Carrying vitality and consciousness,Embracing them as one,Can you keep them from parting?Concentrating energy,Making it supple,Can you be like an infant?Purifying hidden perception,Can you make it flawless?Loving the people,Governing the nation,Can you be uncontrived?
Tao-te Ching
The year is 2015 and the country is in its seventh year of progressive leadership by President Kucinich. Under his guidance our nation has become less dependent on corporate governance and more respective of the Constitution. Wind turbines have replaced oil as the primary source of energy throughout the land, electric sidewalks substituted for autos in urban America and international trade agreements given a new definition which defer to the labor rights of the world. Along with these changes his Department of Peace has earned the respect of nations globally, restoring calm in the Middle East by emphasizing negotiated agreements over cataclysmic militarism.
More important than any of these upgrades though was Kucinich's decision to persuade a federal judge to include in his sentencing of former President Bush a provision to teach him Zen meditation. Bush, removed from office by the impeachment process in 2008 was subsequently convicted of crimes against the Constitution the following year. He was sent to a secret offshore federal security lockup specializing in non-violent behavior modification of prisoners to serve a ten year jail term.
I pick up the story for you in March of 2009 as the disgraced Bush stands before a judge in a federal court room.
FEDERAL JUDGE: You're here in front of me today having been convicted of crimes against the people by a jury of your peers. Are you repentant of your thievery and nefarious actions against them, Mr. Bush ?
CONVICT BUSH: This is a kangaroo court and makes a mockery of freedom. You're just a little tyrant carrying out the dictates of the communist liberals who control you. Is this how you treat the Supreme Commander of the United States ? I demand personal justice at once !
FEDERAL JUDGE: One more outburst like that and you'll be escorted from the room by the guards who brought you here today. Obviously, you're unremorseful and your obstinate remarks lead me to believe you would benefit from exposure to a psychotherapy program. Therefore, I'm ordering you to serve a ten year sentence with the possibility of early release in 2015 if you chasten your attitudes by incorporating the practice of Zen into your lifestyle. Do you have anything else to say, Mr. Bush ?
CONVICT BUSH: All broad-minded people are fairies and my Dad will take care of you ! Besides, he'll just buy me a pardon and make sure I'm treated royally during my incarceration. It'll be like living in a country club. Let the party begin.
We now fast forward to the Fall of 2014. Inmate Bush has been living the past five years in CELL BLOCK W on the planet Saturn where he was transported after his condemnation. This prison wing was established to house fellow white collar criminals who had dutifully carried out the illegal schemes enacted throughout his Administration. Dubya has just been brought to a holding room for a preliminary evaluation before beginning psychotherapy treatment of his condition.
GUARD: Please proceed to the table in the middle of the room and be seated, Prisoner 666. A mentor will be in shortly to begin preparing you for your attitude adjustment.
CONVICT BUSH: This better not be physically painful. I demand to have a lawyer present under my Geneva Convention rights !
COSMIC: Greetings Earthling, Bush. I trust your stay on Saturn has been tolerable to a degree so far ? You probably noticed there's less of an emphasis on human desires here. This is deliberate and was your initial preparation for the type of mental reconditioning I wish to discuss with you today.
CONVICT BUSH: Please, help me guard ! I'm trapped in the room with a little green person. He's not white like me and I have a phobia of anyone who's different from myself. I'll write you a check for $1,000 immediately if you call my Daddy and let him know what's going on.
COSMIC: Your anxiety level really is elevated, Earthling Bush. I think you'll benefit immensely from practicing the type of daily introspection I'm about to introduce you to. Let's get started.
CONVICT BUSH: What's it all about ... can't I just take a pill, gulp a shot of whiskey or indulge myself in some pleasure with the opposite sex ? These methods always worked for me in the past.
COSMIC: It states in your psychological profile you're primarly motivated by GREED, ACCUMULATION OF MATERIAL POSSESIONS and SEXUAL DESIRE. The thoughts your brain produces to achieve these ends leads to your adverse behavior towards other existences around you. Do we agree, Earthling Bush ?
CONVICT BUSH: I'm a captitalist. I believe it's necessary to divide and conquer all those who get in my way of attaining this goal. Some people have called me a selfish pig but my behavior is no different than the peer group I hang out with.
COSMIC: Aaaaah yes ..... we're starting to make some progress with your realization of what makes up your conscious ego. The narcissistic sentiments created there in your mind have become the essence of your personal karma which guide your negative rationalizations. Teaching you how to let go of these dark patterns will free you from their false precepts, wash away your unpleasant emotions and harmonize you with all that is good about the universal cosmic order. Are your ready to begin ?
CONVICT BUSH: Well, I have been tossing and turning in my bed at night while getting only five hours rest. Is this some of that voodoo, Buddhist nonsense I've read about in the prison library ? I'm a fundamental Christian and the Lord is my Savior !
