: Follow them and people will follow you.
I am part of JMT Guyana which will be hosting the John Maxwell Live2Lead Simulcast on October 6. This is a very important event because it will explain to people why leadership is vital to their office, organisation or business. I must commend the ones who saw it necessary to add value to themselves and team. I am optimistic that we will get there one day and I hope it is sooner than later.

The evening continued with a visit to one of my oldest friends, Vera, an Italian American who I met in Barbados years ago and we forged a great friendship which became very important to me. I missed her brunch on Fire Island and promised to have dinner so we could catch up. We spoke about the hurricanes and the craziness happening in the world but concluded that we still need to stay focused on what is important.

She has contributed so much to humanity and is still doing so in her senior years and it’s admirable. We spoke about how much God loves us and if we could love ourselves and others half as much, then this world would be a better place. She was interested in hearing about how my trip was going and I shared a number of activities with her.

One of the highlights was my visit to the Empire Beauty School. I had promised Ktell, who is one of the teachers, to have a motivational chat with her students. I had less than 24 hours in Boston and a few things to do so it came down to choosing one or the other. I had to choose between dinner with some good friends or visiting the school before my departure time.

My word is my bond and it was important that I kept it that way. I decided on the school and I was happy that I did. They were anticipating my visit and were so receptive. So many said that the message hit home and it was as though I was talking to them individually. Those young people are so talented and I am elated I had the chance to share in their future plans.

I also told her about the democratic luncheon and meeting some very influential women in Nassau County. It was an honour to be the guest of Free Holder President, Britnee Timberlake, and it felt so special to be acknowledged on stage and of course, talk about Guyana.

“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office” Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Send us a message to beyondtherunway2@gmail.com and visit our FB page as we continue this beautiful journey call life beyond the runway.