Of Chess Players and Banner-Wavers

“It’s a great huge game of chess that’s being played—all over the world—if this is the world at all, you know.”

--Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Dimitri K. Simes and Paul J. Saunders explained in The National Interest, why America needs chess players—not banner-wavers. “We have increasingly lost the ability to look squarely in the mirror before judging others and taking them to task.”

American leaders have taken their own share of ruthless, and even brutal, decisions….Such decisions, while obviously regrettable, were the result of the types of difficult choices that great powers must often make. But then it behooves us not to preach too loudly about our own sense of morality. It also means that, in crafting an effective foreign policy, we shouldn’t be blinded by our own rhetorical claims to ethical perfection—or to fail to recognize that many states see us as a “normal country”—one that pursues its own interests by any means necessary and often makes moral judgments about others that appear influenced by those interests.

Supporting one’s friends while condemning one’s opponents is nothing new; but when that is combined with a messianic predisposition to view the world as divided into the children of light and the children of darkness—with no need to compromise with, understand the motives of or address the concerns of those deemed opponents—this becomes truly dangerous. The refusal of most politicians to acknowledge the clear connection between U.S. conduct in the Middle East and the hatred of the United States among Islamist extremists that motivated the September 11 attacks is a case in point. The United States has had serious reasons for pursuing the types of policies it has—but it is foolhardy to ignore the evidence that there are costs. The Arab-Israeli dispute is clearly a key litmus test of American policy for many Muslims—but this fact has not been a subject of discussion, even after being raised in the Republican presidential debates. And while plenty of experts on the region have made this argument, it is not reflected where it counts: among political leaders or even most of the mainstream media.

It is an interesting observation and points to a trap for leaders when they fall prey to grand delusions. There is an interesting 10-part series of articles in the Vision Journal--Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion—that examine "throughout history, the desire of some men to become savior-gods and the proclivity of people to move toward them and support them, thereby giving legitimacy to their rule and encouragement to their fantasies of omnipotence. We will also see that religion is all too often harnessed and manipulated in the pursuit of such deification. Those who pretend at godhood, or who simply use it as a political device, often claim for themselves a unique anointing, the status of superman, or the ability to create supreme law. In their delusions, they become mistaken messiahs." Here is a link to each article in the series:

  Men As Gods
  The Coming of the "Christian" Emperor: Constantine the Great
  The Fall and Rise of the Roman Empire
  Aspects of Empire—Roman, Holy and German: Otto the Great
  Where the Sun Never Set: Charles V
  I Am Called to Change the World: Napoleon
  Hearts of Darkness: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini Part 1
  Dictators' Downfall: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini Part 2
  Purging the People: Lenin and Stalin
  Oriental Christs: Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and Kim Il-sung
  The Final False Messiah

Posted by Michael McKinney at 07:00 PM
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Quarrel Not At All: The Stuff of Command

In President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman, the follow-up to Lincoln’s Virtues, William Lee Miller, writes that if you knew Lincoln before he became president, you knew that it was part of Lincoln’s character to be capable of overlooking slights to himself, but you might question whether he could, at the same time, “command armies and make the demanding decisions of a nation at war.”

The stuff of command, especially in a giant deadly conflict, would not seem ordinarily to combine well with the stuff of forbearance and generosity. Executive skill and vigor, like a surgeon’s skill, would appear to require a certain withdrawal of empathy. The resolution necessary to great statesmanship would appear to invite, if not even to require, a certain ruthlessness with those whose wills and complex humanity complicate, impede, and even defy one’s vigorously pursued purpose.

In a letter to Captain James M. Cutts who had been found guilty in a court-martial of conduct unbecoming of an officer of a gentleman, Lincoln offered this advice:

Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself, can spare time for personal contention. Still less can he afford to take all the consequences, including the vitiating of his temper and the loss of self-control.

Yield larger things to which you can show no more than equal right; and yield lesser ones, though clearly your own.

Miller writes:

Interpreting Lincoln, we might say: We overestimate our own interest, and we underestimate our adversary’s, so that the advice to yield on all small matters, and on all matters than even to our distorting eyes seem equally balanced, is a moral corrective. Here is a lawyer, and a politician, and a war leader in the midst of tremendous battles giving this surprising advice: quarrel not at all.

Lincoln was a man possessed magnanimity and discriminating judgment, who was able to rise above vindictiveness to win the battles that mattered most. Miller’s book on Lincoln holds many lessons for leaders of today. He shows how Lincoln learned to balance his strengths and weaknesses in a way that made him one of the greatest and most respected leaders in modern times.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 09:37 AM
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Best Presidents In History - 2008 Harris Poll

Harris Interactive conducted an online poll within the United States last month. They asked over 2000 adults: Which one of the following presidents do you think was the best overall president in our history?

The list included all presidents since Franklin Roosevelt, along with some of the more famous from earlier in American history – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge.

Scores were tallied by adding the percentage of those who answered “best” and “second best” for each president. Among modern leaders, Ronald Reagan ranked highest, but even his cache could not compete with the mighty Abe Lincoln, who was named the top president by 20 percent of those surveyed.

Abraham Lincoln, who is at the center of this rare photo, delivers his inaugural address from the Capitol's east portico.

Here are the results:

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Franklin Roosevelt
4. John Kennedy
5. George Washington
6. Bill Clinton
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. Harry Truman
9. Theodore Roosevelt
10. George W. Bush
11. Dwight Eisenhower
12. Jimmy Carter
13. Richard Nixon
14. George H.W. Bush
15. Lyndon Johnson
16. Gerald Ford
17. John Adams
18. Andrew Jackson
19. Woodrow Wilson
20. Calvin Coolidge

Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:02 AM
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Sir John Harvey-Jones Dies at 83

Sir John Harvey-Jones, one the great industrial leaders of his generation, died peacefully in his sleep on January 9th after a long illness. He was knighted in 1985 for his service to industry.

