As we wind down towards what appears to be a short term resolution of our debt ceiling issue, I am feeling the same frustration as tens of millions of other Americans about the process of governing our country. Along the way, I wondered, sometimes out loud, if there was anything we could learn in business or in life from this horrendous episode of our history.
The first lesson that I believe we can learn is that when you are in a position of power, taking advantage of that will always lead to future consequences. President Obama did exactly the wrong thing when he had the once in a century opportunity to ram through healthcare legislation while holding a razor thin opposition-proof margin in the Congress. While the legislation passed, he set himself and our country up for these unforseen consequences of the future.
Leadership Matters! When times get tough and there is clear and devisive strongly and honestly felt disagreement, it takes a true leader to step up, let both sides vet their points of view and then force compromise. Leadership requires sensitivity to feelings. Leadership requires diplomacy. Leadership requires discretion. Great leadership does not call press conferences to air partisan feelings to the world. Most great leadership takes place behind closed doors, not subject to the public scrutiny. When you try to gain friends or politcal points instead of progress, you are not exhibiting leadership.
Hostage negotiating may solve immediate problems but carries with it a heavy price. What we are seeing from factions of one of our political parties is clear and unadulterated hostage negotiation tactics -- disregard of the consequences of not being able to reach an agreement. Hostage takers set clear lines in the sand and are not willing to budge. They hold the key to the results and know it. They have a purely selfish or ideological rationale. If you give in to a hostage taker they will ALWAYS ask for more. Unless you are willing to bear the consequences of not coming to agreement, don't even begin the negotiation process with them.
Unfortunately, hostage takers often win. In order to avoid catastrophic consequences (life or death in this analogy and the demise of our economic system in reality) our politicians overwhelmingly gave into the hostage takers. The question now is: What is next? With our economy still alive (some think barely), you can be sure our hostage takers will ask for more, continuning to hold our Nation's economy and political system at bay. Ultimately we are bound for a shoot out with dire consequences. The only thing that is not clear is where and when.
