From Grenades to Gratitude: Manny Maceda's Journey of Courage, Purpose, and Leadership

Leaping towards a “grenade” for Jack Welch is not a standard business school experience, but Manny Maceda is not a standard person. In a discussion with Aconic, Manny shares his experience coming to the US after his family faced extreme economic and political duress in the Philippines, finding his early bearings at Dupont and business school, and ultimately rising to lead iconic consulting firm Bain and Company.

While I never had the opportunity to work under Manny’s leadership (having started my career at another consulting firm), just hearing his journey was galvanizing. Three themes of the discussion especially stood out: courage, gratitude and purpose.

From the Jack Welch “grenade” incident (this story alone is worth the listen), to agreeing to stay in America with his father, persistently pursuing the Bain top role after initial disappointment, evolving the company’s mission statement: Manny has demonstrated no shortage of courage in his personal life and career.

“We all will get disappointments, it’s a matter of how you shake yourself off and be grateful for the opportunity” Manny reflects.

In all facets of life, Manny exemplifies deep gratitude for the gifts he has been given and the people around him. In turn, this gratitude underpins an astonishing degree of positivity. Not everyone is so appreciative of their first employer, but Manny’s gratitude for Dupont is clear. His intentional choice to ‘not dwell too much on the downsides’ is infectious.

“We’re all dealt a set of cards. Let’s be grateful for what we have. Let’s do what we can with it.”

Purpose was another prominent theme throughout the discussion. Manny calls-out the value of taking time to write a personal mission statement. Recalling the statement he crafted when elected as a Bain partner, he emphasizes the personal importance of building a great family and firm for the world. To that end, Manny shared a few reflections on a path forward for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities… started with celebrating and being grateful for the heritage.

“Part of the positivity and goodness is to define being Asian American and Pacific Islander as to be proud of, as something that’s a position of strength.”

Through his example of courage, gratitude, purpose and more, Manny provides a burst of inspiration. You can hear the full, extraordinary discussion here.