COSMIC: Don't worry, Earthling Bush. The technique I'm going to teach you will retain all the good thoughts you've had in the past while cleansing you of the impure associations causing harmful tension. The goal is to strengthen your mind by merging it with your body through daily self-contemplation so they become a complete individual focused on what's presently occurring naturally around you. Rather than being solely controlled by your prejudicial thoughts from the past, I'm going to show you how to eliminate them. It will reorient your current egocentric temperament to a unified self, free of personal desire and unlimited in its need to foster good will towards others. You will become one entity like the cosmos we live in, constantly growing and adapting the positive qualities you discover. Does this seem appealing to you ?
CONVICT BUSH: What you say sounds logical but I like my personal beliefs and think they will be difficult for me to overcome.
COSMIC: What is reasoning but a system of words produced by our brains to justify our behavior. Some of them translate into ill fortune for others and its this kind of flawed, exclusionary rationale that can be transcended by practicing Zen meditation every day.
CONVICT BUSH: I'm feeling guilty about all the blood I have on my hands to become rich and powerful. If this will rid me of those thoughts, I'll give it a try.
COSMIC: Your first step is developing a disciplined routine which emphasizes correct body posture and breathing patterns. Take this small cushion and sit cross-legged facing the wall. Next, gently breathe in and out from your lower abdomen while casting your eyes exclusively on its rhythmic movement. This method helps you consolidate the mind/body experience by concentrating on the stomach while thoughts flow freely through your cerebrum. As they quickly stream by and dissipate, the mind fuses with your organic host uncluttered by the outgoing harmful ideas. You become a consolidated entity, making visceral decisions with a humane understanding of everything outside of your personal existence.
CONVICT BUSH: Wow .... I'm starting to feel more relaxed already. All the dollar bills and dead bodies drifting by seem to have disappeared into some unknown abyss. Are they gone forever or will they come back ?
COSMIC: Those mentations are the source of your maladaptive behavior in the past and causing inner-conflict now. As your mind and body becomes one they will gradually recede forever reinvigorating your persona with ideas that nurture everyone you encounter in the future. Occasionally, you'll backslide into your old habits but by diligently applying the methods of introspection I've shown you today you'll eventually overcome your privileged demons. Return now to your living quarters in peace, knowing you have learned how to free yourself from the frustrations that have plagued you. I'm available for consultation anytime you request my help.
After seven months of daily practice, Prisoner 666 has made remarkable progress in rehabiltating himself. He's awakened each morning and fervently applied the meditation skills I showed him in the Fall of 2014. During this period, I've reported his gradual improvement to the judge who sentenced him and we both agree Convict Bush's new positive habits qualify him for early release. The story resumes just as my Starship touches down at the Crawford ranch in Texas and the door to his emancipation swings open.
EARTHLING BUSH: Hey ... what's that big orange ball in the sky ? Have the terrorists exploded a nuclear device in my backyard ?
COSMIC: That's the sun, Earthling Bush. While you were away President Kucinich cleaned up the environment and now it shines radiantly in the sky once again for all to admire. The heat it generates is no longer locked in by a ceiling of smog in the atmosphere and the adverse effects of global warming have disappeared. Go ahead ... take a deep breath and experience the delight of inhaling fresh air again.
EARTHLING BUSH: I never realized clean air could be so invigorating nor did I believe I'd ever find inner peace before meeting you. Now when contemplating my navel in the morning while ventilating I can relax even more with each respiration I take. Thank you, Cosmic.
COSMIC: Don't thank me ... it was you that took the initiative to change your life. I just reacquainted you with some tools for moving beyond yourself. If you act as one being, mind and body combined you won't foolishly chase after bad desires that limit your potential. Like the universe, you become one entity constantly altering your beliefs and actions in search of ways to improve the existences all around you. I must return to Saturn now. You're former Vice-President is in need of my help.
EARTHLING BUSH: Goodbye brother Cosmic ... there's always a bunk bed here at the ranch for you.
COSMIC: That's not really necessary, Earthling Bush. You can repay your gratitude to me by teaching the proficiencies I've shown you to your family members and oil industry friends.
Showing posts with label Cosmic Messenger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cosmic Messenger. Show all posts
Friday
Thursday
CODE BLUE FOR DEMOCRACY
By The Cosmic Messenger
Is Lady Liberty On Life Support?
"We need to get out of war, get our economy back up, quit spending money outside of America and bring it here," ... Democrat Lisa Pollard, 45, an insurance company analyst in Arlington, Texas.
The metallic explosion of the hospital's ER trauma room doors echo loudly throughout the nearby waiting room as an EMS gurney enters transporting a cardiac victim in ventricular fibrillation. Two first responders have been working over the unfortunate person the past 15 minutes frantically applying chest compressions while manually breathing oxygen into her lungs. At this point a team of medical professionals steps in and a physician begins shouting protocol commands used to stabilize a situation when the loss of life is imminent. Get a monitor on the lady immediately, I need to see if we have a heart rhythm. Continue chest compressions. Someone secure her airway with an endotracheal tube and begin bagging her. We need a IV line flowing, time is critical.No pulse exists and a cart with a crash defibrillator is brought forward beside the stretcher. A decision is made to forgo epinephrine and administer shock pads without further delay. Their jolt succeeds in restoring a weak heart rhythm and nearly a half hour later the woman is moved to the intensive care unit of the facility. While being transferred someone asks if she's been identified. One of the EMT's who brought her in responds she's a boxer and told us her name was Liberty right before losing consciousness.
