... organization?

Sure.

And that itself is a good question because there's a whole range, right? If you lay out a spectrum, as I do in the book, just for reference, this is not an absolute, but just to say where questions fall.

There's a spectrum that runs from on one end, what I call functional questions.

What's for lunch? What will the numbers be next quarter? Did we hit them, right? Th- there's a function to those questions that is really after an answer, and then that question is-- has less return that you get from it once it's been answered.

That's on the functional end.

Then there are these, I call on the other end of the spectrum, great questions.

How do you maintain intellectual humility?

What is the difference between having power over people and any genuine influence over them?

Yeah, terrific.

So as I said earlier, true leadership is not about position.

And I would add it's not about power.

So let's say it's not about power and position, the two Ps.

It's not about power and position.

It is about purpose and disposition.

If someone is listening and they want to become the kind of leader others genuinely choose to follow, not because they have to, but because they want to, where should they begin?

So what did you consistently see leaders doing that created those kind of outcomes?

Yeah.

I think the way that number is calculated is it was a number of pitches that I was involved in.

And so competitive pitches that I was helping leadership teams, somewhere between two and maybe five or six people, professional people on the whole, helping them win big mandates.

And these are very competitive.

Now, these mandates, say of the 9 billion, say just one of those mandates was worth over a billion.

because it was over 10 years.

If someone listening wants to become the kind of leader people willingly choose to follow, where do they begin?

Thank you Larry for taking us back to the beginning of your journey and this brings me to ask was there like ever like a defining moment in your early career that changed how you see leadership today?

I think yes I think so I mean I mentioned the army and I mentioned Hong Kong, so I might just tell you a little story.

Within two weeks, arriving in Hong Kong was a brand new second lieutenant.

I was just 21 years old.

And I was put in command of number 11 platoon, which was one of the 12 platoons in the battalion, about 30 men, as I mentioned.

We were out on a big exercise in what they call the new territories.

Of course, Hong Kong is now back with China, but this was the mainland part of Hong Kong.

We definitely need each other to get to our, should I say, destination? Yeah.

Can you sort of bring it to life with an example, maybe, or understand better how those five pieces really work together?

Sure.

So let's let's take connection because that's really where.

That's where everybody wants to end up.

How do I connect where I am now to what I want to be in the future, right? How do I connect one small idea to other small ideas to really create something great? And what you realize is that there are all sorts of connections out there in the world.

How you get there is to be aware of the fact that connection drives your questions.

It drives good or poor answers.

Can you tell us a little bit more about why questioning and how we can use questioning to deal with things like our anxiety or how we deal with the sadness or the joy that relates to living in an uncertain world? How do we question in a way that enables us to survive?

Your book asks a powerful question: Why should people listen to, work with, and follow you? Why is this question so important?

Well, I think it is a g- it is a good question, and, um, a- and I think I probably am the first, I'm not saying the first to ask it, but I'm probably the first to sort of put it out there in the, in the public domain.

Uh, I think, um, it's two things really, two answers again to your question.

The first, I think, is that people don't have to.

We have, all have choices.

We all have choices whether to give our all.

I mean, we have to earn a living, most of us.

So, um, how can someone begin finding their own answers?

And now, before we get into the main conversation, Larry, can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

Well, thank you.

Yes.

As I mentioned to you earlier, I'm now living just outside Sydney, Australia.

We have a very small farm, very old farm here, which my wife and I live on and we do various things here.

I've been in this job, which is advising leaders and would-be leaders, potential leaders, teams and their businesses for about 33 years now, almost.

And I started that here in Australia when I moved here.

Yeah, what have been your hardest moments or your challenging moments for you?