The Character of the Senate Race in Illinois

Yesterday I watched Meet the Press. This is a program that I have watched intermittently for a number of years. Sitting in my office, working in the quiet of Sunday morning I listened casually as David Gregory introduced the program’s content. The program yesterday consisted of a debate between the two candidates, Mr. Kirk and Mr. Giannoulias for U.S. Senate in Illinois. I did not give the debate my full attention until Gregory turned the questions to matters of character. Mr. Kirk has been accused exaggerating his military record and Mr. Giannoulias accused of making loans through his family owned community bank to known mobsters.

Since these are not the typical matters of Senate races I paid attention to how each answered. Mr. Kirk took complete responsibility for the exaggerations of his record stating that it was his fault and no one else’s. He also stated he loved this country. However he did not answer the deeper question, why had he exaggerated his military record.

Mr. Giannoulias was asked directly if he had known that certain borrower from his bank were known members of the mob. His response was “I didn’t know the extent of their activities.” Again he did not answer the question implied buy not stated by David Gregory. To what extent did you know their activities.

Missing from each gentleman’s answers was a the frankness to answer directly how these mistakes happened, the circumstances within which they happened, and whether they would do the same thing again. We had a powerful glimpse into the character of each candidate yesterday and one can only hope that when the Illinois voters cast their ballots on November 2 that one of the choices will be “none of the above.”

280,690

We released The Character of Leadership: An Ancient Model for A Quantum Age one year ago and it has been a great year. I did not set expectations for the book and the model but I had hopes for its acceptance. Having learned over the years to moderate expectations I relied on my hopes as a way providing motivation to put The Character of Leadership Model in the hands of 100,000 people in one year. We established several channels through which we could pursue that goal. Those channels consisted of:

• Web site
• Book sales
• Assessments
• Speeches and presentations
• Published articles in trade publications and newspapers
• Our newsletter

Through those channels as we finish our first twelve months we have placed the model in the hands of…drum roll... 280,690 people in 90 countries and territories. The best part of these numbers however is that momentum is building for the model. I have four speaking engagements in the next month and two speaking engagements already booked for 2011. Book sales are increasing, free assessments have increased substantially and the reach of the model has expanded with sales in Australia and a recent conversation about translating the book for use in Uganda and Rowanda.

My purpose with this information is twofold; first to thank you for your support and encouragement. This year, when I became discouraged someone would call, send a note or comment that some aspect of The Character of Leadership had made a profound difference in their leadership.

My second purpose is to ask for your help. We have found a reception in the lives of leaders with our proposition that the fuel for great leadership is great character by offering a prospective and positive model for developing character and leadership. You can help me by telling your colleagues how to engage with The Character of Leadership, writing a book review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, inviting me to speak to your groups and recommending organizations that would like to adapt and adopt this model as a way of forming the character to lead.

Today more than ever I am convinced that the challenges we face are not economic, environmental, social or legal; they are challenges of character and leadership. Let’s work together to meet those challenges with the expansion of The Character of Leadership. Let me know where and how I can help.

Thank you for your support. I am looking forward to another great year for The Character of Leadership!