By Jason Lim
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Clinton spoke in sound bites; Bush was didactic. Clinton was slick; Bush seemed water-logged. Clinton was all about "It's the economy, stupid"; Bush was all about "That's complicated." Clinton was the crowning of the ascension of the Baby Boomers; Bush was a hold-over from the Greatest Generation.
For most, being the U.S. President is the highpoint of one's professional and personal trajectory. After all, the position is not called the "leader of the free world" for nothing. For some, however, the presidency is seemingly just another bullet point on their resume as they grow in stature and respect in the years after the service on the strength of their character.
Truman comes to mind. Jimmy Carter as well. And now, George H.W. Bush. Seeing the 95-year-old Bob Dole, his lifelong political rival who had been confined for years to a wheelchair, rising to offer one final standing salute speaks most eloquently to that character.
As I grew older, I learned to appreciate the incredible leadership that Bush exercised as the Soviet Union imploded and the Cold War wound down. Transitions are often fraught with danger, especially when the country that's collapsing into chaos happens to have thousands of nuclear weapons and suddenly unemployed and desperate military. Navigating through such a monumental transition in such a mundane manner speaks silent volumes to the leadership of George H.W. Bush.
He also marshaled the world against Saddam Hussein when Iraq invaded Kuwait. In a way, Bush was the last truly internationalist president, leveraging the U.N. as the original designers had envisioned: a multilateral moral and military bulwark against war, an artificial and desperate construct to cage the bellum omnium contra omnes that two World Wars had amply shown.
His leadership shined here in what he didn't do rather than what he did. He didn't pursue Saddam Hussein to the end. He stayed within the confines of the original justification for the war. His wisdom, ironically enough, was tragically highlighted in hindsight when his own son invaded Iraq, killed Saddam, and unleashed what we know today.
Listening to his son's eulogy, I was struck by the following passages:
"One reason Dad knew how to die young is that he almost did it ― twice. When he was a teenager, a staph infection nearly took his life. A few years later he was alone in the Pacific on a life raft, praying that his rescuers would find him before the enemy did. God answered those prayers. It turned out He had other plans for George H.W. Bush. For Dad's part, I think those brushes with death made him cherish the gift of life. And he vowed to live every day to the fullest… Dad taught us that public service is noble and necessary; that one can serve with integrity and hold true to the important values, like faith and family. He strongly believed that it was important to give back to the community and country in which one lived. He recognized that serving others enriched the giver's soul."
This reminded me of what Jim Collins wrote in his original Harvard Business Review article (2001) describing the great leaders he researched. They had all undergone significant life experiences that may have triggered the recognition of impermanence and selflessness.
"Darwin Smith fully blossomed as a Level 5 after his near-death experience with cancer. Joe Cullman was profoundly affected by his World War II experiences, particularly the last-minute change of orders that took him off a doomed ship on which he surely would have died… Colman Mockler, for example, converted to evangelical Christianity while getting his MBA at Harvard… and became a prime mover in a group of Boston business executives that met frequently over breakfast to discuss the carryover of religious values to corporate life."
Perhaps these experiences lead to a sense of deep humility because you realize that there is nothing you can do to stop your own death. It is truly God's will that is allowing you to live on. You also recognize that your life is due to others with whom you build a pattern of relationships. You are not an island. These insights, once internalized, lead directly to those characteristics that mark great leadership, two of which are humility and service.
George W. Bush ended his eulogy with the following words: "And we're going to miss you. Your decency, sincerity, and kind soul will stay with us forever. So, through our tears, let us see the blessings of knowing and loving you ― a great and noble man, and the best father a son or daughter could have."
Whatever your politics may be, at the end of the day, a man's life is a success if his own children can say this about him.
Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.
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