Preface
WHAT ORGANIZATION founded by a lone entrepreneur grew to become one of the largest enterprises in the world?
This organization was started in 1948 with a passionate leader at its helm and twelve loyal team members. Today, it:1
• conducts operations in over one hundred countries;
• has a loyal full-time workforce of four thousand;
• has over one million volunteer team members;
• is one of the most recognized brands in the world; and
• has raised and deployed billions of dollars in capital.
Is it Coca-Cola?
Is it Disney?
No, it’s Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.
One woman used her drive, determination, faith, and singular management style to build one of the largest organizations in the world. It has delivered the kind of measurable impact that most companies can only dream of achieving.
How did this nun, with no formal business training, create a global brand, a powerful fund-raising entity, and a worldwide organization over the course of forty-seven years?
Mother Teresa did what many successful entrepreneurs with great ideas do—she applied her ethical principles and values to work she was passionate about. When we view Mother Teresa from a leadership perspective, a wonderful story emerges, one filled with inspiration and life lessons.
Ruma Bose spent time in Calcutta (now Kolkata) working as a volunteer with Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity in 1992. Over time, Ruma discovered that their operational success resulted from the careful application of simple but unexpected principles. Scaling an organization into over one hundred countries is not easy and doesn’t happen by accident. What Mother Teresa accomplished ranks among the great business achievements in human history.
Mother Teresa did not fit into a typical box, and she did not have a traditional leadership style. As a result, this book is not a typical business book. Nor is it a religious book. Instead, it will give you the unique opportunity to live Ruma’s experience with Mother Teresa, learn the universal principles employed by her and her Missionaries of Charity, and discover how these principles apply, whether you are running an organization, a single project, or your everyday life.
The eight principles are:
PRINCIPLE 1 Dream it simple, say it strong
PRINCIPLE 2 To get to the angels, deal with the devil
PRINCIPLE 3 Wait! Then pick your moment
PRINCIPLE 4 Embrace the power of doubt
PRINCIPLE 5 Discover the joy of discipline
PRINCIPLE 6 Communicate in a language people understand
PRINCIPLE 7 Pay attention to the janitor
PRINCIPLE 8 Use the power of silence
You may be a first-time manager, the CEO of an established company, or the founder of a start-up. You may be working with a for-profit company, a nonprofit, a nongovernmental organization (NGO), or a government organization, or you may be running a household. These timeless principles apply regardless of the type of organization. They will help you be a better leader and improve your organization’s performance.
All of us can use these insights. You don’t need to be a saint to benefit from Mother Teresa’s example. Her influence has led us to a higher standard of leadership, and we hope it will raise your own bar too. If this book can touch your life, whether in an extraordinary or a simple way, and you can have a positive influence on the lives of others, then it will have accomplished its purpose.