The Economist reported, "His hair was long and scruffy, his ties ludicrous and his manner jovial bordering on Falstaffian; a board meeting, for him, was a debate, punctuated by gales of his maniacal laughter. Few were better at the brisk summing-up and the clear, no-nonsense decision. He could not have been more unlike the dull, grey-suited types in most British boardrooms." (He was chairman of The Economist from 1989 to 1994.) In his book Making It Happen: Reflections on Leadership he wrote:

I believe business is still a fascinating an dextremely worthwhile activity, which places demands upon every human attribute you can command. Courage, compassion, balance, humour, listening, communicating, passion, caring and risk-taking are the keys to business success — and indeed to success in living.

More about Sir John Harvey-Jones:
  The Times London
  BBC News Obituary
  The Telegraph UK
  The Economist Obituary

On This Blog:
  Sir John Harvey-Jones on Change

Posted by Michael McKinney at 09:34 AM
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Sir Edmund Hillary Dies Today at 88

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced today that Sir Edmund Hillary (b. July 20 1919), the New Zealand beekeeper-turned-mountaineer, had died this morning at the age of 88.

In 1953, Edmund Hillary, who with his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, became the first known men to conquer Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak. Harry Gordon wrote in The Australian, “That Hillary was first to step onto the 8848m summit has been the subject of much subsequent controversy, but it is a superficial and somewhat pointless distinction since neither of them could have reached the top without each other's or the whole team's help. Indeed the expedition was a textbook example of teamwork where, through the sustained efforts of everyone, the two most suitable climbers made it to the summit of the mountain.”

In an interview, Sir Hillary talked about leadership:

There are some people who are natural leaders, who have the ability to think quickly or choose the right decisions at the right moment. But I think there are an awful lot of us who have to learn how to be a leader, and in actual fact, I believe that most people, if they really want to, can become competent leaders.

I think I was the prime example of someone with relatively modest abilities, but I think I learned to become a reasonably competent leader. Even practice is quite a useful attribute in this respect. As you do more expeditions and more adventures, you get more experience and you know more clearly what to do in moments of emergency. But I certainly never regarded myself as a natural leader.

Sir Hillary devoted all of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust he created in 1960. In a 1995 interview with James Clash, Hillary said, "I think the most worthwhile things I've done have not been on the mountains or in the Antarctic, but doing projects with my friends, the Sherpa people. The 27 schools we've now established, the hospitals—those are the things I would like to be remembered for."

In November 2007 a institute was founded to recognize and foster outstanding international leadership in the name of Sir Edmund Hillary—the Hillary Institute. The Institute is creating a new international award—to be known as the Hillary Step—to be awarded to a person who displays great leadership in their chosen field. The Hillary Step will be bestowed every four years and will be worth $NZ 1 million. The Hillary Step is intended to recognize someone who has already displayed outstanding leadership, but who is still in mid-career so as to help further their work.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 11:07 AM
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Paul Johnson’s Heroes: Lessons for Today's Leaders

Paul Johnson’s Heroes is a pleasure to read. With his knack for illuminative details and command of the language, he has produced a series of short biographical essays that draw you through the book and leave you with a lot to think about. He notes that heroes have not always been appreciated and the status accorded them can be fleeting and arbitrary. By way of example he writes:

In the troubled times which followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars, caused by lower wages, unemployment and higher food prices, the term became abusive. When ever the Duke of Wellington made his appearance, a certain kind of London mob (there were many different kinds) would shout: “No heroes! We want no heroes!” For the self-conscious proletariat, the “Man on Horseback” was a political enemy. They threw stones through the windows of Apsley House, the duke’s London residence. He had the windows boarded up but refused to replace the glass, as a reminder to people of how volatile was popularity an dhow fickle the crowd, applauding him as a hero one moment, detesting him the next.

Consider too, Genghis Khan was “reviled for nearly a millennium as the archetypal mass murderer and rapist, despoiler, arsonist and ravager” yet “since the collapse of the Soviet empire in Central Asia, has become there a state-sponsored hero, especially in Azerbaijan and Mongolia.”

“No people in history were more in need of heroes than the Hebrews.” And so Johnson begins his examples with the judges Deborah, Judith and Sampson leading to their greatest hero, King David. Continuing on, his survey of heroes spans almost 3000 years of Western history and ranges from, Alexander and Julius Caesar, to the unlikely Mae West and Marilyn Monroe, to Lincoln and Churchill, to Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Here are some of his comments from the book:

• Ronald Reagan: "I have never come across a person, certainly not in public life, who was so thoroughly and fundamentally at ease with himself."
• George Washington: "The United States of America has been fortunate in many ways, especially in the magnificent endowment of nature. But not the least of its blessings was the man who first led it to victory, then made the new nation that emerged law-abiding, stable and prosperous, as well as free. This double achievement is without parallel in history."
• Thomas More: "More has a lot to teach the twenty-first century. He had a curiously modern gift for words, and he articulated the culminating drama of his life -- the still, small voice of conscience defying an ideological despotism -- with stunning aptness, so that to us he resembles the hero of a contemporary morality play."
• Robert E. Lee: "Lee was a true hero. He insisted on making possible for others the freedom of thought and action he sought for himself."
• Abraham Lincoln: "He was a good man on a giant scale. He invariably did the right thing, however easily it might have been avoided. Of how many other great men might this be said?"
• Emily Dickinson: "The best [of her poetry] is sublime, moving, unforgettable, magic, and the woman who produced it is undeniably, in her obstinate, tiresome, brave, unflinching, desperate and triumphant way, heroic."
• Winston Churchill: "In the pursuit and enjoyment of power, he was always not merely careful but punctilious in observing the constitutional rules and respecting those persons and institutions charged with upholding them. This to my mind is the quality in Churchill which makes him so quintessentially the democratic hero."
• Margaret Thatcher: "Thatcher was a good, kind and gentle creature, wonderfully considerate to her staff, always thinking of other people and doing things for them, unasked, and never cross if she got no thanks."
• Pope John Paul II: "He had, it seemed to me, a strong sense of priorities, an unfailing ability to separate the essential from the peripheral, and to keep to the point, obliging others to do likewise. His intellect was burly, gripped hard and never relaxed until the job was done."
• Modern Leaders: "The great majority of heads of government, in my experience, are hardened egoists, corrupted by exercising power even if not already corrupted by getting there. The few exceptions, like Harold Wilson or Willy Brandt, tend to be weak men."
• Good government: "After nearly sixty years of writing history, and also of observing contemporary history makers in action, I am convinced that successful government depends less on intelligence and knowledge than on simplicity – that is, the ability to narrow aims to three or four important tasks which are possible, reasonable and communicable."

