Obama The Leadership of "We Are One"

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Obama ~ The Leadership of We Are One

Obama
The Leadership of We Are One

Victoria C. DePaul

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Obama ~ The Leadership of We Are One
Published by Galileo Business & Learning Consultants, LLC
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Suite 205
Auburn, MA 01501

For more information about our books, please write to us or visit our
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ISBN 13: 978-0-9794508-2-2 Hardcover Edition

Copyright © 2009 by Victoria C. DePaul

Front cover image design by Mitchell Powell

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Table of Contents

Preface........................................................................................1

Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined ...................................11

Innovation ...............................................................................29

Commitment ...........................................................................55

Autonomy ...............................................................................69

Risk ...........................................................................................83

Situational Analysis .............................................................111

Empowerment ......................................................................135

Communication and Relationship .....................................161

Diversity ................................................................................177

Vision .....................................................................................195

Obama: An International Perspective . 217Error! Bookmark


not defined.

Epilogue.................................................................................233

About The Author ................................................................247

Acknowledgements .............................................................248

Contributors………………………………………….…….253
Preface

I’m asking you to believe.


Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington
... I’m asking you to believe in yours.
Barack Obama

ON JULY 27TH, 2004 I busied myself around the house, lost


in my thoughts as I completed household chores. In the
background the TV droned on, tuned in to the Democratic
National Convention. A man that I had never heard of
caught my attention. He introduced himself as Barack.
“Was that a first name or a last name?” I wondered. I
ceased what I was doing, sat down, immersed in his
address.
There was an energy—a passion, in this young
man that was very different than other politicians. He was
direct, purposeful, sincere—dare I say—authentic—in his
remarks. He conveyed integrity, enthusiasm and com-
mitment. I was riveted, barely able to move. “Who is this
man?” I repeatedly asked myself. It was in those moments
that I knew that I was looking at a future president.
Preface

What is remarkable was that I was not alone. The


next day at work, Barack Obama was the topic of conver-
sation. I was not the only one replaying his speech on the
internet. I was not the only one who believed that a
distinguished leader had emerged. Others felt the same
energy. I hadn’t lost my mind. The journey that we are
now on, what Barack labeled, “the audacity of hope”, began
for many of us on that day in Boston, on July 27th, 2004.
It is now August of 2009⎯ one year from Denver,
the site of the Democratic National Convention of 2008.
For this convention, Barack Obama was not the keynote
speaker. He did, instead, offer his acceptance speech as
the Democratic Candidate for the Presidency of the
United States. In Chicago, on November 4, 2008—before a
crowd of more than 200,000—he delivered his first speech
as President Elect. And how the world stood still on
January 20th, 2009 when Barack Obama addressed the
nation and the world with his first speech as President of
the United States of America.
This comes as no surprise to many of us who first
heard his 2004 DNC keynote address. We understand that
this was the inevitable next step for a man who has
already claimed his place in history. In the past four years

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Obama ~ The Leadership of We Are One

we have watched as Barack Obama has inspired and


motivated millions throughout the United States and
across the globe. This inspiration has been the backbone
of a grassroots movement previously unseen in our
political history.
Citizens of all ages, religions, races, economic sta-
tus and gender have claimed a piece of the 2008 Demo-
cratic presidential campaign in unprecedented numbers.
As of October 31, 2008 the campaign had raised 750
million dollars with over two million donors. Barack
Obama launched a successful primary campaign by
mobilizing first time voters through nation-wide voter
registration drives. He demanded our attention with
promises of change and has restored the legacy of hope in
baby boomers, long lost in the cynicism of the late 60’s
and 70’s.
The pages that follow describe just how Barack
Obama has etched his place in American history. Here
you will find essays, anecdotes and quotes on leadership,
contribution and hope. Leadership experts will offer their
perspectives on how Barack Obama and Joe Biden serve
as sterling examples of some of the emerging leadership
strategies of the 21st century.

