Editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report and political analyst for CNN and PBS, David Gergen has served as a White House adviser to four presidents; Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He is also a professor at Harvard’s School of Public Leadership. An active participant in American national life for 30 years, Gergen has a lifetime of experience in observing and participating in high-capacity leadership, which he’s distilled into seven vital elements needed for future leaders. The author of Eyewitness to Power, he firmly believes that by identifying the traits of other leaders (and learning from their mistakes), we can increase our own effectiveness and leadership potential.
Gergen plugs Bill Hybels book 'Axiom'. great book
talking about importance of leader creating the right culture in an organization
you have to learn to get better
be a reflective practioner
reflective practice = combination of being in the arena, doing, but also reading
become self-educated
not every reader is a leader, but every leader is a reader
read, do, reflect on it
it is easy to confuse motion with progress
one of the easiest things to do is fool yourself
Nixon was the best strategist he ever met
someone who can look farther back can look farther ahead
Ford was the most decent president he worked for
we have come to prize people who are decent, because they have become so rare
Clinton..very bright, tactical
Gergen admired Clinton's resilience
Reagan was a superb leader
he had a contagious optimism
sense of sacrifice is important, but so is sense of humor
sometime the right hand does not know what the far-right hand is doing ;-)
Gergen is a pretty funny guy
mentors are so important in life
Nixon was a good man, but he had demons he could not control
Reagan's weakness was detachment. took his hands off the wheel sometimes
Clinton's weakness was that he had cracks in his character
Gergen: Jesus Christ, hard to find flaws there. Hybels: you CNN guys keep looking ;-)
leadership does not have to be lonely
leaders today get the best results when they have great teams. teams of leaders
if you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.
leadership is about trust and about communication
symbols matter to people
who the speaker is speaks as loudly as anything he or she says
great speeches have ethos, logos, pathos
personal habits matter a lot
Churchill would take afternoon naps
it is important to be physically fit. leadership is a physically demanding task
build time into your day to reflect
build time into your day to be with people you cherish
i love the generation that is coming up...it is a terrific generation
having a true north, a moral compass is extremely important for leadership
it is important to have good anchors in life
one of the greatest dangers to a leader is that your ego becomes so big that you become arrogant
