Just today, Colin Powell decided to endorse Obama for President. He made the announcement this morning on NBC’s Meet The Press.
Colin Powell is a man I highly respect and admire. As a former aspiring diplomat and ambassador I have huge respect for any one that has served as the secretary of state. Every secretary of state that I have known has been a public servant. Not a politician looking for votes, but a public servant who has the public’s best interest in mind. Colin Powell is a public servant.
This makes many other people more comfortable with voting for Obama. At least I know he will have a military advisor he can call on that is a moderate and will be more likely to make the right decision for the country regardless of the politics involved. He may or may not serve a formal role in Obama’s administration if he is elected, but time will tell.
There is an important lesson here and that is to surround yourself with the best. Leaders have to be great at finding people who are the best. They have to be great at bringing them into their cause. No one person can ever know everything, nor should they try. The key is not knowing everything, but finding the person who does in their area of expertise. A leader must recognize who is the best, which is sometimes a very hard task.
Once you have these people together, you must discuss the issues at hand, weigh each piece of advice carefully, and make the final decision. This is by far the leader’s hardest task. Making the final decision. Many times a leader hears opposing views and must decide on one over the other. Then they have to live with the results. Being the President is the most difficult job there is. It is not a role to take lightly. With the weight of the world on your shoulders, it’s a wonderful thing to have the best people surrounding you and supporting you.
The take away in all this is to choose your friends and associates wisely. When all hell is breaking lose you will be glad you surrounded yourself with the best.
You can read Colin Powell’s Bio at The Official Site of The Presidential Citizens Medal.
The decision to surround oneself with positive individuals is one that has to be made early in the building of one’s framework. Having individuals around that promote one’s well-being has much more of an effect on one’s action than would be estimated. The people around someone are used by the mind as a constant indication of what a majority of individuals around the world are acting like. If a person is only surrounded by people that are skilled in pottery, their mind will start to think that there is more competition in the pottery field, and they might work harder. This is one of the beneficial effects of being near succeeders.
Armen Shirvanian’s last blog post..Quality Builds On Itself