WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE?



WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE?
by Lee Lacocca

The book, Where has all the leaders gone provides a valuable leadership advice to America’s politicians as well as corporate leaders. It starts with nostalgia of America that was much better during “his salad” days and also contains sound advice on the qualities of good leaders and provides examples, past and present of effective leadership.

 Lee Lacocca starts with a critic of the George Bush administration and moves on to criticize the American auto industry. He joins a growing chorus of business conservatives who distance themselves from the Bushes administration. He posited a very fundamental question to all Americans; where have all the leaders gone?  Leaders capable of inspiring their followers to action. Because leaders exist everywhere in business as well as in politics, the author used many of the lessons garnered over the years and successfully applies them to current political problems in America.

Lacocca examines American politicians and considered them ill-fitted for their jobs. He evolved a test for a good leader citing his “Nine Cs of leadership” as qualities desirable of a good leader and completely finds President Bush to be flawed in nearly all aspects. A leader must show:

·         Curiosity:

A leader must listen to people outside his inner circle. He must read voraciously and must step outside his comfort zone to hear the opinions of others. Bush lacked the curiosity to seek opinions outside his inner circle. “if a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale………inability to listen is a form of arrogance”.

 

·         Creative:

A leader must try something different, think outside the box. Leadership is all about managing change-whether you are leading a company or a country things change and you get creative. Bush was not creative enough to admit when something wasn’t working to try a different course.

 

·         Communicate:

A leader must know to communicate effectively. Communication starts by telling the truth even when it is painful.

 

·         Character:

A leader must know the difference between right and wrong and have the guts to do the right thing. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy. Bush showed lack of it by sending troops into Iraq for questionable reasons.

  

·         Courage:

A leadership should be courageous enough to take a position even if it is going to cost him his votes.

 

·         Conviction:

A leader must have passion for the job. There must be that urgency to get something done as soon as possible.

 

·         Charisma:

A leader must have the charisma that makes people want to follow him; the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him.

 

·         Competent:

 

 A leader must know what he is doing and must have competent people around him. A leader must be a problem solver.

 

·         Commonsense:

A leader use his sensory perception in the effective resolution of issues. A leader must have the ability to reason and use his commonsense.

 

·         Crisis:

Leaders are made, not born and leadership is forged in times of crisis. A strong leader is required for the timely resolution of complex issues.

Looking at the current list of presidential hopefuls, Lee puts each of them through this test, evaluating John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Hilliary Clinton, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson. He gave some very interesting insights on each candidate, both on the positive and negative sides.

The author looks at America’s role as an international leader, he thinks that they have failed and has a few suggestions for more success; To be innovative and show strong leadership on energy. He also commented on the wrongs of the American people as a whole: Current obsession, greed, the incredible number of people who file lawsuits and collect millions in punitive damages and the people who play the blame game and will never own up to their mistakes. He tells us how the top people at Chrysler made themselves rich while betraying their American workers by selling the company (which had been doing well) to the Germans. This and other examples, such as Ken Lay’s unconscionable action as the Chief Executive Officer of Enron, caused him to suggest a need to “infuse some human values into our capitalist system”. He clearly doesn’t buy into a tightly free market ideological rationale that executive compensation must reflect the supply and demand for executive talent.

He rails against the lack of leadership in vital national concerns such as health care, open market and energy policy. He was disparaged with the plethora of issues in the country as the country was immersed in a bloody war with no plans of winning and no plan for leaving, economy was in shambles experiencing the worst deficit in the history of the country, they were losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, Gas prices were skyrocketing and nobody in power had a coherent energy policy. No leader emerged from the crisis of hurricane Katrina nor could they find an industry leader to restore their competitive edge in manufacturing. Neither could he find a government leader who could articulate a plan for paying down the huge debts, solve the energy crisis or manage the health problem. According to Lacocca, the silence was deafening and he had to speak out “ Am I the only guy in this country who is fed up with what’s happening?........You might think I am senile and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hadly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the constitution, tap phones and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing huge tax laws……”

Lee considered himself a patriot and that it was his patriotic duty to speak out despite his age. Out of the negative comes the positive. Getting back to the basics on many levels will help America focus on important factors in reinventing their roles as leaders in a global economy. Commonsense, Honesty and self-discipline are leadership tools that mentor use. The important role of mentors in business and political society is also examined.

 

He ends the book with a clarion call to all Americans in the upcoming election; It is all about preserving democracy and evaluating the leadership qualities of our leaders. If you believe in a course, then support it. Listen, learn and make a difference in someone’s life. Examine all the options and vote.