What makes a great legacy? After considerable
reflection and thinking about contact with people and
organizations
that have been reverently referred to as “living
legacies,” it becomes clear to me there are some
fundamental core ingredients that are foundational to
the creation of a legacy.
Those ingredients are:
First and foremost, passion is the key. Can you
imagine anyone who enjoys the title of legacy as a
person without passion? Individuals and companies
that are legacies have passion. Imagine Brett Favre
without passion for football, or Ray Charles at the
keyboard without passion? Passion is demonstrated
via a relentless spirit and will to achieve, knowing
and
accepting no limits to what might be possible, an
insatiable commitment to being the best one can be,
willingness to go the extra mile and being a model for
taking a risk.
Second, legacy comes from vision and the ability to
see and share the picture with colleagues,
constituents and customers. That vision sets the
standard for the organization and the people within
it. It provides the strategy to grow, to improve, to
succeed and to serve. It is eagerly shared by all
within the organization.
Third, these organizations and people know the
difference between what my colleague Tom Shipley
calls “a matter of taste and a matter of principle.”
Matters of taste, he tells me, are not as easily
discerned as those of principle. Matters of taste are
those things that, if the truth be told, don’t really
matter to most of us collectively but instead reflect
us personally. In the greater scheme of things,
matters of taste reflect personal niceties. While we
must be sensitive to them, they aren’t what really
matters. Leaders who create legacy are not as
concerned with how something is accomplished as
much as whether it was accomplished. The fact that
you got it done speaks to principle. At the same time
it is just as important to them that what gets done is
not done at the expense of others.
The matters of principle, it seems to me, are
the “sacred turf” of your work. That “sacred turf”
reflects what really matters to an organization, its
mission, vision and values, and their impact on the
success of the business and the quality of life of the
community. Matters of principle, for example, might
be your commitment to quality, to customer
satisfaction, to employee morale, to ethical and
moral
business and personal practices. This is not about
winning and losing but about holding your ground on
matters that define you (matters of principle) while
at the same time going with the flow on matters that
don’t (matters of taste).
Finally, it seems to me that if an organization is to be
deemed a legacy, its leaders are community minded.
Clearly they are interested in their own welfare, as
well they should be; but it seems to be an
organization that becomes a legacy is also concerned
with something greater, something better. They don’t
just think about it. Their “actions,” as the old saying
goes “speak louder than words.” A legacy is woven
into the very fabric of the community. In a day and
age of what I call “corporate carpetbaggers”
ravaging
communities, the organization or company that
becomes legend is in it for the long haul. They roll up
their sleeves and commit to improving the community
climate, quality of life and business environment.
They are active in service groups, schools and
government. They are community builders. They are
not “one shot wonders” who splash an advertisement
of what turns out to be a one-time gift. The legacy
comes to the table to help solve problems, to make a
difference because they consider themselves citizens
of the community.
It is my observation that the title or label of legacy
brings with it the knowledge that, as a client of mine
commented to me the other day, “you can’t do good,
unless you do what’s right.” I have observed and
believe this to mean you understand your place in
the
community. You give something back to those who
have contributed to, supported you and helped make
you successful. A legacy looks to the greater good,
not a flavor of the day idea or moment. A legacy
leaves a footprint in the community of good; there is
no damage because of their presence. The
community and its citizens are better because of the
presence of the legacy organization and the people
who built the legacy. The quality of people’s lives has
improved because of the presence of the legacy, and
that is, at the end of the day, the true bottom line.
