Defining Leadership
Kevin Drum makes an excellent point about the meaning of leadership. He quotes Sen. Biden as saying, "About six months ago, the president said to me, "Well, at least I make strong decisions, I lead." I said, "Mr. President, look behind you. Leaders have followers. No one's following. Nobody." Drum: "This is one of Bush's problems: he honestly thinks that the mere act of making "strong decisions" makes him a leader. It doesn't even occur to him that a leader is someone who makes good decisions and then persuades other people to support them."
Contrast that with Lee Iacocca's characterization of John Kerry's leadership skills. Iacocca: "I’ve been friendly with every President since Lyndon Johnson...in each election, I voted my conscience and supported who I thought was the best man for the job...John Kerry would make a great commander-in-chief, I have no doubt about that. He would also make one hell of a CEO. That’s what a President is. He knows how to surround himself with good people, and he knows how to set priorities. He’s a doer. And he does know how to make a tough decision now and then, believe me...And most of all, John Kerry has a clear plan for where he wants to take the country."
RE: Iacocca Switches to Kerry
Straight to the point:
"In my 50 years in the auto business, I’ve always kept in front of me a hotlist – a hotlist of 10 priorities to move the company forward. I would address those personally almost on a daily basis, and guess what? John Kerry’s done that for the country, drawing up his own 10 national priority list.
So today I’m joining the Kerry team...I’m doing this not as a Democrat or Republican, but as an American, simply." - Lee Iacocca, June 24, 2004
