We have begun to see the litany of new candidates who are throwing their hat in the ring to be President of The United States of America in the election next year. Each of them have some new spin on how to fix the country and the media is glad to begin digging for dirt on what kind of ugly stuff they did in their past. The current President is now ready to unveil his ‘new’ plan after three years of really having no plan while he actually spends his time campaigning to build a war chest to outspend any competition that challenges his second term. Most of sit here today in a state of apathy about American politics not really knowing most of the true information, and just thinking for certain that our elections look more like the television show American Idol than they do hiring a person to lead the greatest nation in the World.
I think most of our downtrodden views around politics today have to do with the fact that we are all searching for the same thing . . . a leader!
The question that keeps coming up in my mind is what would a leader look like in the political and media environment we are in today? What would they be saying to the American public different than the hodgepodge of faint promises made by the politicians today that having our stomachs turning at night? What decisions would a leader make that would be so courageous to gain back the spirit of Americans to begin believing again that we are truly the best in the world? Here is why things won’t change unless we get a true leader to step up and five things that must be done.
- A leader would put the media in their place – Let’s face what the facts are in today’s pop culture. Between television reality shows, social media, and news magazines, every media angle wants to know what the President has to think about everything. A real leader would start the campaign by politely telling all media sources that the White House and Presidency of the United States most certainly isn’t a three ring circus. We really don’t need to know right now what the President thinks on ESPN about the NCAA college basketball brackets or have some set up not so candid interview with 60 minutes in the Oval Office. We need a leader that tells the media they will get information on a needs to know basis, and that the President needs to stay focused on economy, military, personnel matters, and time needs to spent on that versus 10 hours a week on gum chewing magazine shows. We are doing our jobs and let the President do their job.
- A leader would not be afraid to truly deliver a tough message no matter what the consequences – CEO’s have been doing takeovers of large and small business for decades. When you come into a business operation and people culture that is not running successfully, it requires you make tough decisions. For those of you who work for large companies, you may have remembered a new leader who you initially didn’t like very much because they made budget cuts, bonus cuts, and changed five policies that upset the apple cart. The new CEO made these decisions not because he didn’t like the people in the organization, but they were necessary for the sustainability and profitability of the organization. Nobody in America wants to hear that they need to take a job with a pay cut, but that may just be the way it is at this time. People may not want to hear that every child doesn’t need to get a college degree, but that may also be the way it
- A leader uses common sense – We are all tired of seeing the lack of common sense that goes on within our political system. What I think most Americans are looking for is someone to come to the table with pragmatic thinking to solve difficult problems. With a 1.5 trillion annual budget deficit and almost 15 trillion of total debt, no real leader could sugar coat the inevitability that every person is going to feel some pain. While some may feel it more than others, it’s just too bad at this point. Anything that gets laid out to the American public should be able to be explained in one page. If we can’t understand it one a single piece of paper, it’s probably too complex.
- A leader creates a vision – As you sit back and hear these campaigns, you’ll likely hear phrases like change, a new America, the future, and much more. These campaigns all feel like some Madison Avenue advertising firm sat around a boardroom designing what would look good on a bumper sticker. Most of can’t even remember these slogans not only from the last election, but from many Presidential campaigns in the past. You can write whatever you want on a poster board, but a true leader will paint the vision on where we need to be in four years. A vision that will truly engage all of us to want to take action, not to make us disappointed in campaign promises that won’t be met.
- A leader would surround themselves with people who know how to get the job done – It’s amazing to me as a business owner that many of the politicians in Washington, D.C. today have never even had to make a payroll. The reason I bring this up, is that the people who typically surround the President may not be as close to the issues as those of us on the ground. A real leader would look to bring people in who have had the business and life experience to fill the key roles, rather than just making appointments of position to appease different political parties and constituents. You cannot get the job done well by surrounding yourself with a bunch of yes men.
There are no leaderless societies and there never have been in history. It’s time to put down the political football and find ourselves the leader for the future of the United States of America.
Written by:
Ted Jenkin
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Ted Jenkin is a frequent guest columnist for the Wall Street Journal and Headline News Weekend Express. He is the co-CEO of oXYGen Financial. You can follow him on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/in/theceoadvisor or on Twitter @tedjenkin.
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