Lee Ioaccoco speaks up ! from his book "Where have all the leaders
gone?" sounds like we should read it.
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Cor****ation from
it's death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts. Lee
Iacocca Says: "Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with
what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be
screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering
our ****p of state right over a cliff, we've got cor****ate 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" Stay the course?
You've got to be kidding. This
is America , not the damned "Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite:
"Throw all the bums out!"
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker,
and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize
this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the
guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is
burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving
'pom -poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise
of the " America " my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if
you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest "C" is Crisis !
Leaders are made, not born. Leader****p is forged in times of
crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk
theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen
a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead
when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any
other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out
of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess So here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan
for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the
country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our
once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent
energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like
sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way These are
times that cry out for leader****p.
But when you look around, you've got to ask:"Where have all the
leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators?
Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence,
and common sense?
I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than
making us take off our shoes in air****ts and throw away our shampoo?
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.
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. Everyone's hunkering down,
fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again.
Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
Figure out
what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we
can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have
believed that there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred
to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen, and more im****tant, what are we going to do
about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying
down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health
care problem.The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that
are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit
on your ***** and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is
being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with
mediocrity.What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox
News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show
some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm
trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I
believe in America . In my lifetime I've had the privilege of
living through some of America's greatest moments. 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. 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. Whether it's building a better car or
building a better future for our children, we all have a role to
play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a
call to "Action" for people who, like me, believe in America It's
not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the
crap a nd go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had "enough."
Make a "real contribution" by sending this to everyone you know and
care about......our future is at stake!
"It is in the shelter of each other that people live."
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