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For Veterans' Day--John Milton Cooper's New Bio of Woodrow Wilson: A Masterpiece

John Milton Cooper Jr. is one of America's most respected historians. Given his focus on Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era, it's fitting that Cooper is a professor at the University of Wisconsin, in a state that was a national leader in those crowded years.

Cooper's new book, Woodrow Wilson: A Biography, is a masterpiece.

Among its well-deserved accolades: Princeton professor Sean Willentz' declares it the best one-volume Wilson biography ever.

Woodrow Wilson was a fascinating, in many ways enigmatic figure. He was the first native Southerner to win the presidency after the Civil War (Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's ill-fated vice president did not win the office). He held elective office for just two years prior to being elected president--and the first years of his administration were highly productive, even historic, on the domestic front. WIlson later emerged as an unlikely warlord, leading America into a decisive role in the defeat of WIlhelmine Germany in the First World War. His dreams of a League of Nations foundered, in no small part because of his misjudgments following, and likely exacerbated by, a disabling stroke.

In Cooper's skilled hands, one sees clearly how Wilson developed himself into an effective leader. Though his career was unconventional--he was, and remains, the only president whose primary career was in education--WIlson's preparation for high-level leadership was, at least in retrospect, comprehensive.

One is also reminded--as if one requires it!--that American presidential politics has, at times, produced remarkable talent. The 1912 election stands as perhaps the most amazing in our history: Wilson (Democrat; won with a plurality); Theodore Roosevelt (Bull Moose/Progressive; second place); incumbent William Howard Taft (Republican; third place), and Eugene Debs (Socialist).

Whether for insights into leadership, the presidency, American history at the dawn of the 20th century--or just for fun--read Cooper's Wilson. You will not be disappointed (it's also, by the way, an elegant, beautifully designed book).

Celebrating, Learning from the Fall of the Berlin Wall, 20 Years On

What a momentous day!--and what a noticeable absence of celebration and perspective on the fall of the Berlin Wall and the new world it ushered in.

To be sure, there are many events in Germany; why so few in the USA and elsewhere?

Perhaps one reason is then-President George H.W. Bush's prudent course, avoiding proclaiming "victory" at the end of 1989--enhancing his administration's diplomacy to help re-unify (or, as the Germans understandably prefer to say, as if to efface history, unify) Germany. That achievement, too, remains awe-inspiring.

Neither the first President Bush nor President Clinton conveyed a clear vision of the changed world after 1989. Each would, doubtless, dispute the assertion. And yet, can you summon it from memory?

Some commentators emphasize the inadvertent opening of the Wall by an artless spokesman for the now-defunct East German regime. The implication is that the fall of communism in Central Europe was in significant part accidental.

In fact, there is no great story of leadership--from presidents and prime ministers to ordinary people everywhere, from America, to the Vatican, to Winston Churchill (yes, he had prescient insights on this, as so much else) to unions, to dissidents, to writers and musicians and poets and playwrights, culminating in the extraordinary mass assertion of freedom that welled up simultaneously, flooding the citadels of communism, rendering impotent their massed might and familiar force.  

As in other historic moments, at the moment of truth, the will of those holding power simply gave way. 

It didn't just happen.

As one privileged to be in Berlin for the extraordinary New Year's celebrations of 1989-90, I can attest to the aptness of the coda from Anne Applebaum, in the Washington Post: 

'Too many of us forget that there are few historical precedents for the past two decades. "Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven." When Wordsworth wrote those words about the French Revolution, the post-revolutionary terror was a recent memory, the Napoleonic wars were still raging and his poem was an ironic comment on the naivete of youth. But we are now as far from the events of 1989 as Wordsworth was from 1789, and here in Central Europe there is no need for irony at all: Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven.'

A celebration today, a challenge tomorrow: will our generations build on the spirit of 1989 in a way that our successors will similarly recognize and celebrate?

In the Midst of Our Ongoing Leadership Crisis: What Would TR Do Today?

Today, October 27th, is the anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt's birth in 1858.

TR was a dominant figure in American history a century ago--framing and confronting many issues similar to those before us today.

Amid the financial, economic, strategic and governmental crises bearing down upon us, many increasingly recognize that they're all part of a leadership crisis. TR--who constantly reminded audiences that their "leaders" reflected the nation--would likely emphasize the importance of tending to our "national character."

Roosevelt's life was not limited by politics; his politics were not limited by party. We cannot know his views on today's crises--would that we could!--but we can find inspiration--actionable inspiration--from his views of leadership.

