No Fear of Failure: Real Stories of How Leaders Deal with Risk and Change

Chapter Four

VICENTE FOX: HUMILITY

A narrow, gravel road led to the sprawling ranch outside of León, Guanajuato, Mexico. There was no gate at the entrance, no visible security detail, only rolling brown landscape that stretched all the way to the horizon. As we approached, our car rumbled across cobblestones that were put in just recently; before that, the driveway had been dirt. The hacienda was large with graceful brick archways and thick stucco walls—not at all ostentatious. It is, first and foremost, a working farm and a family home.

A man in dark slacks and a white open-necked shirt greeted us warmly. His face was touched by the sun, giving him the healthy look of an outdoorsman who grew up close to the land. Even to new friends, he was ...