Want Original Thinkers? Send Them to the World First

A note to young leaders.

I’ve offered both my children a $50,000 “bribe” to take a gap year between high school and university – on the condition they travel and work or study in at least three countries.

I’ll likely offer a similar incentive for another gap year between university and the beginning of their careers.

Why?

Because travelling the world with open eyes and a curious mind can teach lessons and prompt reflections that no textbook can.

I was reminded of this last week when reading about Smiljan Radić – the Chilean architect who has just been awarded the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honour.

After graduating as an architect, Radić decided to travel and study for a further six years because he felt he wasn’t yet mature enough to design buildings.

Walking through Greece, through southern Italy, and along the Croatian coast – Radić encountered Greek temples resting on rock outcrops, cyclopean walls and neolithic dolmens. The ancient practice of building not upon the earth, but with it and from it.

The massive boulders that would later become Radić’s signature style – in Restaurant Mestizo, the Serpentine Pavilion, the VIK Winery – speak of a Mediterranean and Aegean sensibility.

When he finally opened his own practice in 1995, he was not just a designer. He was an original thinker.

If originality and impact matter to you – not merely financial security – then travel is the order of the day.

Lots of travel, especially when you’re young.