There is a difference between ambition and leadership.
This might explain why too many recent Presidential elections boiled down to the lesser of two evils. It may contribute to why Congressional approvals are so low. It factors into why too many CEOs of public companies across the country are either landing in jail or strapping on golden parachutes as they jump from the companies they set ablaze. This difference definitely contributes to why there are no clear leading candidate in the Democratic or Republican primaries. The result of this difference, sadly, leaves "we the people" more cynical than optimistic about the world we live in.
Put simply, America is desperately lacking truly inspiring leaders.
Those who seek power and influence in business or politics are fat with ambition but anorexicly slim with leadership. This has nothing to do with their desires to do good. I do not question their intentions to want to help, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. All Presidential candidates intend to flight a clean fight; "no mud slinging" they all declare as they announce their candidacies. That is until the first pat smacks them clean in the face. Every candidate says how their campaign will be different and how they intend to reform the system. That is until they realize how the system is what pays for their good intentions. Even CEOs preach their desire to do right by their customers and employees...that is until their stock takes a hit and they brush aside the word of their loyal customers and employees and attune their ears to the fickle analyst community.
Our public offices and corporate boardrooms are rich with ambitious do-gooders but poor with leaders with the strength to ignore the noise that distracts from achieving their vision.
Ambition is the pursuit of power with the hope, once you get there, you can do something with it.
Leadership is having a vision of a better world and doing whatever it takes to achieve that vision, even if sometimes it means pursuing a position of power to help advance your vision more efficiently and effectively.
Leaders have the courage to be unpopular with those that disagree with them. The ambitious want to befriend as many people as possible.
Leaders say what they think. The ambitious say what they think others want to hear.
Leaders have a vision of the future that inspires the masses. The ambitious have goals that motivate a few (though more can be "motivated" if they can afford it).
Optimistic there are more leaders among us - somewhere - I issue two challenges. Only the true leaders will pass these tests.
The first is for anyone who runs for public office. I dare you not to look at a single poll while you are running. Don't worry what some poll tells you to say, just tell us what you believe and we'll decide if we want to live in your vision of America. I dare you to ignore the pundits. And I dare you to fill your staffs with people committed to your vision, not just hired to win your election or run your office. To the party of Lincoln and the party of Roosevelt - your heroes didn't take the public temperature before stating what they thought. You don't have to either. Courage is all it takes.
The second is for leaders of public companies. I dare you not to report your earnings to Wall Street every quarter. There is no legal requirement to do so, so why do you do it? Every quarter, restate your vision and tell the analyst community the steps you are taking, the products you are introducing and the changes you are making to realize that vision. But don't report the numbers or make projections. And if you think I'm nuts - look no further than your own hero, Warren Buffet, he does not state quarterly earnings for Berkshire Hathaway because he doesn't have to nor does he want to. People buy shares in his vision and his leadership. Courage is all it takes.
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