My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has

Hear the words of Larry Page, spoken not as mere guidance for a company, but as a torch for all who would lead: “My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has great opportunities, and that they feel they’re having a meaningful impact and are contributing to the good of society. As a world, we’re doing a better job of that. My goal is for Google to lead, not follow that.” These words carry the essence of noble duty, for they remind us that leadership is not the lifting up of oneself, but the raising of many; not the pursuit of power, but the building of pathways for others to walk upon.

In the ancient days, kings and generals proclaimed their greatness by monuments and victories. Yet the truest among them knew that glory fades unless it is shared. The leader who hoards riches leaves behind dust, but the one who creates opportunities for his people leaves behind a living legacy. What is a kingdom without its farmers, its craftsmen, its scholars? What is a company without the minds and hearts of those who serve within it? Page speaks to this eternal truth: a leader must be the gardener of human potential, cultivating the soil so that every hand may bring forth fruit.

Let us recall the tale of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire. Though he conquered many lands, he did not bind his people with chains of fear. Instead, he gave them freedom of worship, respect for their customs, and opportunities to prosper under his reign. His empire thrived not because he demanded obedience, but because his people felt they were part of something larger, something that contributed to the good of society. Like Page, Cyrus understood that true leadership means to lead with vision, not to trail behind the fears and prejudices of the age.

So too in our modern age, the vast empires are not only of land but of knowledge, of information, of innovation. A company like Google, with its reach extending across the world, wields power greater than many kings of old. Yet the question remains the same: will that power be used to elevate only a few, or to grant meaningful impact and dignity to the many? Will it merely follow the currents of the world, or will it lead with courage into new waters, where technology serves humanity rather than enslaving it?

The wisdom of this teaching lies in the recognition that opportunities and impact are the true coin of the age. To give a worker a wage is to sustain them for a time; to give them the sense that their work contributes to the good of society is to ignite within them a flame that endures. This is the heart of meaningful labor, that each may rise from their task and say: “I, too, am a part of something greater. I, too, am shaping the world.” When men and women believe this, no wall can confine their spirit, and no darkness can overwhelm their light.

The lesson, then, is clear: whether you command an empire or a household, whether you guide thousands or only yourself, do not seek to rule—seek to lead. Give others the chance to rise; show them their contribution matters; weave their lives into the larger tapestry of the good of society. And above all, never be content to follow when your spirit was meant to blaze the trail. To lead is not arrogance, but service; not pride, but responsibility.

Therefore, O listener, let your actions be these: create opportunities where none exist, not only for yourself but for others. In your work, ask not only what you gain, but what you give. When faced with the choice to follow the well-worn path of ease or to lead into the wilderness of the unknown, choose the latter, if it carries the promise of a greater good. For the world does not hunger for rulers—it hungers for visionaries who kindle hope and summon forth the best in humankind.