The power of reconciliation
Read moreA dynamic scene from the movie Invictus depicts a tense conversation between President Nelson Mandela and Jason Tshabalala, his diligent and passionate security chief. At issue is Mandela’s decision to hire some of the highly qualified white bodyguards who had watched over his predecessor during the controversial apartheid regime. When the white guards report in to take up their duties with the Mandela administration,
From a personal transformation to a new national narrative
Read moreWhether he knew it or not at the time, Nelson Mandela’s prison experience would provide something of a blueprint for what he sought to achieve as South Africa’s first post-apartheid president. During his years at the fabled penal institution on Robben Island, one of the truly fascinating aspects of Prisoner Mandela’s personal journey was the evolution of his relationships with the
How Nelson Mandela reshaped himself in prison
Read moreIn the previous post, we looked at the extraordinary change of attitude that transpired during Nelson Mandela’s lengthy incarceration. Bit by bit, Mr Mandela evolved from a defiant prisoner who scorned his “oppressors” to one who befriended the jailers and embraced their Afrikaans language and culture. We also stated last time that choosing to treat his wardens with respect, and learning their dialect, was but
How Nelson Mandela began a new story for South Africa
Read moreThe previous post gave a brief description of Nelson Mandela’s first hours as President of South Africa. Many of the white government workers he observed that morning were busy packing away their personal items, in anticipation of being relieved of their functions. A majority of the government workers President Mandela walked past in the corridors leading to his office were typical
Nelson Mandela and his South African rainbow nation
Read moreAt the outset, my plan for this post was to focus on Nelson Mandela, whose tale of transformation is even more striking, and more improbable, than that of Margaret Thatcher. When Mr Mandela became president of South Africa in 1994, virtually nobody in the entire land believed in his program for building “a rainbow nation”. Before addressing this remarkable case,
How to transform America’s direction and culture
Read moreLast time, I referenced two of my favorite illustrations of individuals who transformed something fundamental in the directions and cultures of their nations—Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher. Among my reasons for using these two figures often in teaching and speaking engagements is that they were both highly effective at changing mindsets. Each in his or her own way had a similar