We can all learn a few things from Mr. Iacocca’s new book titled “Where have all the leaders gone?”. must be honest – I bought and read the book to cover my bases for supporting my opinion on the subject of Leadership (to support my views in my previous blog posting) – to make sure a legendary CEO’s thoughts on leadership are not contradictory to mine. This book turned out to be more than just my quest for pursuit of this abstraction. I got his views nonetheless - the short answer to that question is “yes and no”. Lee thinks and argues that leaders are MADE, not BORN. He argues that true leaders (usually) show their compelling capabilities and worth during the time of crisis. But then, (here comes my twist on this – just so I could hold on to my deep belief a bit longer) if you think about it a bit more – only those with inborn leadership skills would shine during the time of crisis – How can you possibly train someone for it?
Anyway, Lee provides a list of 10 C’s for an effective leader – He encourages us to put all the potential political leaders through this test and the more C’s that a leader possesses, the better choice you end up making. 9 C’s of leadership that Lee mentions in his book – right off the bat in Chapter 1 –
A leader has to show CURIOSITY –who reads a lot and keeps informed.
A leader has to be CREATIVE – An out of the box thinker.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE – My note - Our dear current president will definitely fail this test miserably.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER – My note - Slick Willey will definitely fail this one.
A leader must have COURAGE
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in the belly
A leader should have CHARISMA – My note - JFK and Bill Clinton got this one nailed (How can this trait be taught – its beyond me)
A leader has to be COMPETENT - My note – now this is the only trait that you could teach.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE – My Note – Try teaching this. Many of our current leaders would definitely fail this test.
Then he goes on to say “The Biggest C is Crisis – Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis”. I could not connect the dots here to make the link between making of the leaders vs manufacturing en-mass. Hence I said earlier “Yes and no” as answer to the question if Lee agrees with my line of thinking on this subject.
Anyway here is the rest of my book review –
The book is critical analysis of current corporate and government leadership – through the eyes of an angry; 82 years old; legendary CEO of our times. As you know, Lee has run two out of the “big three” in Detroit (Ford and Chrysler) in the past and has successfully transformed the companies from the being a losing behemoth to lean mean and profit making machines (we are still talking in the past – late 80s). I personally think that selling of Chrysler to the Germans and subsequent rumors of it being sold to the Chinese has broke this Camel’s back – and Lee is pissed. Top this with the current administration fiascos (one after the next) – it has to incense the great CEO who has seen the true glory of this country. This anger and frustration has really inspired this book and he maintains the fire throughout the book.
Lee definitely misses the good old days of US – tries to find the threads that were crucial to making the US the greatest country in the world. He finds the current gaps that (if not filled and fixed) would cause downfall of this great country - And tries to convey his ideas on the fixes that would eventually; again, deliver the “promise of America”. And by the way, he is not happy with the corporate greed, corporate ethics (or lack there of), and true to his character – Lee holds no bar – he is taking no prisoners here. One sentence out of the book would convey better what I mean – “We have become a nation of overeaters, pill popper, TV watching, iPod wired, shopoholics, Attention deficit Disordered people ….”.
The book is a MUST READ; especially for those are feeling the same level of anger and frustration towards the government and the corporations. This book will provide a good deal of assurance that if we used our virtue and work ethics, this great country still has the required drive to deliver the true “American Dream” for anyone who strives hard for it. And by the way, if you are closer to retirement and have mistakenly stumbled upon this blog – or if you know of someone who is closer to retirement – This book offers good advise to prepare the folks who are retiring and offers advise on how to do it correctly; those too are based on Lee’s own mistakes.
