A Call to Lead throwback episode with the one and only Walter Isaacson

This week, we're bringing you a throwback episode of A Call to Lead. We’re fortunate to frequently feature amazing special guests and speakers at many of our SAP events - and there are none better than Walter Isaacson. So we’ve taken some highlights from two of Walter’s most recent conversations with me and turned it into a special episode. Speaking with Walter is always head-spinning and enlightening because he is the foremost expert on leaders who also happen to be the world's smartest people. Walter's specialty is geniuses. He's a professor of history at his beloved Tulane University and he’s written biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Leonardo da Vinci. He's also a well-known leader and executive in his own right, having headed CNN, TIME Magazine, and the Aspen Institute.

Here are five key highlights from this episode of A Call to Lead with Walter:

1. "If you're going to be a disruptor, you have to do like Steve Jobs and occasionally let your reach exceed your grasp." (5:25)
2. "Making a great product innovation is hard, but what's really hard and important is making the right team who can continue to do innovation." (Steve Jobs said this to Walter Isaacson during his final months.) (18:24)
3. "The most important talent you need is the ability to see patterns." (24:10)
4. "If I were talking to somebody coming into a company now, I'd say what are your passions? And I'd hope there'd be three or four or five diverse passions. And then I would say, 'What is the pattern that you've seen by being interested in so many different things?'" (25:13)
5. "Whatever business you're in, you've got to say I'm not in the business of moving lettuce or moving packages or flying metal, [but rather] I'm in the business of applying technology to customer needs." (26:36)

You can learn more by visiting: www.sap.com/acalltolead. And you can subscribe and listen to episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. We welcome your feedback on the pod! Tweet me @JenniferBMorgan and use the hashtag #acalltolead or e-mail us at [email protected].

Where to Listen: Subscribe and listen to episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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Jennifer Morgan is a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and President of the Americas and Asia Pacific Japan (APJ).