Common Sense Wisdom Volume II

Drawing upon more than 30 years of experience advising senior executives around the world, Pepper de Callier, Founder of The Prague Leadership Institute, shares what he has found to be the most powerful force behind career success. It s not intelligence or experience, as most people believe; it s what he calls The Unwritten Resume.
Unlike the written resume, it is the collection of impressions we all leave behind after every interaction we have with everyone we meet. Hundreds of interviews with leaders over the years have taught me that the unwritten resume is, in the eyes of those evaluating someone, the most singular powerful decision-maker as to whether someone will be hired, promoted, or fired. To them this is who someone really is and it can t be faked or embellished as easily as elements of one s written resume, according to de Callier, whose client list reads like a Who s Who in business with companies like Microsoft, SAB Miller, T-Mobile, Boeing, Ceska sporitelna, Emerson, Hitachi, Vodafone, Heineken, Japan Energy, Oki Semiconductor, RaiffeisenBank, Office Depot, and Ceska pojistovna, among others, who have regularly sought his advice over the years on coaching and leadership issues.

Born and raised in the farm country of Central Indiana, Pepper became interested in leadership, human potential, and common sense at age seven as a result of regularly organizing sales training materials for his mother who was a regional sales director. Struggling with his first major life transition the divorce of his parents Pepper dropped out of high school and became a barber.In one of what would be many life-changing, crossroad events, his former high school principal convinced him to complete his high school and university education. Then, he started, built and later sold a regional insurance brokerage business in Tucson, AZ, and entered another life transition as President and Publisher of Monterey Life Magazine in Monterey, CA. Later, after selling his interest in the magazine, he was recruited to Korn Ferry International, the world s largest executive search firm at that time, as a consultant. Subsequently, he was recruited to Spencer Stuart, another global executive search firm where he was a partner. In his final role in the U.S., Pepper was recruited to Heidrick and Struggles, the most respected executive search firm in the world at that time, according to The Wall Street Journal, as a partner to help build the firm s presence in Southern California. Five years later, not one to shy away from crossroads in his own life, Pepper elected early retirement and with his wife, Priscilla, moved to the French countryside, then to Tuscany looking for a place to begin another major life change living in Europe. Today, they live in the ancient Central European capital of Prague where Pepper admittedly failed miserably at retirement. He became a senior advisor to the former President of teh Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel's foundation, founded The Prague Leadership Institute - more about Pepper's backround and The Human Element of Leaderships can be found at pragueleadershipinstitute.com.