The Journey into Yourself

Presently, I am reading a book by Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis entitled, Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls. The authors quote a speech by Jeff Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, given at the University of Michigan in August of 2003:

The first part of leadership is an intense journey into yourself. It's a commitment and an intense journey into your soul. How fast can you change? How willing are you to take feedback? Do you believe in self-renewal? Do you believe in self-reflection? Are you willing to take those journeys to explore how you can become better and do it every day? How much can you learn? Can you look in the mirror every day and say, gee, I wish I had done that differently, boy I think I've got to do better here...you've got to be willing to do an intense journey into yourself... I've been lucky, you know, because I've got to do things that I love with people that I love. But more than anything else, the burning desire inside me was to get the best out of what I could be and go on that journey.

So many questions, all of which need to be answered on a daily basis. Knowing that I too will have the opportunity to do what I love, and will in time learn to love the people is an exciting part of this journey. Remembering to be myself is critical, and never forgetting that this journey is much more like a marathon not a sprint.