Johnson states that heroic behavior is to be found in every age and in all kinds of places. He asks, “How do we recognize the heroes and heroines of today?” He puts forth four principle identifiers we should take note of:

First, an absolute independence of mind, which springs from the ability to think everything through for yourself, and to treat whatever is the current consensus on any issue with skepticism.

Second, having made up your mind independently, the ability to act resolutely and consistently.

Third, to be able to ignore or reject everything the media throws at you, provided you remain convinced you are doing right.

And finally, to act with personal courage at all times, regardless of the consequences to yourself.

Who are your heroes?

Posted by Michael McKinney at 08:36 AM
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America’s Best Leaders: Eighteen Who Motivate People To Work Together To Accomplish Great Things

According to a recent Center for Public Leadership/U.S. News & World Report poll, "more than three quarters of the respondents say they believe the country is going through a leadership crisis, up 7 percent from last year, a trend stretching across all demographic and political groups. Nearly 80 percent feel that unless it gets better leaders, the country will decline, while 51 percent believe that the United States is already falling behind other nations. And about two thirds say that today's leaders pale in comparison with those of 20 years ago."

Yet, U.S. News has found 18 people—America’s Best Leaders—they believe are helping to restore confidence in our leaders. The list is a collaboration between U.S .News and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Leader was defined as a person who "motivates people to work collaboratively to accomplish great things." They selected 18 winners, including two partnerships, from a field of more than 200. The panelists rated the nominees from to 1 to 5 based on how well they met the following criteria: Sets Direction (25%), Achieves Results (50%), Cultivates a Culture of Growth (25%).

On their web site you will find a profile of each individual on the list:

• Lee Hamilton and James Baker, Co-chairs, Iraq Study Group
  Their report made it hard for even the war’s firmest backers to argue for staying the course.
• Kenneth Chenault, CEO, American Express Co.
  He revived Am Ex after September 11 created financial headaches and personal heartaches.
Kenneth Fisher, Chairman and CEO, Fisher House Foundation
His foundation builds housing near military hospitals to accommodate soldiers’ families.
• William H. Foege, Senior Fellow, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  His work with immunizations for the Gates Foundation has saved millions of lives.
• Michael J. Fox, Founder, Michael J. Fox Foundation
  He has become the spokesman for Parkinson's disease and raised $90 million for research, too.
• Mary Houghton and Ron Grzywinski, Cofounders, ShoreBank Corp.
  Since 1973, their bank has invested dollars and hands in Chicago’s grittiest neighborhoods.
• Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO, Avon Products Inc.
  She transformed the 120-year-old cosmetics company into 'the Company for Women.'
• Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense
  He proved that teaming up with businesses was an effective way to solve pollution problems.
• Nicholas Kristof, Columnist, the New York Times
  In his columns, Kristof shows a new generation that journalists can advocate for change.
• Yo-Yo Ma, Founder and Artistic Director, “Silk Road Project”
  The cellist brought together the sounds from a historic trade route between Italy and Japan.
• Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
  As the first female speaker, she says her election “broke the marble ceiling” of Congress.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California
  The former bodybuilder and actor works with the state Legislature in a nonpartisan way.
• Ruth J. Simmons, President, Brown University
  Her successful fundraising and introduction of need-blind admissions have made her popular.
• Pat Summitt, Women’s Basketball Coach, Univ. of Tennessee
  She’s had more wins to her name than any other college basketball coach in history.
• Shirley Tilghman, President, Princeton University
  Sitting on the board to pick the president, she impressed her colleagues--and they chose her.
• Harold Varmus, CEO, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
  He believes scientists' work should immediately be available online to everyone in the world.

This list certainly isn’t inclusive and of course it has its limitations, but it is worth reviewing for some insights into how these individuals developed their leadership skills. The individual profiles/interviews are worth reading.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 07:53 PM
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Being a Role Model: Who's Watching You?

Former Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on July 29, 2007. Before about 75,000 people, he delivered a good speech in which he emphasized the importance of living a good example. Here is the text of part of that speech:

We all hear about how baseball imitates life, which held especially true for my dad. He used to say that everything that happens in baseball happens in life and everything that happens in life happens in baseball. He certainly taught us about life through baseball. But I also have to admit that as a young man with a limited view of the world, baseball and life became one for me and it was difficult to see beyond playing the game.

Did you ever stop to think about how your life would unfold or imagine how you would like your life to turn out? One of those reflective pauses happened in my life when I was around 18 years old. I thought I had it all figured out, I would play big league baseball until about 45 and then worry about the rest of my life after that. It took me a little while, but I did come to realize that baseball was just one part of my life with the possible exception of this weekend, of course. This was never more clear to me than when we had children. I realized that the secret of life is life, and a bigger picture came into focus. Games were and are important, but people and how you impact on them are most important. While we all work to develop into productive people for our own happiness, it is also vital that we do so for the good of society as a whole.

As I came to know the importance of my role in the development of my children, I began to sense the impact I could have on other kids. It is all about coming to the realization that we all have within us the power to develop and pursue almost anything we set our mind to, and that is the message and opportunity we want to pass to all children.

