Mircea Geoana: NATO Support for Young Leaders and Innovators | E62

Welcome to the second part of our insightful conversation with Mircea Geoana, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO. Mircea was born and educated in communist Romania, finished his education in the West, and built a successful political and diplomatic career.He was appointed as an ambassador to the U.S.A. and became the youngest ambassador in Romania’s history.  He later served as a president of the Romanian Senate, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Prime Minister. In 2009, he narrowly lost the elections for the president of Romania when he received 49.6% of the votes.Mircea is a board member of several organizations, including the World Economic Forum, The Aspen Institute, and the European Council on Foreign Relations. He is also a published author and has written several books on foreign policy and international relations.00:00 NATO’s billion-dollar entrepreneur fundNATO created an ecosystem where young entrepreneurs can test their ideas for freeTesting ideas in DIANA – Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North AtlanticThe Innovation Fund – The first ever multi-national sovereign venture capital fundCompetition with ChinaEuropean HQ for DIANA is based at Imperial College in London10:23 Mistakes made and things learned from themDon't be satisfied with your learningAspen Institute in ColoradoStarted Aspen Institute in RomaniaWishes to become a moderator of Aspen leadership seminars 15:20 Five ingredients of being a great leaderThere are no natural-born leadersThere are many different types of leadersNever be happy with your success (make room for progress)17:55 How important it is to be funny as a team leaderA tendency to become rigid and dry from within over timeTry to be humble and listen to othersEverybody has something to offerThere is always something to learn20:32 What does it take to be successfulLife is tough and has ups and downsThere is always another chanceNever give up 21:36 Extreme PreparationRomanians are very talented people, but sometimes neglect preparationHard work is very important (talent is not enough)In NATO, everything is done with thorough preparationPreparing for the unexpectedDon’t take things too seriously26:30 The importance of mentorsBelieves in mentorship and, even more, in indirect mentorshipStarted mentorship program with NATORandall’s mentorship programMircea’s dream is to bring programs to Romania31:33 The secret to work-life balanceThe balance between mind, body, and spiritA tendency to have a foresight for bad things to happenA Randall’s intern spoke in NATO about the anti-microbial diseaseFocusing on simple things – love, compassion, giving back, improving yourselfWhat is next after leaving NATO?35:41 Fill in the blank to excellenceMircea's biggest lesson in lifeMircea's number 1 professional goalMircea's number 1 personal goalMircea's biggest regret in lifeMircea's biggest dreamMircea's advice to a 21-year-old selfSponsors:Sandee | Bliss: BeachesWant to Connect? Reach out to us online!Website | Instagram | LinkedIn