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Preface

Some of the words will come from Obama himself;


many from ordinary citizens who have been moved from
complacency to action. This book, this chronicle, indeed
this story, is a historical event—not just the story of one
individual— but the collective voice of a nation during a
turbulent time in American history. This is not a book of
facts and numbers but an attempt to document a move-
ment of empowerment, change and personal accountabili-
ty, the true essence of leadership, as you shall see.
As I spoke with citizens from across the country
and abroad, throughout the presidential campaign of
2008, I was moved to tears by many of the stories of
hardships that people are faced with in these current
times. I heard countless stories of foreclosures, health care
calamities, joblessness and concerns for education and
energy reform. There has been a quiet, hidden despera-
tion in America as citizens without a voice and nowhere
else to turn, retreat in despair. Household budgets have
been stretched beyond the limit. Far too many of us are
denied affordable healthcare. Our schools are under-
funded, overcrowded and understaffed. Jobs are being
lost to an overseas market and the insecurities of the

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Obama ~ The Leadership of We Are One

Middle East crisis make us wonder if world peace can


ever happen.
And yet as I heard story after story, I also heard the
voice of hope. For the first time many Americans are
hearing—and speaking—hope. For many, hope means
change. Obama has mobilized a grassroots movement
that spans all ages and generations. And from this hope
comes passion—a passion to do more, to have more, to BE
more. It is this passion that drives any organization. It is
this passion that drives any individual. It is this passion
that drives America.
This is the catalyst of both the entrepreneurial spi-
rit and the intrapreneurial1 spirit that is the hallmark of
our success as a nation. In recent years we have seen an
increase of jobs and labor moving to foreign markets. Our
current government continues to feed us a daily diet of
negativity based on any number of fears—terrorism, the

1 Intrapreneur: An individual who works as an entrepreneur within


an organization, group or team. The qualities of an intrapreneur
include passion, commitment, resourcefulness, creativity and initia-
tive. Intrapreneurs are risk-takers who see problems as opportunities
and assume direct responsibility for tasks and outcomes. For a more
detailed examination of this phenomenon, see “Creating the Intra-
preneur: The Search for Leadership Excellence”
5
Preface

failure of our economy, lack of resources, etc. And yet for


just as many and more, the challenge of the status quo has
begun. Barack Obama is a leader of intrapreneurs. He has
challenged us to BE and FEEL our intrapreneurial spirit.
Intrapreneurship is natural to most people. At
birth, we came packaged with the innate characteristics of
curiosity, ambition, flexibility, creativity and tenacity—all
necessary components of Intrapreneurship. We were born
with passion, commitment, confidence and initiative. It is
this combination of positive human energies that directed
us to take our first step. Now, far from birth, in the intra-
preneurial spirit, Barack Obama calls each of us to reach
deep into ourSelves and call forth our innate positive
energies of enthusiasm, ambition, hope and desire. In his
own words:

…. I stand before you tonight because all across America


something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is
that this election has never been about me. It's been about
you. For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by
one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You under-
stand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to
try the same old politics with the same old players and expect
a different result. You have shown what history teaches us—
that at defining moments like this one, the change we need
doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washing-
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Obama ~ The Leadership of We Are One

ton. Change happens because the American people demand


it—because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new
leadership, a new politics for a new time.
Senator Barack Obama • Acceptance Speech at the
Democratic National Convention
August 28, 2008

As you read through these pages, dominant


themes will become apparent. These themes are all an-
swers to the original questions—what makes a superior
leader? What makes Barack Obama a superior leader? The
leadership traits identified by voices from all across
America and shared by leadership and business experts
are:
Understands the Energy of the Human Spirit—
The Entrepreneurial/Intrapreneurial Spirit: Each of us is
an energy system with a level of accountability, integrity,
tenacity, honesty, and creativity. Our results in work,
play, relationships, even our politics, are dependent upon
the extent to which we infuse our spirit, our Selves, our
passion—our Energy into all that we do.
Ingenuity and Innovation: The creative ability to
come up with new and innovative ideas and cherish the
opportunity to implement them.