We are the ambassadors for the future, just as a baseball player wants to leave his mark on the game and leave it a little better than he found it, we should all try to make this world a better place for the next generation.

When I realized that I could use baseball to help make life better especially for the kids, baseball became a platform. By trying to set a good example, I could help influence young people in positive and productive ways. And some of this became apparent to me in my earliest playing days. So as my major league career unfolded, I started playing a little more attention to my actions. I remember when Kenny Singleton showed me a tape of me throwing my helmet down after a strikeout and all he said was, "How does that look?" I remember learning about a family who saved their money to come to Baltimore to see me play. I got thrown out in the first inning and their little boy cried the whole game. I remember how I reacted with anger when dad was fired after an O-and-six start, and after each of those events and others, I vowed to act better the next time.

Yes, these were only little things, but as dad used to say, if you take care of all the little things, you'll never have a big thing to worry about.

As the years passed, it became clear to me that kids see it all, and it's not just some of your actions that influence, it's all of them. Whether we like it or not as big leaguers, we are role models. The only question is will we be positive or will it be negative. Should we put players up on a pedestal and require them to take responsibility? No. But we should encourage them to use their influence positively, to help build up and develop the young people who follow the game.

Sport can play a big role in teaching values and principles. It can be a huge developmental tool for life. Just think—teamwork, leadership, work ethic and trust are all part of the game and are also all factors in how we make the most of our lives. So an essential part of the job of every player and of all people for that matter is to help the young people of today learn these lessons so they can live better lives tomorrow.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:30 PM
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JFK’s Leadership Style

As we have discussed before, the idea of the great leader as sole player is flawed. The point leader can’t do it alone. It takes many leaders to support the point leader. John F. Kennedy is said to have wondered how a man could conceive of seeking the job of the president when the problems were obviously bigger than mortal man should have to handle. It can only be done through people in an environment where they can do their best. Good relationships are vital to the success of any leader.

The late W. W. Rostow served as a major adviser on national security affairs to Kennedy. His observations of Kennedy’s leadership style are instructive:

It did not fit the hierarchical pyramids to be found in textbooks on administration: it was like the spokes of a wheel. When he formed a bond it remained firm. His enormous energy permitted him to deal with a great many people on a bilateral basis, weaving their efforts into his tasks as he saw them. His method was that of the extended family.… He put each member to work in ways that could help, according to his talents.

It was rooted in an assessment of human beings that was both affectionate and hard-minded. He actively enjoyed the variety of talents and personalities that assembled around him as the drive for the presidency gathered momentum. He respected each man for what he was. There was reliability in his acceptance of men to work with him. There was also a firm assessment of where each might be useful and where not.

Kennedy was able to create an environment without too many layers that fostered more open communication. At the same time, this requires thoroughness on the part of the leader so as to be certain that each task is covered by a capable person, while coordinating and leading in a way that doesn’t become dictatorial.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 01:12 AM
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Calls for Leadership: The Failed States Index 2007

The Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy Magazine has just released the Failed States Index. It is a sobering survey of 177 countries ranked in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and societal deterioration. It is based on 12 social, economic, political, and military indicators. (You can click on the map above to view a larger image detailing the status of various nations of the world, including your own.)

The third annual Index found the greatest improvements over the last year in Liberia, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bosnia. Unfortunately, the risk of failure is running higher than last year in Lebanon, Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, and Niger. Although these countries may seem world's away, their problems have consequences for all of us.

Failing States have one thing in common—bad leadership. Foreign Policy concludes, “Many states must endure poverty, corruption, and natural disasters. But, for the weak, there is nothing more costly than a strongman calling the shots.” Billions in foreign aid and security are no match for bad leadership. Effective leadership can reverse a states slide to failure.

Three editorials from the last two days, speak to the leadership issue behind these problems. First, here are some comments from The Daily Star in Lebanon titled, “If Lebanon becomes a failed state again, failed leadership will be to blame:”

Lebanon's slide downward on the scale toward failure was more pronounced than that of any other country in the world. Who or what is to blame for the fact that Lebanon is once again rapidly on its way to becoming a basket case? Yes, the war with Israel created problems, but the leaders of Lebanon have compounded those "difficulties" and transformed them into an utter disaster. Leaders on both sides of the political divide are guilty of playing solely to their respective supporting audiences and ignoring everyone else. Not one has risen to the challenge of being a leader for all the Lebanese. [There exists a] paralyzing impasse that has been brought on by their political leaders' shared predilections for hubris and maximalism.

From AllAfrica Global Media, we have this opinion from Nurudeen Jattau in Nigeria:

It is needless to say that the tragedy of the contemporary nation-state of Nigeria is the seeming absence or the lack of visionary leadership in all spheres of governance. This precisely, is the singular reason why analysts are agreed that Nigeria may never reach anything close to its full potential as a nation. All things considered, and whichever way the pendulum swings, we must understand and appreciate the fact that leadership is invariably a means to an end, and not an end in itself.

Consider finally, an editorial by Fouad Al-Obaid in the Kuwait Times:

If one studies history and the civilizations that preceded us, one will most certainly not come across common names. However leaders on the other hand, do end up in the pages of history for several reasons. They do so when their failure is total and their incompetence is obvious to all. Just as much as they do so when their bravery, their tactics, their leadership capability along with their capacity to move minds and hearts in the most turbulent times is put to test and they succeed.

In the Arab World we seem to be lacking true leadership capabilities at least in modern times. Today, we need to find a source of inspiration in leaders that will set the path for a renewed socio-economic development scheme. We need people that have visions, leaders that are willing to fight in order to craft reality out of a vision. If one looks at the development of Qatar and Dubai, one can credit their leadership with bold vision which has projected their otherwise semi-arid desert lands into global hubs where transport, trans-shipment, and multinational corporations have established their home base in.

