Leadership Lessons: Craig A. Cardon

In the early 80’s I was planning my life ahead and decided to spend a couple of years in the service of others by serving a mission. When I received my mission call, I was delighted to find out that I would serve in Rome, where my brother lived at that time. The Mission President was Craig A. Cardon, a leader that would change my life.

A few weeks prior to beginning my service, I went to visit my brother in Rome and took the opportunity to also visit my new Mission President. It was a Monday, traditionally a day off, so to speak, for the missionaries. When I arrived at the Mission Home, I was ushered into President Cardon’s office and when I introduced myself, he was somewhat caught off guard but pleased. He immediately stood up and shook my hand with a great smile and also apologized for his casual attire explaining that he was planning to take his family to a picnic somewhere and enjoy the day off. Just from this first encounter, I felt I was going to be in for a treat during my time of service.

I can tell many anecdotes and stories of my mission and the wisdom that I received from President Cardon, but I will share three leadership traits that I learned from him and have stuck with me throughout my existence. In fact, I have made a note of them and tried to use them throughout my professional and personal life.

• Leadership has no title. Although for organizational reasons a mission must have a form of hierarchy, such a thing is more for accountability and transparency purposes. The reality is that missionaries need to have self-motivation in order to face the many disappointments they would encounter in trying to share their message with people. President Cardon had a particular eye for spotting leaders and for training them. He was empowering and, in empowering his missionaries, he was very deliberate. I still remember going into his office the second day into my mission to receive my first assignment. President Cardon explained to me that missionary work had been struggling in the town of Pisa and for some time he had considered many options for improving the work. After prayerful consideration, he decided to double the missionary contingent and told me I would be part of this new effort. The light in his eyes and his palpable enthusiasm had a powerful effect in me to the extent that I felt I was going to Pisa to change the world. I had the most wonderful time in that city, full of success and rewarding experiences. Today, our church has a strong ward in Pisa, thanks to the inspiration given by the Lord to a this mission president who was ready to lead.

• Have a Vision. President Cardon had served a mission as a young man (just like me when I served under him) in Italy in the late 60’s. He was thrilled to have been called as Mission President a number of years later. His love for the people of Italy and its history was evident. He knew and felt why he was there again. He thought long and hard about his vision for the three years he would spend there helping spread the message of the gospel. That vision took form into a plan and a book that he put together for every missionary to have during their service. He called that vision the “New Renaissance” in honour of the Renaissance age when Italy changed the world and created the foundation of modern civilization, especially through arts and innovation. I still have that book and feel the inspiration it gave me when I served there. I have used that book even after my mission as it contains very practical examples on how to set goals and how to approach people in an open, honest, and sincere way. But the most important thing was that for President Cardon the vision was not just a fancy fad but a living tool that could become reality only through diligent application. I saw this when I was transferred to my new assignment in Rome. When he called me to let me know that I was leaving Pisa to go to Rome, and specifically to the same area where my brother lived, he prefaced his conversation telling me that normally this would not feel right but that he felt inspired to do so and that he felt confident this was the right thing to do. I was asked to lead the district and work with my brother to establish the already existing group of members and to increase their numbers, and again President Cardon was right because he had the vision clear in his mind.

• Never give up. President Cardon had learned this valuable principle during his first mission in Italy, as a young man. He had left his home and his dear ones, including the love of his life, for his 2-year service. During a particular challenging time in his mission, he felt he needed to write a letter to this beautiful girl, Debbie, and express his desire to continue his mission because of the love for the Lord that was strong in him even if this may have been difficult for her. Debbie was truly inspired and impressed by Craig’s words and decided that he was going to be the man she wanted to have her family with. Debbie and Craig were a wonderful example to all the missionaries and the rest of the members, and they continue to be to all that come within their circle of influence. The application of this principle became a lesson to me when my companion and I went to talk to a young man who had decided to join our church and needed to be interviewed to establish his commitment. When my companion and I went to his house, he wasn’t there. Instead, we were ushered in by his roommate who was not particularly fond of us. In the end, he became confrontational and threatened us. So, we had to leave. Our friend never joined the church. President Cardon was in our area and when he found out what had happened he told us that we were fortunate to be learning that only through opposition we can make true progress. From that day on, I always recognized opposition as a sign of progress and I have to thank President Cardon for this.

Obviously I have learned other valuable lessons from Craig A. Cardon, including humility, compassion, and an exemplary integrity. President Cardon went on to be an extremely successful businessman and was finally called to serve full-time as a General Authority in our church, one of the top leadership positions in the organization. I was not surprised when I heard his name called in a church General Conference in 2006. He is now “retired” and enjoying his large and beautiful family. However, he has left behind a huge legacy of leaders that have gone on to be successful in their own right because of his influence, teachings, and example.

Thank you Craig for being you!
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