Mother Teresa, CEO by Ruma Bose and Lou Faust

by Girl Banker®
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Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership

Rating: 4.5* out of 5

One of the things I love about investment banking is that you very quickly become self-employed. In the capital markets, once your manager gives you a budget to reach it's pretty much up to you how you get to the target revenue. In IBD, once you get to senior associate or junior VP you need to start showing your business acumen. 

I like to read business books because although there is a lot of overlap between books, I find that occasionally I discover something completely new and many times I am forced to ponder something more deeply or to experience someone else’s take on a common business principle. In Mother Teresa, CEO, the authors explain the principles Mother Teresa lived by and how these can be translated into business life. 

When I think of Mother Teresa I think of a little, old lady going around Calcutta feeding and loving the dispossessed. I do not think of a high-powered business woman. The concept of Mother Teresa as a business woman is almost alien to me, yet, she did start the organization, Missionaries of Charity, which at the time of her death had 594 missions in over 100 countries.

Mother Teresa was a doer. She had a vision and she followed it through. She was authentic and she lived the values that she preached. The eight principles that the book elaborates are:

1. Dream it simple, say it strong
2. To get to the angels, deal with the devil (she took money from anyone, regardless of their reputation, to help the poor but that’s where she stopped, she didn’t endorse any commercial ventures)
3. Wait! Then pick your moment (when you are emotionally, financially and operationally ready, go!)
4. Embrace the power of doubt
5. Discover the joy of disciplined (I discovered this joy a very long time ago)
6. Communicate in a language that people understand (and FYI that language has to be adjusted depending on the audience)
7. Pay attention to the janitor
8. Use the power of silence 

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There were two principles that I particularly liked: 4 & 8.

You would never believe it was true but even Mother Teresa had doubts. She never doubted her vision of helping the poorest of the poor but apparently her personal diaries talk about the moments of doubt that she had in God; as well as the loneliness that she faced as a result of dedicating her whole self to the mission.

The book talks about using doubt to question yourself and to avoid paralyzing fear. I feel encouraged by Mother Teresa’s belief that we may feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean but that the ocean would be less without that drop.

The second important thing I discovered was using the power of silence. This is something I hardly do or don’t do enough. I do, however, agree that stepping away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, meditating and just being you have to be good for you.

Overall, I would recommend this book. I used  the audio version from Audible which is a mere 2 hours and 7 minutes long. It’s a very short book, only 144 pages, so you should be able to get through it in no time at all.

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