[T]he lessons that need to be extracted from such success stories is that visions can become reality and in that field we are either lacking vision or having a hard time executing it properly. In either case, we clearly are doing something wrong. We today need leaders that are willing to perhaps sacrifice themselves for the better good of society. Reforms are never easy and it takes a strong leader to execute them.

Foreign Policy would agree with Mr. Al-Obaid. They write that effective leadership doesn’t necessarily make a leader popular. “But then, such leadership is exactly what more failing states need: a head of state who chooses continued reforms over his own power and recognition.”

I am reminded of something John Lukacs wrote in 1993, “The great and enduring problems are political, not economic. They involve the lust for power, not for money. (But then, this has been true of mankind ever since Adam and Eve, misunderstood by Adam Smith as well as by Karl Marx.)” You don't have to look too hard to find applicable lessons here for any leadership role we find ourselves in.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 08:47 AM
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Presidential Courage

Michael Beschloss has written a series of stories in Presidential Courage about how nine American Presidents have, at crucial moments, made courageous decisions for the national interest even when they knew they might be jeopardizing their careers. The stories are brief overviews of trying times but are both poignant and encouraging. In his epilogue he writes:

From his own reading of history, John Kennedy feared that the changing political environment was making it more difficult fro Americans to practice the kind of leadership that had shaped our past.

In 1955, he complained that politics had become “so expensive, so mechanized and so dominated by professional politicians and public relations men.” Thanks to “the tremendous power of mass communications,” he wrote, “any unpopular or unorthodox course arouses a storm of protests.”

Beschloss continues with this prescription:

The ancient Romans surrounded their young leaders with paintings and sculpture to encourage qualities of greatness.

Should Americans ever follow such a practice, one of the public rooms of the White House might be enhanced with artifacts reminding Presidents that since George Washington, courage has been a requirement of the Presidency.

First might be the baseball that Joe DiMaggio asked Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev to sign. Then, moving backward through time, the dented helmet worn by one of the U.S. Marshals sent by JFK to integrate Ole Miss.

Next might be the Torah that moved Harry Truman to tears after he helped ensure the Jewish people a home—and the black cathedral radio that told FDR on Election Night 1940 that he might be defeated by the isolationists.

After that would be a miner’s torch given to Theodore Roosevelt by grateful anthracite coal workers, and T.R.’s relic of his own hero—the fold ring containing hair snipped from Abraham Lincoln’s head after his murder for liberating a race.

Beside the Lincoln ring would be the cameo that Andrew Jackson wore around his neck: the sad, soulful face of his wife, Rachel—victim, he was certain, of his plutocratic enemies.

Then propped upright, a serving plate from the beloved family home that John Adams called Peacefield—a reminder that if halting war with France cost him reelection, he could return to a rich life with Abigail, surviving comrades from the American Revolution and, in the end, when he was almost alone, his books.

Looming on a self above all these objects would be the quill pen and inkwell used by President Washington on those storm-swept nights in August 1795 to write all of those letters defending John Jay’s peace treaty with the British.

But not all Presidents are affected by historical artifacts. In that case, they might be taken up to Mount Vernon, and up the stairs to the bedroom where George Washington died.

Standing there, to this day, is the wooden four-poster deathbed where the Father of His Country looked up into his doctor’s kindly, worried eyes and croaked his near-t-last words.

General Washington was referring to his medical prognosis, but his words conveyed what he hoped his example would say to future Presidents of the United States.

What Washington told the doctor was, “Don’t be afraid!”

Surround yourself with these stories.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 10:58 AM
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Former Russian Leader Boris Yeltsin Dead at 76

The flamboyant Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007), died today of heart failure at the age of 76. Russia's first freely elected president has been credited with engineering the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushing the country into democracy and a market economy.

The Financial Times comments, “Boris Yeltsin had the physical and moral strength to bear on his shoulders the colossal burden of a country in a ferment of transition, its economy struggling with the twin tasks of discarding a tenacious old system and adjusting to an unfamiliarly fast-moving new one. At the beginning of his rule he was able to grasp, either instinctively or through a quick intelligence, much of what was required.”

His contemporaries may judge him a bit harsher remembering him for being out of touch and hesitant to act against crime and corruption. Yet on the international stage, many will remember when in August 1991, he climbed on top of a tank to successfully stare down a coup attempt against Gorbachev. His open defiance clearly marked the end of the USSR.

Yeltsin’s leadership by and large, did not rely on status and fear. Very much the strategic leader, he developed a populist style. He had an ability to connect with the Russian people. It is from here that he derived much of his power. His problem was that didn’t really didn’t know what to do with the power once he got it.

The Economist concludes, “The former construction engineer was not a great builder of institutions; the democracy was flawed. But he had the right instincts. For liberating Russians from the yoke of the one-party state and the planned economy, he deserves immense gratitude. Yet his nepotistic and capricious rule spawned colossal lawlessness and corruption, paving the way for his authoritarian successor, Vladimir Putin.”

World Reaction to His Death:

  Former Soviet President Gorbachev: "I express the very deepest condolences to the family of the deceased on whose shoulders rest major events for the good of the country and serious mistakes. A tragic fate."

  British Prime Minister Tony Blair: "It is with sadness that I learned of the death of former president Yeltsin. He was a remarkable man who saw the need for democratic and economic reform and in defending it played a vital role at a crucial time in Russia's history."

  Exiled Russian multi-millionaire and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Boris Berezovsky: "For me personally he was a teacher -- he made me a free person. If my mother taught me how to love then Yeltsin taught me not only how to understand what a free person is but also how to become free.

"Russia has a lost a brilliant reformer. No-one has done as much for Russia as Yeltsin did. He was a unique person and absolutely Russian in his soul, in his impulsiveness and in his intellect."

