Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (20 page)

For my last birthday, Oral gave me an autographed copy of his latest book and this piece of wisdom: “Lee,” he said, “everybody’s going to die, and they go
someplace.
So just be sure your spiritual bank account has more cash receipts than debt.”

There’s no escaping mortality, and the older you get the more you’re reminded of it. Death is the great equalizer, and we all look pretty much the same lying in the coffin.
Life
is where you can make things happen. So, if when you retire you think, “I’m tired. It’s time to relax,” think again. As the saying goes, you’ve got all eternity to catch up on your rest.

I
n the car business we always said, “Don’t forget to ask for the order.” So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m hoping that now that you’ve read what I have to say about leadership, you’re feeling some passion for the idea that we have to get it right in 2008. Maybe you’re pissed off. Maybe you’re excited. It doesn’t matter, as long as the blood is circulating through your veins and, hopefully, going to your
brain.
We all have to be awake this time around.

Here’s my pitch. I’m going to ask you to do something. Actually, I’m going to ask you to do
three
things:

 

Give something up

Put something back in

Elect a leader

 

GIVE SOMETHING UP

If you have kids, the two most common words around your household are probably
I want.
Kids are basically selfish creatures. They don’t have the maturity to understand that you can’t
have
everything you want. That’s where the adults come in. The other most common word around your household is probably
No.
Or maybe you say
No, honey.
The point is, once you’re an adult, you understand about responsibility. One of my favorite Bible quotations is this one from St. Paul: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

The problem with the way we run elections is that candidates tend to appeal to the child in us, not the adult in us. They try to play Santa Claus. They promise us the moon and the stars.

We’ve talked about how strange it is that nobody has asked us to sacrifice, even though we’re at war. Deep down, we all realize there’s something very wrong with this. Unless you actually
know
someone who is serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s easy to ignore it altogether. You can get up every day, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, get in your car and drive to work without spending one second of your time thinking about the war.

It shows a bankruptcy of leadership, and it’s an insult to our patriotism. But maybe we
deserve
to have our patriotism insulted, because we let it happen.

As adults we know that money doesn’t grow on trees, so when your favorite candidate starts telling you he’s going to cut your taxes, fund your college education, and give you cheaper prescription drugs, you ought to be thinking,
What’s the trade-off? What will I have to give up to get what I want?

To get in practice for this unusual notion of giving something up, here’s an exercise you can do before the election. Make it a game around your dinner table (for those few who still sit around a dinner table).

Pick an issue that’s important to you. Let’s use health care. Ask yourself what you’d be willing to give up to get health care.

• Would you be willing to give up your mortgage-interest deduction on your income tax?
  

• Would you be willing to reduce your deduction for dependents?
  

• Would you be willing to pay five cents more for each gallon of gas?
  

• Would you be willing to put off having your road paved?
  

The point is very simple. There’s no free lunch. For everything you get, you have to give something back.

PUT SOMETHING BACK IN

Democracy is a two-way street. It’s not enough to reap the rewards of living in this wonderful country. Each of us has to put something back in. But when I racked my brain, I couldn’t come up with a single recent example of a national leader mentioning that part. The last time a President stood up and made this call it was John F. Kennedy in 1961. At his inaugural address he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what
you
can do for your country.” His words inspired a generation. But it wasn’t just the
words.
It was the
action.
In Kennedy’s brief presidency, we put the idea of service into practice with noble institutions like the Peace Corps.

You can bet that every presidential candidate in 2008 will have a stump speech that talks about the need for national service of some kind. But let’s hold their feet to the fire by demanding details. (I hope the media is listening.) A good idea is still only an
idea
until you put it into action.

We can take it a step further. In our own families, communities, and companies, let’s start a dialogue about public service—at the dinner table, in the newspapers, on the blogs, on YouTube—wherever people congregate personally or electronically. When I was a kid, my parents made a point of being involved. My father wrote letters to FDR and Harry Truman. He spoke his mind. He didn’t let his lack of formal education stop him. He made sure he had a voice and made a contribution.

ELECT A LEADER

By the time you read this, the 2008 presidential election will be a little more than one year away. And you’ll probably already be thinking,
Isn’t it over
yet
?

I have a question for you: Have you already made up your mind about how you’re going to cast your vote? Are you thinking,
I don’t care, as long as it’s a Democrat…
or a Republican…
or a member of the Green Party…
or a woman…
or an African American…
or a pro-lifer…
or a whatever
?” For the purpose of this discussion, I’d like to ask you to
unmake
up your mind. I know it may be a hard thing to do. But if we’re serious about electing a leader, we have to start with evaluating leadership qualities.

LET’S GIVE ’EM THE NINE CS TEST

In the first chapter, I introduced my Nine Cs of Leadership:

 

CURIOSITY

CREATIVITY

COMMUNICATION

CHARACTER

COURAGE

CONVICTION

CHARISMA

COMPETENCE

COMMON SENSE

 

These are ideals, and there are very few people—even leaders—who have all of them. But if you look back in history, you’ll notice that different times require a different emphasis. Two recent examples make the point. When Jimmy Carter was elected President, people cared more about CHARACTER than CHARISMA. With Ronald Reagan, it was all about CHARISMA and COMMUNICATION.

What are the leadership qualities that
these
times cry out for? I’m going to go out on a limb and name four in 2008: Curiosity, communication, character, and competence.

CURIOSITY: We need an expansive leader who will seek input from a wide range of people, including the contrarians. This leader is interested in mastering a
global
point of view, and strives to understand what motivates people to seek progress around the world.

COMMUNICATION: We need an open leader who doesn’t hide the bad news or motivate us with fear. This leader speaks the truth, even when it’s hard to hear, and inspires us by asking us to share in the obligations of democracy.

CHARACTER: We need a leader, honed by crisis, who demands equality of sacrifice, starting in the Oval Office.

COMPETENCE: Finally, we need a leader who is committed to making America great again—not just in its ideals but in its factories, farms, communities, and families. We need a problem solver who will assemble the best team to make our nation work.

As you listen to the candidates, keep your checklist in front of you. Ask, Is this a curious, competent communicator? Is this a person of character? Don’t settle for less.

JOIN ME

Where have all the leaders gone? They’re right here, in this great country. But they need to be called forth.

When I was the chairman of the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Commission, I reached out to Americans, asking them to join me in restoring these symbols of our democracy. And the people responded. When I was passionate about finding a cure for diabetes, I organized a campaign called Join Lee Now, and asked ordinary Americans to be a part of the cure. And the people responded.

Now the future of the country is at stake, and I’m going to ask you to get involved. This book is just the starting point of a campaign. No, I’m not running for President in 2008. But I
am
campaigning to bring back the leadership we deserve.

Won’t you join me?

Lee Iacocca is the former president of Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation and a bestselling author. He spends his time traveling, giving speeches, and supporting the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes.

Catherine Whitney is a writer living in New York and is the author of many books, including
Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate.