Life Advice From James Wolfensohn, Former World Bank President

At 23, I walked into the office of James Wolfensohn, ex-President of the World Bank and giant of Wall Street. Sitting in his 29th floor Midtown Manhattan office, I asked him how to make an impact on the world.

He didn’t tell me what to do but laid out a set of principles. Principles I think are relevant to all people — regardless of age or industry.

Before getting into it, let me back track.

How did I get there, and why did his advice matter?

Fresh out of high school I read his autobiography and it opened my eyes to what could be packed into a single lifetime. His list of achievements didn’t necessarily resonate with me, though they are phenomenal. Raised in Australia by immigrant parents who struggled financially, he went onto a career spanning the Olympics, the legal profession, Wall Street, and the World Bank Presidency (twice). Wolfensohn tackles life expansively, seemingly without considering limitations and obstacles.

He was motivated by fear of financial insecurity; I was motivated by a sense of my privilege and a strong desire to give back.

While I wasn’t born in ‘the lucky country’, I consider myself very lucky. My family escaped Zimbabwe when I was just eleven, eventually ending up in Brisbane, Australia with a few suitcases to begin life again.

I understand that most Zimbabweans of my generation haven’t had the resources or opportunities I have. I also know it’s not just my fellow Zimbabweans who have been oppressed by the nature of circumstance. Inequality is a global challenge.

Reading about Wolfensohn’s life helped me realise that, instead of just dreaming about changing the world, perhaps I actually could be part of doing so.

Back to the meeting.

I was in Washington D.C. for a work conference for a job I had only just started. Being only a few hours from New York where Wolfensohn lived, I wondered whether I could meet the man. Through a generous (and exceptionally well-connected) friend, and a lot of luck, Wolfensohn agreed to a meeting.

I suited up and made my best attempt to don a tie.

With all the audacity of youth, I walked into his plush office without even the pretence of a scheme or project, but an urge to see how he stacked up in person.

We sat there, face-to-face on couches overlooking Avenue of the Americas. He kicked off the conversation with a “well who are you, and what can I do for you?”.

I told him about the impact his book had on my life and career choices — I know the old adage about flattery, but in this case, it was genuine.

Enthusiastically I explained the fortunate series of events that had recently launched me from a graduate organisational psychologist into some incredibly exciting opportunities across Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. But then I got to the heart of the matter; I had an immense desire to have a positive, lasting social impact, but the challenge of knowing there was no roadmap for achieving what I was hoping to.

I then asked him a question that sparked an hour-long conversation; one I still reflect on often.

“If you were my age, how would you change the world?”

He kicked off by describing what the world will look like in 2050. He spoke about a global redistribution of wealth. ‘Developing’ countries increasingly competing with the current superpowers. Increased access to information and manipulation of social media leading to uprisings and revolutions. Continuing inequality. Fewer regions that are ‘poor’ or ‘underdeveloped’, but increasingly large numbers of poor and wealthy people living very close to each other.

It’s worth saying that since meeting Wolfensohn I’ve worked predominantly across Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The world he described thirty years from now feels much like present-day reality. Escalating trade tensions between the US and China. Social media used as a tool to manipulate voters. Growing populations of disenfranchised youth moving to cities for the promise of a better future. Climate disasters growing in frequency, and disproportionately impacting the poor.

Without skipping a beat he returned to my initial question. He gave me no answers but outlined three principles, almost beckoning me to write them down word for word.

1. You need to have a strong understanding of why you do what you do and keep reminding yourself of this regularly. The day your heart isn’t in it, or you don’t believe in what you’re doing, move on to something else.

2. Don’t be in too much of a rush with your life. Take time to truly understand what you are working to address — and whatever you do, do it well.

3. Don’t judge other people according to your own values and beliefs, consider what they do in terms of their own culture and standards.

Leaving the meeting with Wolfensohn, I felt a strange sense of assurance. He’d described a future with huge challenges. What he described didn’t surprise me though, and for years I’d already been reframing my view of these challenges. I saw them as opportunities to have a positive impact.

The world we live in is complex. Our future will be increasingly so. My childhood experiences helped me realise that life will always be messy, complex and ambiguous — and a lot can be gained by sitting in the complexity, not immediately fighting to make sense of it.

What I took heed of most, was that, according to Wolfensohn, the change this world needs will be driven by people who adhere to three simple principles: know your why, be deliberate, and don’t judge others by your own yardstick.

Yes, sticking to these may be easier said than done, and I’ve stumbled along the way — but that’s for a future post.