thoughts on leadership

Leadership summit: David Gergen

"A teacher of leadership can't produce a leader."


"You can make people aware of principles and introduce them to role models."


"The more important question is can you create a culture?"


"You have to learn to get better at leadership."


"Where you really learn leadership is in the arena and continually reading."


Truman: "Not every reader is a leader, but every leader is a reader."


"It's easy as a leader to confuse motion with progress."


"One of the easiest things to do is fool yourself."


[I would like to see Bill's leadership journal that he referenced in this interview.]


"Reflect on the dance that's taking place."


David's book is Eyewitness to Power:.


"Nixon was the best strategist I ever met."

Here's a link to Gergen's book: www.amazon.com


"Ford was the most decent President I worked for."


"We have come to prize people who are decent...because they seem to be so rare."


"The quality I most admired in Clinton was his resilience." 
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"Reagan was the best leader in the White House since Franklin Roosevelt."


"He had a contagious optimism about life." (about Reagan)


Reagan used to say, "Sometimes the right hand doesn't know what the far-right hand is doing."


"Nixon had demons in him that he could not control. Eventually they brought him down."
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"Ford could sometimes be a little naive."


"Reagan would sometimes let others put their hands on the wheel."


"Clinton clearly had cracks in his character. He made mistakes. He made grievous mistakes."


"Not all great leaders are deeply flawed."


"I think all of us is flawed. Maturity is about coming to grips with our flaws."


"With regard to our leaders, we should be more forgiving about their private lives but more demanding about their public lives."


Warren Bennis: "The days of the 'lone ranger' as a leader is over."


"Your role as a leader should be to build a team of other leaders."


"We build things together."


Gergen quoting someone else: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."


"Trying to order people doesn't work. We need to persuade people."


[The "go fast" line may be the best takeaway of the entire conference.]


Hybels: "Your brand, I think, is your hair." (about Gergen)


"We are so bombarded with words."


"You're not going to listen to someone who is sounding off. You'll listen to someone who is rooted."


"A speech shouldn't last more than 15 or 20 minutes."


"In the early part of your speech, establish who you are." (assuming they don't know you.)


"Then introduce the emotion."


"Then the message should be the reasoned part of your speech."


"At the end, it's really important to come back to the emotional appeal. You have to have a call to action."


"I think the best preachers bring the argument, but they also bring the emotional appeal."


[Hybels has always been a very good interviewer.]


"Leadership is a very physically demanding part of life."


"You have to be physically fit."


"You have to build time into your day to reflect."


"You have to build time into your day to spend time with the people you cherish."


"Having a moral compass is extremely important to leadership."


"It's important to have good anchors in life."


"Faith and family and friends are great anchors in life."


leadership summit

I just got this email from Tony Morgan who is attending Leadership Summit in Chicago. Tony recaps and sent a live email feed from the conference. The speaker is Tim Keller-- great stuff.

• Tim Keller has just taken the platform and begun his talk.
• Tim is talking about the parable of the prodigal son.
• Both sons loved the Father's things but didn't love the Father.
• Both sons rejected God--one was moral and one was immoral.
• "The 'bad boy' is saved at the end of the parable, but the 'good boy' is lost."
• "Elder brothers are obeying God to get things."
• "People who believe the Gospel are utterly different."
• "Older brothers get angry when their life doesn't go well. They believe God owes them."
• "The one thing elder brothers rarely do is just enjoy God."
• "It's impossible for elder brothers not to be constantly loathing people."
• "Elder brothers can't forgive. You have to have a fair amount of pride to stay angry."
• "Until you have learned to repent for the motivation for your right doing, there's no renewal."
• [btw...Tim Keller is a watch-face-on-the-inside-of-his-wrist guy rather than a watch-face-on-the-outside-of-his-wrist guy. It's very retro. You rarely see watch-face-on-the-inside-of-his-wrist guys these days.]
• Love Keller
• "You, the leader, have to work this into your heart yourself."
• "If you are a preacher, move beyond biblical principles to the Gospel."
• "Get a group of leaders and help them through this process."
• "Work it into your congregation."
• "Pray for this."