LEADERSHIP: AMERICA’S FOUNDING FATHERS
Courage & Vision
On my way to becoming a naturalized American citizen, I dug into writings of the Founding Fathers. During extensive deliberations, they tapped the thinking of Cicero, the wisdom Hebrew tradition, and many well-tested principles ensconced in British common law. America’s constitution and Bill of rights are inspiring yet disciplined. They have much to offer in the way of personal and organizational performance.
Test: Recite an entry in America’s bill of rights. Like most people challenged during my workshops, you probably responded with the right to freedom of speech, to bear arms etc. If you did, sorry but you are wrong. An essential but usually unstated ingredient to our rights is clearly stated: Congress shall not enact legislation that inhibits the right to….
This awareness motivated me to expand on The “I” of the Hurricane: Creating Corporate Energy (an updated version will soon be released in E- book stores). It is about how to inspire by clarifying and signaling core-values—along with values expressed in the future tense…Vision. What was missing in my first book was imbedded discipline that would help make people live their clarified values so.
In my current work, I refer to each discipline connections as a plank in the corporate ethics platform—what the company stands on/for. “Integrity” has always been a declared cultural-value in my companies. Its related ethics plank—our “line in the sand” that sets a non negotiable behavioral boundary around the inspiring notion of living the integrity value is, “we never fail to tell the whole truth or keep a commitment”.
During three years of beta testing, The Baton Management System, can attest to the fact that following the lead of America’s founding fathers will help you succeed by balancing Inspirational leadership and management discipline.