The other day I had some time free in London before an event, so took a walk with history. The square I went to was only five minutes walk from the train station and only about another five from the livery building where the event was being held. I was at the edge of the City of London with all the busy activity of 6 pm on a weekday evening, but in the square it was tranquil and the feeling of history was powerfully calming in that moment.
I stood on one spot in this square and pivoted to take these three photos:
- The first one looks down a lane to a food market that remains the largest of its kind in Europe. It has been operating for over 800 years.
- The second photo is of a historic building that “only” dates back around 500 years.
- The final photo looks through to a tower that is only around 50 years old, part of a post World War II redevelopment of a bombed-out site which represents one of the finest examples of brutalist architecture anywhere.
What a spot to stand at.
I have talked of this idea of “cathedral leadership” in a post about five years ago “planting trees you will never see” and felt as I took those photos that this square has what it takes to create a space for that type of thinking.
Now, a day or two after that moment I was talking to a client who will soon have a meeting with another senior leader in their business when they will both travel to London. Part of what they will be talking about is a vision of building a future for their business that will last long past their time there. I know that their London office is also within a few minutes walk of this spot and I also knew instinctively that they would be planning to have their meeting in a meeting room in that office in the interests of “efficiency”.
I’ve suggested to them that, instead, they choose to be “effective” rather than simply “efficient” and instead of meeting in a meeting room, they walk the few minutes to this square, absorb the hundreds of years of history around them, then (I sense) their conversation around a vision that will long outlast their time at the company will be far different and far more effective.
If you want to focus on visionary leadership that will last, choose carefully where to have that conversation.
PS, if you can identity where this is, I will meet up with you there and then buy you a drink/coffee/lunch nearby!