The leaders we remember best are ones who were thrust into great conflict and found a way to win. We don’t remember leaders who prevented such great conflicts in the first place. I suspect there are far more of the latter, and less of the former.
Ronald Reagan is my favorite president. I wish he’d come back today. He was like a father figure. I was in high school when he was elected, and he served for the eight years after that. Maybe it was his firmness in drawing a line where and when it had to be drawn. Maybe it was his soothing voice speaking the words of optimism and the promise of America that I loved. Like a good Dad, he could make you feel good about yourself and America, while at the same time not letting you forget the responsibilities and challenges that we had to meet to realize this unique and worthy goal of freedom.
Reagan was called “The Great Communicator”. (Listen to some of his speeches.)
I recall a story about how the cold war ended. There was a time when we all worried about nuclear war with the USSR. It was talked about and loomed over us as the one thing that could go wrong that would end all of us. There seemed to be no solution, and millions of lives hung in the balance.
I’m not a perfect historian, but this is basically what happened. Reagan called Gorbachev and met with him – face to face. They visited. They talked, and they became friends. Can you imagine -the leaders of the two superpowers with nuclear warheads pointing at each other, becoming friends?
Reagan had Gorbachev over to the US for a visit. This was unprecedented. At some point, Reagan took his friend to a grocery store. Gorbachev, it is said, wept for all the abundance and choice that was available in America, made possible by our system of free-market capitalism.
Ultimately, the cold war ended, and The USSR broke up into multiple smaller countries.
Was World War III avoided? We don’t know what would have happened if Reagan handled it differently and perhaps threatened and provoked Gorbachev instead.
The point is, as leaders, we are stewards of our group, and it is our responsibility to not only meet the crises of the day, but to prevent them in the first place.
In my company, we have almost no debt, we have physical space to spare so we aren’t constrained by being overcrowded, we have 1300 happy employees (I think!), and happy customers. We meet threats when they are small and prevent them from becoming large.
What are you doing, or must you do, to PREVENT crises and disasters for your organization?
Dittos for the great Ronaldus Maximus
Ronald Reagan was my favorite President. His results are well documented and his communication style was outstanding. Always looked forward to his speeches. Would love to have him back right now.
We are about the same age and your reflection of that period of time is exactly how I remember it. He was the first president I voted for (second term) and he was a great one!
Well said.
I am also in the fan club for Ronald Reagan! My Dad encouraged me to listen to his speeches, despite the fact that I was just a young teenager. He WAS the great communicator and I had no trouble following what he said. He was so eloquent and most importantly, I think he was humble. I also love that he was blunt when he had to be. 🙂
This was one of my all time favorites, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this. Enlightening.
This was my favorite Think Daily to date. Well said.
My favorite Reagan quote is “ freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction“
And a shout out to my buddy Scott Murphy.
Thanks for this great history lesson and lesson on leadership and communication. I am going to start watching Reagan speeches. Well said.
I would agree that Ronald Reagan was definately the best president and leader of our time. I too was in my last year of school when he became President. He was a TRUE leader, unlike we have had in recent times. I always appreciate the blogs, but this one in particular.
Thnak you!!
I went to the Ronald Reagan Museum in California just recently. I was inspired and enthralled at the same time what a man. I brought back, to the entire company a leather-bound short saying “it can BE DONE”.
I had a crisis this morning and with a reassuring voice, I helped a staff member realize we were here for him. I will print this for all to read and once again thank you Larry for being…… YOU!
You 1000x’d on this post Larry.
Thank you!