Last month's Congressional compromise on the Iraq war funding bill dealt a painful blow to Lady Liberty. In round one of the fight between corporate hegemony vs constitutional democracy, our
legislative branch delivered a near fatal body punch to the female symbol of freedom. Cheered on maniacally by CEO kingpins sitting ringside waving greenbacks to motivate their actions, business centrists of both political parties savagely pummeled its opposition into submission. ...(Read the whole post)
Peace,Cosmic
Monday
WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE ?
Hi TPM ... haven't had time to contribute something original to the THE PEACE TREE yet but hope to soon. Until then, I thought I'd share this excerpt from Lee Iacocca's new book which THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL published recently.
In it, he attributes the decline of U.S. Democracy to a change in business management style and presents his reasoning below.
My latest Column appears June 1 and can be found at Cosmic .
Hope your audience is able to spend time relaxing and honoring our fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. I'm headed to a public event with friends now.
Peace,
Cosmic
Original Story URL: JS Online
Where have all the leaders gone?
By LEE IACOCCA with CATHERINE WHITNEY
May 26, 2007
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage?
We should be screaming bloody murder.
We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up.
I hardly recognize this country anymore. The president of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.
While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do.
And the press is waving pompoms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged.
This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're 82 years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to - as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention.
I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests.
Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them - or at least some of us did.
But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers.
Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from, that's a dictatorship, not a democracy. And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew.
We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together. . . .
There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
I've never been commander in chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points - not 10 (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses).
I call them the "Nine C's of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have.
We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.
So, here's my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY.
He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir"crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place.
George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the president of the United States and he never reads a newspaper?
Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter."
Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go. If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. . . .
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. . . .
Leadership is all about managing change - whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE.
I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth.
Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while.
Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER.
That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power."
George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths - for what?
To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster.
A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE.
Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, my gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the 21st century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION - a fire in your belly.
You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done.
How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. president - 400 and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. . . .
It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only 97 days in 2006. That's 11 days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term "do-nothing Congress." Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it.
But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA.
I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. . . .
A leader has to be COMPETENT.
That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA president.
Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA president, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq.
And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE.
I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile and a core of steel.
Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horse---- from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it."
George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know - Mr. they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush.
Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world - and I like it here."
I think our current president should visit the real world once in a while.
Leaders are made, not born.
Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. . . .
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence and common sense? Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen - and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name?
Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play.
That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America.
It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horse---- and go to work.
Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.
In it, he attributes the decline of U.S. Democracy to a change in business management style and presents his reasoning below.
My latest Column appears June 1 and can be found at Cosmic .
Hope your audience is able to spend time relaxing and honoring our fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. I'm headed to a public event with friends now.
Peace,
Cosmic
Original Story URL: JS Online
Where have all the leaders gone?
By LEE IACOCCA with CATHERINE WHITNEY
May 26, 2007
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage?
We should be screaming bloody murder.
We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up.
I hardly recognize this country anymore. The president of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.
While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do.
And the press is waving pompoms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged.
This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're 82 years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to - as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention.
I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests.
Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them - or at least some of us did.
But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers.
Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from, that's a dictatorship, not a democracy. And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew.
We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together. . . .
There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
I've never been commander in chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points - not 10 (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses).
I call them the "Nine C's of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have.
We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.
So, here's my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY.
He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir"crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place.
George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the president of the United States and he never reads a newspaper?
Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter."
Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go. If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. . . .
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. . . .
Leadership is all about managing change - whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE.
I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth.
Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while.
Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER.
That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power."
George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths - for what?
To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster.
A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE.
Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, my gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the 21st century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION - a fire in your belly.
You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done.
How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. president - 400 and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. . . .
It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only 97 days in 2006. That's 11 days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term "do-nothing Congress." Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it.
But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA.
I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. . . .
A leader has to be COMPETENT.
That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA president.
Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA president, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq.
And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE.
I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile and a core of steel.
Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horse---- from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it."
George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know - Mr. they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush.
Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world - and I like it here."
I think our current president should visit the real world once in a while.
Leaders are made, not born.
Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. . . .
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence and common sense? Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen - and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name?
Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play.
That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America.
It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horse---- and go to work.
Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.
This article is excerpted from "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?,"
written by legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca,
and is reprinted with permission of the book's publisher, Scribner.
It has been on bestseller lists for several weeks.
From the May 27, 2007 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
From the May 27, 2007 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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