There's no better place to start than TR's "Citizenship in a Republic," his speech at the Sorbonne on April 23, 1910. This represents the culmination of years of Roosevelt's thinking about--and living--leadership. Today it's generally remembered for the famous "man in arena" quotation. Nonetheless, the speech in its entirety is worthy of reading and reflection.

Are we meeting TR's standard today? Should we aspire to it?

Highly Recommended: Adam Werbach's 'Strategy for Sustainability'

Adam Werbach has written an outstanding book on corporate sustainability strategies. I recommend it unreservedly for anyone interested in joining the conversation on this vital topic.

Werbach is a public relations executive with Saatchi & Saatchi, and a former advocate with the Sierra Club. This is reflected in the book's emphasis on stakeholder engagement.

Werbach eloquently argues that sustainability is best understood in the context of stakeholder engagement; as such, its implications are broader than sustainability per se (he characterizes this as expanding from "green" to "blue.").

In my view, Werbach is exactly on point. Understood in this way, effective sustainability strategies and the innovation they require and occasion, are most likely to be meet and exceed expectations when they are tightly aligned with stakeholders.

Werbach's book is subtitled "A Business Manifesto." This is accurate. It is not so much a cookbook, filled with ready to apply recipes. There are, to be sure, plenty of anecdotes included. Nonetheless, those looking for off-the-shelf corporate (and especially small business) programs may find other sources to be more pertinent.

Werbach's book adds value is in laying forth ways of thinking that underly effective sustainability strategies. If you are persuaded, as am I, that the most effective sustainability strategies are part and parcel of an enterprise's core value proposition--and are reliant on ever enhanced stakeholder engagement--you will likely welcome the evidence, passion and provocation of Werbach's entry in the increasing shelf of sustainability titles.  

Werbach ends at what I regard as the inevitable destination: sustainability as a leadership issue. I have more of my own thoughts on this coming out soon.

Should Management Have a Professional Code of Conduct? Angel Cabrera Weighs In.

Will teaching ethics in American business schools raise the standards of corporate conduct?

Is ethical conduct compatible with creating shareholder value?

In Business Week, Thunderbird Global School of Management President Angel Cabrera weighs in.

Breathtaking Interchange on Wall Street, Washington & the Citizens They "Serve"

A recent Bill Moyers programincludes a notable interchange between Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, and economist Simon Johnson, formerly of the International Monetary Fund and author of some widely read articles on the current financial crisis in The Atlantic.

What do you think?

HT/Patrick.net

Will Costco Find Competitive Advantage in Ground Beef Testing?

The recent New York Times series on the tragic consequences of E. coli risk from ground beef has prompted progress: Tyson, one of the nation's largest beef suppliers, has reached an accord with Costco.

Costco, as noted by the Times, has taken the step, apparently encouraged by not required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, of independently testing for E. coli after delivery.

Will Costco receive a competitive boost from the favorable publicity about its protective testing requirements?

Will its competitors--such as Wal-Mart--soon follow suit?

Here's betting they will follow suit.... and the corporate bean counters who doubtless discouraged such testing as unjustifiably costly may have to do some reconsideration.

In today's Information Age, good news travels fast and can create significant value--and missteps can be costly, even if technically not out of compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Brilliant NYT Column by David Brooks: How Best to Lead Innovation?

David Brooks' column in the New York Times today succinctly frames a fundamental fault-line in today's national debates: how to promote innovation.

Isn't this found also in differing approaches to management of all organizations?

In the 21st century, with information widely available and networks constantly created, this issue is becoming, if anything, more important, more universal.

Do you find that organizations--and those who head them--are most effective in gathering information, and coming up with solutions, responses? Or are they most effective when they foster management approaches that enable others to come up with solutions, responses?

Uncut Version of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's Health Care Op-ed Even More Interesting Than As Published by WSJ

Whole Foods' CEO John Mackey strolled with the apparent innocence of integrity into the new world of 21st-century leadership with his recent Wall Street Journal piece on health care reform.

The original, pre-edited, uncut version is even more far-reaching and provocative, going straight toward the ultimate issue: Americans' personal responsibility for our diet.

Mackey's graphic sums it up: The American Diet: Designed for Disease.

 

Brilliant Lecture by Gary Hamel on Shifting Tides Affecting Religious Institutions in USA, 9-27-09

Shifting Tides | Menlo Park Presbyterian Church Shared via AddThis. HT: Craig Hudson.