Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from it's
death throes? Â He has a new book and here are some excerpts.
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Lee Iacocca Says: "Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with
what's happening? Â Where the hell is our outrage? Â We should be screaming
bloody murder. Â We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of
state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind,
and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when
the politicians say, "Stay the course"
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Stay the course? Â You've got to be kidding. Â This is America, not the damned
"Titanic". Â I'll give you a sound bite: "Throw all the bums out!" Â You might
think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have.
But someone has to speak up. Â I hardly recognize this country anymore.
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The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in
handcuffs. Â While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and
nobody seems to know what to do. Â And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead
of asking hard questions. Â That's not the promise of the "America" my
parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. Â I've had enough. Â How
about you?
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I'll go a step further. Â You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not
outraged. Â This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. Â The Biggest "C"
is Crisis !
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Leaders are made, not born.  Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's
easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Â Or send
someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield
yourself. Â It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
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On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in
our history. Â We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Â A Hell
of a Mess. Â So here's where we stand. Â We're immersed in a bloody war with
no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. Â We're running the biggest
deficit in the history of the country. Â We're losing the manufacturing edge
to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health
care costs. Â Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent
energy policy. Â Our schools are in trouble. Â Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way. Â These are times that cry
out for leadership. Â But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where
have all the leaders gone?" Â Where are the curious, creative communicators?
Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and
common sense?
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I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
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Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us
take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? Â We've spent
billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to
do is react to things that have already happened.
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Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in
the crucial hours after the storm. Â Everyone's hunkering down, fingers
crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Â Now, that's just crazy. Â Storms
happen. Â Deal with it. Â Make a plan. Â Figure out what you're going to do the
next time.
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Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Â Who would have believed that
there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred to Japanese car
companies? Â How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do
about it?
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Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the
debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem.
The silence is deafening. Â But these are the crises that are eating away at
our country and milking the middle class dry.
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I have news for the gang in Congress. Â We didn't elect you to sit on your
asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked
and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. Â What is everybody so
afraid of? Â That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Â Give me a
break. Â Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
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Had Enough?
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Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. Â I'm trying to
light a fire. Â I'm speaking out because I have hope. Â I believe in America.
In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's
greatest moments. Â I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the
"Great Depression", "World War II", the "Korean War", the "Kennedy
Assassination", the "Vietnam War", the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles
of recent years culminating with 9/11. Â If I've learned one thing, it's
this: "You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for
somebody else to take action.
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Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our
children, we all have a role to play. Â That's the challenge I'm raising in
this book. Â It's a call to "Action" for people who, like me, believe in
America. Â It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. Â So let's shake
off the crap and go to work. Â Let's tell 'em all we've had "enough."
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Excerpted from "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?". Â Copyright (c) 2007 by
Lee Iacocca. Â All rights reserved.
