About The Author
🌏 Honour the past, Focus on the future...
Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario in Canada...I left for Osaka, Japan in 1990 with a backpack, my life savings of $300 and a six- month plan to explore Japan and study Karate before returning home to law school...
Thirty years later, the adventure continues with my latest stop in Japan (for the 4th time!) as the CEO of a large global company spanning the four corners of the country.
I'm a passionate student of leadership, with a deep admiration for the leaders across genres who change the world. Whether it be on the ice as Captain of my hockey team, as Chairman of an NPO focused on sustainable development, as the CEO of a large, complex organization or as a father, My mission is to enable those around me to shine, and in the process, achieve great things together.
My journey has taken me around the world, having lived and worked in Canada, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, India and beyond. The more I cross borders and lead (and observe other leaders), in different arenas, the more I've come to realize that there are some clear patterns of behaviours and values when it comes to excellence in leadership. And these discoveries about leadership are both timeless and borderless.
"Stand on the Shoulders of Giants"
Over history, exceptional leaders have inevitably crafted their own, personal versions of leadership. Whether it was the commanders who led armies into battle in the middle ages, the artists of the Renaissance who launched a revolution, the titans of the industrial revolution or the technological innovators of our current day, these leaders all share one common strength -- an uncanny ability to "Envision" a new world, to create a powerful sense of belief and to lead others into that new world.
In modern times, there are a variety of leadership models to choose from; some rooted in servant leadership, others in consensus-based decision making, while more recently, others focus heavily on enabling. Of course, all leadership models will culminate in the final measurement of success -- "Execute"....
NIKE calls it, "Just Do It".
These models range from "the 5 C's", to "Level 5 Leadership" from Jim Collin's book, 'Good to Great'. Leaders like Jack Welch with his '3 E's" and Bob McDonald from P&G who, inspired by Jack Welch, took that model and built his own model of leadership which evolved into his version of the 5E's.
Mahatma Gandhi, a truly transformative leader, lived and breathed his own "E", to empower those around him to bring his vision of peace to life.
And Ratan Tata, the former Chairman of the Tata empire who was well-known for being a hands-on, engaging leader. He had his own set of 'E's' at the center of his personal and corporate mission. "Excellence in Execution".
These learnings about leadership span across cultures and eras. In Japan in the early 1900's, Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, was ahead of his time, infamous for his leadership philosophy rooted in an "E" which in our current times is perhaps most important - empathy. His humanistic approach to leadership fuelled his mission to activate another critical "E", to enable his teams to shine.
The wonderful thing about the exceptional leaders who I've met, observed and studied is that they are passionate about sharing their ideas about leadership with anyone who will listen. And when leaders listen, we grow stronger.
The E5 Movement was born out of my learnings from these great leaders over history, across borders and genres. So what you will see in the book might be familiar, but I've attempted to make it both fresh & personal, with plenty of anecdotes & discoveries from my own journey.
And in the process, "my" version of exceptional leadership was born. I call it The E5 -- it's a call to action for leaders to come together, shoulder to shoulder, to create a movement.
Join the Movement!
The E5 Movement was born thanks to colleagues and the leaders in my life, who over the years have embraced the E5 formula on their own leadership journey.
One more discovery...Leadership is an open-source code.
There are no "secrets".
The exceptional leaders who I've studied, and spent time with over the years, make a strong effort to surround themselves with fellow leaders and share ideas about leadership. In other words, leaders actively build communities of leaders on a shared mission to mentor and raise the leaders of the future.
I look forward to welcoming you to this leadership movement, and learning about your own leadership journey along the way!
- Paul Dupuis, author of The E5 Movement