What do you do when you are booted out of your business leadership position? Go into politics, of course.
Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard’s ex (to the great relief of people both internal and external) CEO is the latest to throw her hat in the ring, touting her corporate problem-solving skills; problem-making is more accurate.
So what do you do when you are booted out of your political position (or your term expires)? Go on the speaking circuit.
I realize that I may offend some of my readers, but to learn that George W. Bush is being paid $100K to speak for 40 minutes ($2500 per minute!) on “How to master the art of effective leadership” makes me ill. (Hat tip to Grant Lawrence at OEN for the heads up. I found his thoughts on the subject well worth reading.)
The next item is a great interview with Drew Gilpin Faust, president of Harvard University, who, unlike her predecessor, recognizes that communication is the most critical action when leading an organization “with enormously distributed authority and many different sorts of constituencies, all of whom have a stake in that institution” and have no tolerance for any top-down management.
Authenticity is cited by many leadership gurus as absolutely necessary, but Professor Jim Heskett, my favorite Harvard voice, solicited reader responses to this question earlier this month, “Can the “masks of command” coexist with authentic leadership?” Beyond his summation be sure to scan through the comments for significant insights both pro and con.
Your comments—priceless http://www.mappingcompanysuccess.com/seize-your-leadership-day-
There are very few places where politicos are in favor with the exception of purely ideological grounds.
An exception seems to be Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, Canada.
It was incorporated in 1974, has had astounding growth over the last three decades and is now the 6th largest city in Canada; located on the Great Lakes it larger than either Milwaukee or Cleveland.
What’s interesting is that the mayor, Hazel McCallion, is 88 years old and has held her office for the last 30 years.
Everyone is buzzing about the town being debt free, but in an interview in the Mississauga News she says, “I think we have to talk in strong terms about subsidized social housing. I don’t think we’re doing a very good job. Quite honestly, the City of Mississauga is debt free, the City of Brampton is debt free and the Region of Peel is debt free—and still we have more than 13,000 families on the wait list. We lead the pack where wait times are concerned.”
I find it sadly amusing that few people anywhere want to understand that you get what you pay for and that includes government services at every level.
Taxes and revenues are directly connected and just because you don’t use a particular service doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary.
It doesn’t seem that the financial crisis is really changing things all that much.
The exodus of Wall Street bankers is mostly smoke and mirrors, not change, as many of the so-called disgraced leave for banks that didn’t accept bailout money, taking their clients and attitudes with them.
“Banks paid out some $18 billion in bonuses last year, down 44 percent compared with a year earlier, and many workers viewed them as paltry payouts… Sensing a shifting tide, talented bankers who fear a dimmer future at banks that have taken taxpayer money are migrating to brash boutique firms like Aladdin, which are intent on proving their critics wrong by chasing fast profits and growth in hopes of one day rising up as challengers to the old guard.”
Wall Street forces companies to focus on short-term profits, often at the expense of long-term corporate success and innovation, primarily to add more zeros to their own paychecks.
State politicians solve their budget shortfalls by trashing those least likely to vote and completely incapable of donating to their campaigns—the poor, elderly and children.
According to Arizona’s Linda J. Blessing “There’s no question that we’re getting short-term savings that will result in greater long-term human and financial costs,” expressing the concerns of officials and community agencies around the country. “There are no good options, just less bad options.” Ohio’s proposed budget “will dramatically decrease our ability to investigate reports of abuse and neglect,” with some counties losing 75 percent of their investigators The Illinois governor’s budget proposal would scale back home visits to ill-equipped first-time mothers, who are given advice over 18 months that experts say is repaid many times over in reduced child abuse and better school preparation.”
Politicians implement short-term fixes at the cost of long-term social solutions, because (a) they have little negative impact on their re-election and (b) they won’t be around to deal with the mess anyway.
I have an acquaintance who isn’t wealthy, probably midway between middle and upper-middle class. She constantly talks about how she and her husband do everything they can to avoid taxes and would never vote in favor of them no matter what.
During the same conversations she gripes that the unincorporated county where she lives doesn’t plow the road near her house quickly enough when it snows; the ambulance didn’t arrive fast enough when her husband had trouble breathing; her grandchildren’s schools keep reducing enrichment programs and the classes are too large.
The terms ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ are bandied about constantly, but nowhere more often than in politics, especially during elections.
But did you know that nearly five thousand years ago a Chinese philosopher proved that truly great leadership couldn’t exist in the political arena?
Not true, I hear many of you say.
OK, first, consider three generally acknowledged descriptions of true leadership by Lao Tse in the Tao Te Ching.
Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.
The superior leader gets things done with very little motion. He imparts instruction not through many words but through a few deeds. He keeps informed about everything but interferes hardly at all. He is a catalyst, and though things would not get done well if he weren’t there, when they succeed he takes no credit. And because he takes no credit, credit never leaves him.
As for the best leaders,the people do not notice their existence.
The next best,
the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear;
and the next, the people hate—
When the best leader’s work is done,
the people say, “We did it ourselves!” To lead the people, walk behind them.
Now name for me just one politician who comes even close to fitting these descriptions.
Sadly, the oxymoronic coupling of ‘leader’ and ‘politician’ usually is just plain moronic.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
What do you do when you are booted out of your business leadership position? Go into politics, of course.
It doesn’t seem that the financial crisis is really changing things all that much.
The terms ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ are bandied about constantly, but nowhere more often than in politics, especially during elections.
.
