“What can this aging warrior tell you about creative leadership? Honestly, I am not sure. For I am, like each of you, a peculiar balance of contradictions: a large ego and a deep humility; a decent intelligence (no more than that), albeit with periodic blind spots and stupidities; a strong presence along with a profound insecurity; an astonishing confidence, but one that is often punctuated with doubt; an intellectual bent that lacks an academic depth; an aspiring, passionate leader, but without the skills-or, for that matter, the interests-of a manager. I mention this litany to suggest that I’m no more, nor less than each one of you: just another human being.”
by John C. Bogle, Chairman and Founder The Vanguard Group of Investment Companies
Address at the 176th Commencement of Widener University
Chester, Pennsylvania
May 17, 1997