Surely many of you will have been surprised (and happy) when at some point in your professional life an important audience in number congratulated you on the presentation of your ideas, making you feel like someone important. What does this mean? Were you at that time a guru?
I invite you to ask yourself the following questions to discover what is or is not a guru:
- Are you American? Are you over 40? Are you a teacher, consultant, journalist or manager? Do you have little time for your personal life? Do you have your own company? When you do a search for your name in the Google search engine Do you have more than 40 results? Do you have different mentions in the media? Have you been a speaker at an important Congress? Do you have any written books? Is your network of contacts made up of others considered to be gurus?
If you have answered 75% of the questions positively, you may consider yourself an aspiring guru. However (and although I am not a guru) I am going to explain below some of the common characteristics that I have been able to observe that exist in them:
- An elderly person Normally male (depending on the sectors) Many of them already have their own company They are characterized by their "humility", they often say phrases such as: "The humility that characterizes the greats" They have written at least two books, one of them –at least- in collaboration (co-author) They live –literally- glued to their mobiles They never have more than a minute to assist you, unless you belong to their “circle” of influence They are tremendously accessible at congresses, conferences, fairs… but when you try to contact them outside of these events, not only do they not remember you, but they also ignore you
Let me now tell you the fallacies:
- Usually the gurus are either inside or outside. I have not met any guru who is as good a person as a guru, nor any person who is as good a person as a guru. Support is given quite often among the members of their circles, one's ideas are endorsed by the rest. circle is tremendously closed, only a few acquaintances access. There are several groups, usually there can be a rivalry disguised as friendship between them. The environment in which he surrounds himself with groups of acquaintances, some of them can be heard saying phrases like "Trading cards" when referring to the candidates. Availability, depending on who it is.
According to a study conducted by the Accenture Institute for Strategic Change, in 2002, the list of the top 50 gurus is made up of consultants, journalists and managers. The criteria that were followed for its elaboration were the following:
- Successful Internet searches using the Google search engine Mentions in the media using three Lexis / Nexos databases (major newspapers, magazine articles and interview transcripts) from April 1997 to April 2002 Quotes found in the indexes of Scientific Appointments and Social Sciences between 1997 and 2002
This list is headed by Michael E. Porter (Professor of the Harvard Business School and expert in strategy and author of the book: "Competitive Strategies: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors", Tom Peters (consultant and author of the bestseller: "In Search of excellence ”- who also admitted having falsified some data in this book - and Robert Reich (Minister of Labor in the Clinton administration and professor of social and economic policy at Brandeis University.
It is striking that out of 50, the 19th position is occupied by the former president of General Electric Jack Welch, perhaps when the study was carried out it was not yet known that his annual salary of $ 86,000 is still maintained with "lifetime access to the company's facilities and services that the company currently has ”, such as a private plane.
The presence of two women in the study stands out, in position number 11, Rosabet Moss Kanter, Harvard professor and former editor of Harvard Business Review, and in position 31 Esther Dyson president of Edventure Holdings.
Pilar Jericó makes a curious explanation of why most of the gurus come from the United States
In his opinion, their market does not have the cultural barriers of Europe, this allows them to achieve high turnover figures for services or books or products. On the other hand, "marketing is in their blood."
According to Jericó “His ability to count the excellences, whether of his companies or his own ideas, make many Spaniards blush. Only a North American manager is capable of writing –or being written- dozens of books about his extraordinary management ”.
I've had the luck or misfortune to run into all the guys, gurus (the real ones), aspiring gurus, and "fake gurus" and let me tell you something; I am not sure why the guru is the one that has cost me the most to know, the most accessible he has been, and the least he has seemed to be.
"The true leader must have at least three characteristics: Humor, Humanity and Humility." Juan Carlos Cubeiro.