  Vytautas Landsbergis, first president of Lithuania after it was declared independent from the Soviet Union: "Yeltsin was a decent man and he could not stand political intrigues. His rise to the post of Russia's president was a very good thing for the Baltic states. It was Yeltsin's Russia, which recognized Lithuania's independence by signing a bilateral treaty in the summer of 1991. He also stood to defend us when Gorbachev let the Soviet troops storm buildings in Vilnius."

  President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso: "Mr. Yeltsin was a key reference in the post-Communist transition in Russia. As president he had enormous challenges and difficult mandates but he certainly brought East and West closer together and helped replace confrontation by co-operation.

"He is best remembered when standing up to the coup d'etat aimed at restoring a dictatorial regime in Russia. With great personal courage he had merit in defending freedom. The Commission sends its condolences to Mr Yeltsin's family, the Russian authorities and the people of Russia."

Boris Yeltsin in his own words:

  "A man must live like a great brilliant flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is far better than a mean little flame."

  "It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical: At such moments every new word and fresh thought is more precious than gold. Indeed, people must not be deprived of the right to think their own thoughts."

  "You can make a throne of bayonets, but you can't sit on it for long."

Posted by Michael McKinney at 10:52 AM
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Henry Ford Dies Today in 1947

Sixty years ago today Henry Ford died in his bedroom in Dearborn, Michigan. He was 83. Will Rogers had remarked, "It will take a hundred years to tell whether he helped us or hurt us, but he certainly didn't leave us where he found us."

Ford, of course, revolutionized the manufacturing process, yet probably one of his greatest contributions was economic. His insistence that the company's future lay in the production of affordable cars for a mass market lead him—often at odds with his investors—to lower unit costs and to implement a highly criticized minimum wage scheme. Ford's quest to make the automobile accessible to all, helped to change the make-up of American society in general. As Lee Iacocca wrote in Time magazine, “[I]f it hadn't been for Henry Ford's drive to create a mass market for cars, America wouldn't have a middle class today.”

Posted by Michael McKinney at 10:08 PM
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Firing Back: Coming Back After a Fall

Have you ever had a major setback? No. I didn’t think so. Me neither. But in the unlikely event you do or in the more likely event that you know someone who has or will, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward have created a well researched guidebook. Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebounded After Career Disasters strives to help us through the approaches that have worked for some and those that have backfired on others.

Leaders should not be measured by how they bask in the gratification of their accomplishments. Rather, they should be measured by how they respond when fate deflates the joys of hard-earned triumphs. How well do they pick themselves up and get back in the race.

The most important thing is to put your defeat into the proper context. This is often difficult to do in a culture that sees failure as a very bad thing and finds it difficult to even discuss. They write, “It is, in fact, wrong to consider adversity a diversion off one’s path toward greatness. The subsequent resilience from calamities has been revealed as vital to the character formation and differentiation of heroic figures…. It is the ability to bounce back from adversity—to prove your mettle once more by getting back into the game—that separates the lasting great from the fleeting greats.”

They have developed a five-step strategy for rescuing and restoring your career and reputation—a leader’s most valuable asset—after a devastating professional setback.

1. Fight not Flight. This doesn’t mean to come out swinging, but to face the reality of the situation. “To stand up to the reality of the situation and not to flee from it or shirk the battles that lie ahead in restoring the reputation and career of the leader." Being able to pick your battles is an important component here.

In the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan opined in an article entitled, Ford Without Tears these comments about the comeback and legacy of Gerald Ford.

He seemed lacking in vanity. There is no evidence that he was obsessed with his legacy. He didn't worry and fret about whether history would fully capture and proclaim his excellence, and because of this he didn't always have to run around proving he was right. He just did his best and kept walking. What a grown-up thing to do. Former, current and future presidents would do well to ponder this approach. History would treat them more kindly. The legacy of a man who spends his time worrying about his legacy is always: He worried about his legacy.

2. Recruit Others into Battle. This assumes you haven’t burnt your bridges. Build strong relationships now. You need to take responsibility for innocent close colleagues who suffer collateral damage with you and then leverage your support networks to reaffirm your credibility through the voices of others. Support from friends and family “can be very influential in reducing the levels of stress felt by the individual suffering from career setback and in encouraging coping behaviors.

3. Rebuild Heroic Stature. Explain the true nature of the adversity. Provide a rational explanation of the context behind any injustice or provide authentic contrition over any missteps you made.

4. Prove Your Heroic Mettle. Regain trust by demonstrating that the setback has not destroyed your professional expertise and character strength. Actions speak louder than words.

5. Discover a New Heroic Mission. Don’t merely define yourself by your past success or failure. Rather, define a new leadership vision and a new path for personal meaning in your work. You may find that you transcend past triumphs.

In all of this they caution:

Indeed, for many people, the failure to come back successfully is caused by an exclusive focus on the immediate problems of dealing with downfall—often practical and financial constraints that consume the person’s energy and will.

While these are indeed important constraints and require attention, they are focused on adjusting to the downfall rather than preparing for the rebound, and an all-consuming focus on these issues can lead to a spiraling down from which the person never fully recovers.

No one can truly define success or failure for us—only we can define them for ourselves.

Of Related Interest:
  Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House

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Henry Kissinger on Vision: Seeing Through a Glass Darkly

Henry Kissinger, then U.S. Secretary of State, explained in an interview with Los Angeles Times concerning the risky restoration of U.S. diplomatic relations with China, the dynamics of vision. “What a national leader has to do at such a time, is to take his society and the world, insofar as the issues are international, from where it is to where it has never been. This means he cannot prove the destination is desirable until the society or the world gets there.”

Nixon himself once told an interviewer that the mark of a leader "is whether he can give history a nudge." Nixon recognized that a leader should be inclusive. He wrote in a 1967 Foreign Affairs article, "Taking the long view, we simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations, there to nurture its fantasies, cherish its hates and threaten its neighbors."

