The Nobel Error: How One Mistake Redefined History!

Alfred Nobel was one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the nineteenth century. In 1867 he patented his new explosive – ‘dynamite’. Soon he had patents in every industrialized country. By 1880 he was head of the largest dynamite-producing cartel in the world. Royalties, dividends and profits grew. And then one day a simple mistake changed his life forever. A French newspaper confused the death of Nobel’s brother, Ludvig, with his own. Alfred got the opportunity to do what many of us would love to do – he sat down with a cup of coffee, read his own obituary and saw what people had made of his life. But he read phrases like ‘merchant of death’, and ‘his fortune was amassed finding new ways to mutilate and kill’. As Nobel held the newspaper in his hands, he vowed that this was not how he would be remembered, and he decided that, from that very day, his life would be not just successful but significant. He began using his vast wealth to encourage the arts, science and above all peace. Few who watched as Nelson Mandela walked up to the podium in 1995 to collect the Nobel Peace Prize realized that the event was due to the error of a Swedish journalist who, by his simple mistake, changed another man’s life forever and thus introduced into the world a prize that continues to affect generations all over the world.

The power of WE

As a leader, do you honour and appreciate the power of WE? Do you stop to thank and recognise the members of your team? Do you consistently show an attitude of gratitude? The story of Charles Plumb is inspiring and emphasises the value of each individual of a team. Captain Charles Plumb, a graduate of the Naval Academy, whose plane, after 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam, was shot down. He parachuted to safety, but was captured, tortured and spent 2,103 days in a small box-like cell. After surviving the ordeal, Captain Plumb received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit and two Purple Hearts, and returned to America and spoke to many groups about his experience and how it compared to the challenges of everyday life. Shortly after coming home, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man rose from a nearby table, walked over and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" Surprised that he was recognised, Charlie responded, "How in the world did you know that?" The man replied, "I packed your parachute." Charlie looked up with surprise. The man pumped his hand, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "I guess it worked!" Charlie stood to shake the man's hand, and assured him, "It most certainly did work. If it had not worked, I would not be here today." Charlie could not sleep that night, thinking about the man. He wondered if he might have seen him and not even said, "Good morning, how are you?" He thought of the many hours the sailor had spent bending over a long wooden table in the bottom of the ship, carefully folding the silks and weaving the shrouds of each chute, each time holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't know. Plumb then began to realize that along with the physical parachute, he needed mental, emotional and spiritual parachutes. He had called on all these supports during his long and painful ordeal. As a leader, how many times a day, a week, a month, do we pass up the opportunity to thank those people in our organisation who are "packing our parachutes?"

I am Akinnusi Olaoluwa, a team member of a thoughts and idea-based business solution consulting firm made up of expert thinkers and unusual idea-people.
A reverencer of God (my very own father); I love to be seen as self-taught, a simple and grateful creature of the almighty.
Blessed to be surrounded by the best family anyone can have, a choice I didn’t even have a chance of making myself.
I love wisdom and creativity; I daily seek to discover purpose and achieve fulfilment, having fun while at it.
I’m keen at graphics, photography, games, gadgets, conceptual arts, project management and I love to write/compose.
I love creative thinking sessions (brainstorming), and engaging in deep intellectual conversations from time to time. I am a conceptual thinker.
I work at 25 Seven Consulting.
And at 25 Seven Consulting, we have great passion for what we do.

...I promise a continuation of this soon

Thinking of setting out on your own? Think again!

Thinking of setting out on your own? You might find these short piece more relevant to your eventual business success than you actually think. Yes I said so. Read on... Employees are number 1. The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers/clients (as the case may be). Think small to grow big. Manage in the good times for the bad times. Irreverence is ok. You are the boss, remember! It’s ok to be yourself. More like, it's a must. Have fun at work. Make your vocation your vacation. Take the competition seriously, but not yourself. Think of the company as a service organisation that happens to be in the airline business. Do whatever it takes. Result is key. Always practise the Golden Rule, internally and externally. I wish you exceptional success in your pursuit.