Where Have All the Leaders Gone? - Softcover

9781416532491: Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
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The late, legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has posed a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone?

The most widely recognized business executive of all time asked the tough questions that America's leaders must address:

· What is each of us giving back to our country?
· Do we truly love democracy?
· Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?
· Why is America addicted to oil?
· Do we really care about our children's futures?
· Who will save the middle class?

A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Iacocca believed that leaders are made in times of crisis—such as today. He knew more leaders than almost anyone else—among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations—and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.

Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously didn't mince words and in this, his last book, offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of many of the most well-known American politicians of the era.

Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more.

Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism.

Where have all the leaders gone?

Lee Iacocca has the answer.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:
Lee Iacocca (1924-2019) was the former president of Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation and a bestselling author.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

I

Had enough?

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.

My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to -- as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.

WHO ARE THESE GUYS, ANYWAY?

Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them -- or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy.

And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.

Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?

THE TEST OF A LEADER

I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points -- not ten (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.

So, here's my C list:

A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.

If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he

wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.

A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President -- the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, "Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't.

Leadership is all about managing change -- whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.

A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.

A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths -- for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.

A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.

If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.

To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION -- a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President -- four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake.

It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if ...

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  • PublisherScribner
  • Publication date2008
  • ISBN 10 1416532498
  • ISBN 13 9781416532491
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages288
  • Rating

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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. "Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (Updated and Revised) (Paperback) Legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone? The most widely recognized business executive of all time asks the tough questions that America's leaders must address: What is each of us giving back to our country? Do we truly love democracy? Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good? Why is America addicted to oil? Do we really care about our children's futures? Who will save the middle class? A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Since then he has created the Iacocca Institute for leadership at Lehigh University and the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes. Lee Iacocca believes that leaders are made in times of crisis -- such as today. He has known more leaders than almost anyone else -- among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations -- and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America. Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously doesn't mince words and offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of the American politicians most likely to run for president in 2008, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, and John Edwards. Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more. Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism. ISBN: 9781416532491 Condition: Brand New, publisher overstock. Never read. Overstock book may have a small dot or line on the edge of the book. Free shipping with USPS Media Mail.". Seller Inventory # ABE-1618240778603

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Book Description Softcover. Condition: New. Reprint. The late, legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has posed a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone?The most widely recognized business executive of all time asked the tough questions that America's leaders must address: What is each of us giving back to our country? Do we truly love democracy? Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good? Why is America addicted to oil? Do we really care about our children's futures? Who will save the middle class?A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Iacocca believed that leaders are made in times of crisis-such as today. He knew more leaders than almost anyone else-among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations-and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously didn't mince words and in this, his last book, offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of many of the most well-known American politicians of the era.Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more.Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism.Where have all the leaders gone?Lee Iacocca has the answer. Seller Inventory # DADAX1416532498

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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. The late, legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has posed a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone? The most widely recognized business executive of all time asked the tough questions that America's leaders must address: - What is each of us giving back to our country? - Do we truly love democracy? - Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good? - Why is America addicted to oil? - Do we really care about our children's futures? - Who will save the middle class? A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Iacocca believed that leaders are made in times of crisis--such as today. He knew more leaders than almost anyone else--among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations--and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America. Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously didn't mince words and in this, his last book, offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of many of the most well-known American politicians of the era. Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more. Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism. Where have all the leaders gone? Lee Iacocca has the answer. The legendary auto executive and #1 bestselling author writes with unflinching honesty about issues ranging from job security and global competition to the war in Iraq and the problems faced by the auto industry. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781416532491

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