Dr. Ramani Ayer, Chairman and CEO of The Hartford Financial Services Group offered an inspiring address on leadership to the Maharishi University of Management graduates. His son Austin followed with a valedictorian address that emphasized the silence within as the basis of all success.

Dr. Ayer, a Trustee of Maharishi University of Management, commanded the attention of the graduating students from 42 countries in part because his own story of leadership has been so exceptional. He came to the U.S. as a graduate student with $8 in his pocket.

During Dr. Ayer's 10 years as CEO , The Hartford has grown from primarily $12.5 billion in revenue to a diversified financial services company with more than $26 billion in revenue. In addition, The Hartford, which manages assets of more than $377 billion, has risen to become one of the Fortune 100 companies, and its share price has appreciated more than 130%.

The Four Common Traits of Great Leaders

Dr. Ayer began by quoting his mother, who told him, "You become what you are by the company you keep." He urged students to study the lives of great leaders, as he has done.

- Follow Your Dream. Great leaders embrace great, bold, positive ideas. He told students to get in touch with their own greatness, to follow their dreams, and cited the life of Mahatma Gandhi.

- Have a Sense of Self-Awareness. Another trait common among great leaders, he discovered, is their powerful sense of self-awareness. No matter what is going on around them, they maintain their own inner integrity. Dr. Ayer described his own challenging experiences following September 11, 2001 and scandals in the financial services sector. Hartford lost several billion dollars related to asbestos litigation. Dr. Ayer was under tremendous pressure but managed to stay calm and centered, and weathered the stressful economic storm. He attributed his self-awareness and balance to his practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique.

- Strive for Excellence. The third trait Dr. Ayer mentioned was the passion leaders have for excellence. "Great leaders continually challenge themselves," he said. "They continuously raise the bar on themselves, always striving for greater performance." Here he cited the example of Benjamin Franklin, who would study the writings of great essayists, then revise their work until the main points were expressed even more effectively.

- Increase Your Capacity to Love. The final trait is love. Great leaders, Dr. Ayer observed, have the capacity for love. They are committed to the growth of everyone in their company, to enriching their lives, and creating opportunities for them to grow and succeed. "Without that, people cannot be expected to follow you." Here Dr. Ayer cited the example of Nelson Mandela, who emerged after 27 years in South African prisons, many of them in solitary confinement, with no bitterness, embracing his white guards and expressing his resolve to heal the nation's longstanding racial divisions.

Dr. Ayer summed up his talk with these simple words of advice: "Let your Dream lead you, your Self guide you, your Passion drive you, and your Love prevail."

©2008 Maharishi University of Management. Reprinted with permission.

Maharishi Schools and Colleges in the United States:

• Maharishi University of Management (Iowa)
• Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment (Pre-K-12, Iowa)
• Maharishi Academy of Total Knowledge—High School for Leadership (Boarding school for boys grades 9-12, New Hampshire)

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