Related Interest: Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World

Posted by Michael McKinney at 05:44 AM
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The Adaptive Leadership of Debra Cafaro

When the Wall Street Journal asked Debra Cafaro, CEO of Ventas, Inc. if there was one skill you need to lead a turnaround, she replied, “One of the reasons I love turnarounds is they’re the most complex situations. You have to call on every single skill you’ve got—strategic, tactical, theatrical, legal, social, intellectual. Not a lot of other situations require that.” Now that’s adaptive leadership!

She also noted that you “have to be willing to temporarily upset a lot of people in order to save the company. You have to withstand a lot of conflict, histrionics, screaming at meetings and toughness on all sides.”

Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:13 PM
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Bob Nardelli: “I want an autopsy!”

As you know, after a board meeting on January 2nd, Home Depot announced the following day that the company and Bob Nardelli had "mutually agreed" that he would resign. Business Week reported, “As the news of his resignation on Jan. 3 shot through Home Depot's white-walled Atlanta headquarters and reached stores, some employees text-messaged each other with happy faces and exclamation points. ‘I think that it is being received well. Most people believed that Bob was autocratic and stubborn,’ says an assistant manager in an Atlanta store who asked not to be named.”

BW continues, “Nardelli alienated customers just as thoroughly as he did employees” and his “data-driven, in-your-face management style grated on many seasoned executives, resulting in massive turnover in Home Depot's upper ranks.”

Bruce Nussbaum, on his Business Week Innovation blog, wrote a post on “why command and control is so bad.” Bob Sutton pointed out on his blog that “a numbers-based and quality focused organization need not be top down, where bosses use numbers to lord over and push around their underlings.” While all of this is true, a numbers-based and quality focused organization may also be top down and still place an emphasis on people and with longer-term results. These aren’t either/or propositions. It requires a different kind of leader.

Jack Welch is reported by Patricia Seller in a June 9, 2002 article in Fortune, to have called Nardelli the “best operating executive I’ve ever seen”, but in the end he “had to go with his gut” in bypassing Nardelli for the top spot at GE. Nardelli understandably stunned and hurt, demanded, “I want an autopsy!” Maybe even Jack Welch saw something beyond the numbers. Perhaps at Home Depot, Nardelli finally got his autopsy.

Mr. Nardelli’s problem seems to be one of attitude. If you have respect for people, if you have their best interests at heart, you can still bring in the numbers. A leader’s people and political role is spotlighted now more than ever. Mr. Nardelli ultimately failed in this arena. "I used to play football," Nardelli said when asked about the challenges of being a public company CEO today. "In football, you always know the score. Now, it's like we are ice-skating, and you've got a bunch of judges on the sideline shouting out the scores." Let’s hope while Mr. Nardelli is fielding calls for his next job, he takes time to reflect on attitude. While Six Sigma is a valuable process tool, it can and should work within a framework of respect for people. Leadership is the same as it ever was and it's still about people.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:48 AM
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Martin Luther King Jr. and Adaptive Change

When trying to bring about a solution that requires adaptive change—a change in frame-of-reference, a change in attitudes, values and behaviors—the challenge “is to work with differences, passions, and conflicts in a way that diminishes their destructive potential and constructively harness their energy.”

In Leadership on the Line, authors Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky explain, “To sustain momentum through a period of difficult change, you have to find ways to remind people of the orienting value—the positive vision—that makes the current angst worthwhile.”

“As you catalyze change, you can help ensure that you do not become a lightning rod for the conflict by making the vision more tangible, reminding people of the values they are fighting for, and showing them how the future might look. By answering, in every possible way, the “why” question, you increase people’s willingness to endure the hardships that come with the journey to a better place.”

This what Martin Luther King Jr.’s accomplished in his famous I Have a Dream speech. He painted a tangible vision when he said:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

Interestingly enough, the civil rights speakers who were to speak on that day—August 28, 1963—argued amongst themselves who would speak when and for how long. King had agreed to not only speak at the end of the day, but to limit his remarks to four minutes. This would seem to have had the effect of virtually sidelining King as it was assumed that the newsmen would have to leave to prepare for the nightly news and the crowd would have thin out by then. However, the news crews and the crowds stuck around to hear King. His well-rehearsed but improvised words captivated everyone present. His four-minute limit stretched to over 16 minutes and the rest is history.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 07:11 AM
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Reactions to Gerald Ford's Death

"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age… His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country.''


"I was deeply saddened this evening when I heard of Jerry Fords death. Ronnie and I always considered him a dear friend and close political ally. His accomplishments and devotion to our country are vast, and even long after he left the Presidency he made it a point to speak out on issues important to us all."


"He had to bring our country back and make it whole again and he did it with dignity, he did it with great, great skill and sensitivity."


"Throughout his career, as a naval officer, congressman, vice president and president, Gerald Ford embodied the best values of a great generation: decency, integrity, and devotion to duty. Thirty-two years ago, he assumed the nation's highest office during the greatest constitutional crisis since the Civil War. In that troubled era, America needed strength, wisdom, and good judgment, and those qualities came to us in the person of Gerald R. Ford. … I was proud to know President Ford, and to have served in the White House as his chief of staff. He was a dear friend and mentor to me until this very day."


"President Ford is one of the most admirable public servants and human beings I have ever known. A man of highest integrity, his life-long dedication to helping others touched the lives of countless people. An outstanding statesman, he wisely chose the path of healing during a deeply divisive time in our nation's history. He frequently rose above politics by emphasizing the need for bipartisanship and seeking common ground on issues critical to our nation."


"President Ford was a great man, a great leader and perhaps Michigan's greatest son. He served his country with distinction for his entire adult life. He will be remembered as a president who kept America together during one if its greatest crises. He and his wife Betty have demonstrated great courage and the highest values throughout their lives. He will be missed."


"Gerald Ford and I came from different sides of the aisle, but we forged a wonderful friendship as we served Michigan together in the House of Representatives. When his nation called on him to serve his country ... he rose up and held the country together. It will certainly be his legacy. I will remember him fondly and I will miss him dearly."


