If not you, then who?
Last night I witnessed Allison Kluger’s Last Lecture at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. It’s a privilege indeed to see the impact that one person has had, in a relatively short period of time (by academic standards). She was not only “beloved” by the students observing her Zoom Chat chock full of life lessons, but she was respected for the strong communicator and mentor she is for so many of us. She blended her personal narrative, her classroom experience, and her media expertise into a power-packed hour of inspiration. As one of her colleagues for years I could not help but feel pride in seeing how great her reach and impact has become at Stanford since her pivot into teaching at the university level.
And in a word…it was authentic. She never sugar-coated the hard truths. She shared candidly her own career missteps, even laughing at herself hosting a home shopping channel segment. Allison demonstrated her truth “acting just like the leader she wants to be” or better “the leader she is.”
When she defined her own super powers and then asked us to craft ours it was easy. I was her entrance ramp into her teaching career and could say:
As she wrapped up last night’s talk she was enthusiastic about the students who would graduate shortly into a unknown world trying to itself graduate from COVID. She led to a clear set of takeaways, each a pearl of wisdom from a gem of a teacher, mentor, and colleague:
I share her optimism about the graduates who heard her last night. If they only take one or two of these lessons, our world will be a better place. As for me, I’m inspired to opt in fully to my own life. Thanks Allison.