"He became president of the United States during a trying time and immediately began the difficult process of healing a nation torn apart by scandal. He will be remembered for leading with integrity and character. He brought West Michigan values with him to Washington and maintained them throughout his rise from congressman… to vice president and president."

Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:30 AM
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Former President Gerald R. Ford Dies Today at 93

Former president Gerald R. Ford died at 6:45 p.m. today at age 93. He was 38th (1974-77) and only unelected president in America's history. He was also the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93.

From her husband's office in Rancho Mirage, Mrs. Betty Ford announced in a brief statement, "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age. His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."

President Ford epitomized servant-leadership. He did what was best for those he led no matter what the cost might have been for him politically. He believed in the importance of leading by example. He spent his career serving his country and healed his country. He was the right man at the right time. He was a humble, honest man and a great leader.

"The American people will always admire Gerald Ford's devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration," President Bush said in a statement tonight. "We mourn the loss of such a leader, and our 38th president will always have a special place in our nation's memory."

"During a time of disquiet and uncertainty, Ford, through his inherent decency, almost single-handedly restored the faith of the American people in their government" wrote Mark Updegrove in Second Acts.

President Ford closed his autobiography, A Time To Heal, upon leaving the White House in 1978 with these words, “My thoughts went back to the morning of August 1, 1974, when I received that first phone call from Al Haig. And I remembered how cloudy it had been in Washington that day. Now I looked out the window of the plane. The sun was shining brightly. I couldn’t see a cloud anywhere, and I felt glad about that.”

Information about the memorial contributions and how you can send a message of condolence to the Ford family can be found at www.GeraldFordMemorial.com

Quotes by Gerald Ford:

  Remarks upon granting a pardon to former President Richard Nixon, September 8, 1974: “As we are a nation under God, so I am sworn to uphold our laws with the help of God. And I have sought such guidance and searched my own conscience with special diligence to determine the right thing for me to do with respect to my predecessor in this place, Richard Nixon, and his loyal wife and family. Theirs is an American tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must.”

  Bicentennial Remarks at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1976: “As we continue our American adventure…all our heroes and heroines of war and peace send us this single, urgent message: though prosperity is a good thing, though compassionate charity is a good thing, though institutional reform is a good thing, a nation survives only so long as the spirit of sacrifice and self-discipline is strong within its people. Independence has to be defended as well as declared; freedom is always worth fighting for; and liberty ultimately belongs only to those willing to suffer for it.”

  Bicentennial Remarks at Independence Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1976: “The world is ever conscious of what Americans are doing, for better or for worse, because the United States today remains that most successful realization of humanity’s universal hope. The world may or may not follow, but we lead because our whole history says we must. Liberty is for all men and women as a matter of equal and unalienable right. The establishment of justice and peace abroad will in large measure depend upon the peace and justice we create here in our own country, for we still show the way.”

  Remarks at his final State of the Union speech, January 12, 1978: “My fellow Americans, I once asked you for your prayers, and now I give you mine. May God guide this wonderful country, its people and those they have chosen to lead them. May our third century be illuminated by liberty and blessed with brotherhood so that we and all who come after us may be the humble servants of thy peace.”

  Remarks upon receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, May 21, 2001: “I have always believed that most people are mostly good, most of the time. I have never mistaken moderation for weakness, nor civility for surrender. As far as I'm concerned, there are no enemies in politics--just temporary opponents who might vote with you on the next Roll Call. . . . The ultimate test of leadership is not the polls you take, but the risks you take. In the short run, some risks prove overwhelming. Political courage can be self-defeating. But the greatest defeat of all would be to live without courage, for that would hardly be living at all.”

Posted by Michael McKinney at 11:00 PM
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Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

Walt Disney is arguably one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth-century. (The Atlantic listed him at number 26 in their recent listing of influential Americans.) He died 40 years ago today at age 65 in Los Angeles.

Steven Watts writes in The Magic Kingdom, "Walt Disney operated not only as an entertainer but as a historical mediator. His creations helped Americans come to terms with the unsettling transformations of the twentieth century. This role was unintentional but decisive. Disney entertainment projects were consistently nourished by connections to mainstream American culture — its aesthetics, political ideology, social structures, economic framework, moral principles — as it took shape from the late 1920s through the late 1960s.”

The new biography of Disney by Neal Gabler is the best portrait of Disney to date. With unprecedented access to Disney family achieves, Gabler tells a story of a man that would not be deterred from his many disappointments and failures to fulfill his dreams and in the end, decidedly alter the American consciousness. Unfortunately for Disney, his dreams didn’t always bring him personal happiness.

Disney once remarked, "All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

Gabler concludes that of all Disney’s contributions, his greatest is that “he demonstrated how one could assert one’s will on the world at the very time when everything seemed to be growing beyond control and beyond comprehension. In sum, Walt Disney had been not so much a master of fun or irreverence or innocence or even wholesomeness. He had been a master of order.”

Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:06 AM
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The Era of Professional Management is Dead

About a month ago Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric Company, visited the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Speaking to the students, he stated, "The era of professional management is dead. The future is growth leadership."

The Darden School news release states:

To prepare, he advised Darden students to gain expertise in six key areas:

• Be a fearless globalist and explore new opportunities wherever they exist.
• View leadership from the perspective of innovation and product management
• Simplify. "Doing things simply is a lot harder than doing them in a complicated way," he said. But simplification saves time and increases efficiency, while allowing for the free flow of ideas.
• Be a salesman. In the digital age companies will sell fewer things to more people, Immelt said. Guessing correctly what those things will be and determining how to sell them will be a hallmark of the successful executive.
• Like people (be a good student of organizational behavior). This helps maintain loyalty, while giving talented individuals a reason to stay at the company. "Convince them your vision is their vision," Immelt said.
• Build trust. "Take care of your workforce," the executive said.

The Darden School Dean, Robert F. Bruner added some comments of Immelt’s talk on