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Preface

Commitment: Once the vision is defined, resiliency


is the necessary ingredient to stay focused on the end
result.
Autonomy: The ability to take a lead on a project,
working independently if necessary, and allowing others
to do the same.
Risk: Is comfortable taking risks and accepts all
possible outcomes understanding that falling down isn’t
failure, but staying down is a show-stopper. Comfortable
with risk, the Intrapreneurial Leader works to create an
environment that is safe for others to take calculated risks
based on analysis and sound judgment. All new thoughts,
growth, and ideas can only originate within the context of
risk.
Situational Analysis: The ability to analyze and
evaluate data independently in order to make effective
and accurate decisions. From analysis comes the know-
ledge and confidence to devise and implement effective
strategies to manage and locate available resources.
Empowerment: The Intrapreneurial Leader has the
ability to instill the vision in all members of the organiza-
tion. Managers prioritize; supervisors direct; Intrapre-
neurial Leaders will call forth the positive internal

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Obama ~ The Leadership of We Are One

energies/passions to move the organization to the fulfill-


ment of the vision.
Relational/Communication Skills: Intrapreneurial
Leaders have the ability to be effective two-way commu-
nicators of ideas, instructions and enthusiasm. People are
the greatest asset of any organization, group, and team of
any size. People are the source of power of the organiza-
tion. Success depends on a leader’s ability to communi-
cate the vision and move people to act toward achieving
established goals.
Can Embrace Diversity: People are the power of
any organization. Positive results come from the willing-
ness and ability to work together and support each other.
Vision: A vision begins with objectives and a plan
for accomplishing them with discipline, organization and
prioritization.

So as you enter this era of history, pay close atten-


tion to the words of our national and global citizens.
These are the voices of hope, idealism and possibility—
The American Dream. More than the words of experts,
the voices recorded here are of experience—of life expe-
rience—the only experience that really matters. It is the

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Preface

chorus of millions of voices who, for two years chanted


“Yes We Can”; In November, 2008 chanted, “Yes We Did”
and now in 2009 loudly proclaims, “Yes We Will”.

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Chapter 1

Intrapreneurial Leadership
Defined

For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingre-


dient in the American saga, a belief that we are connected as
one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago
who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If
there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her pre-
scription and has to choose between medicine and the rent,
that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If
there's an Arab American family being rounded up without
benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil
liberties. It's that fundamental belief—I am my brother's kee-
per, I am my sister's keeper—that makes this country work.
It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still
come together as a single American family. “E pluribus Un-
um.” Out of many, one.
Senator Barack Obama
Boston, MA • July 27, 2008

SO HOW DID A SKINNY BOY with large ears and a funny


name find himself at this place, at this time? How did a
boy who defines cultural, racial, religious and interna-
tional diversity find himself poised to become leader of
Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

the most powerful country on the planet? He did it by


following the principles of Intrapreneurial Leadership. To
begin to understand Intrapreneurial Leadership re-read
the quote at the top of this page.
Intrapreneurial Leadership begins with the power
that exists within each of us. It continues within the
‘synergy’ created when people are able to work together
to achieve a common
The reason I think Obama is
such a great leader is because goal. Synergy is the
of his ability to command an alignment and collabora-
audience with such an air of
respect and grandeur but at tion of individuals to
the same time he has such a
sense of humbleness. That is a increase power and
quality you don't see a lot of
effectiveness to produce
in politicians—if at all—these
days. [It] is the act of being results that would other-
humble yet still having respect
for yourself and others. wise be improbable.
Kathy Wilson
Bowie, MD Intrapreneurial Leader-
ship creates an environ-
ment that results in the synergy of human energies.
Intrapreneurial Leadership does not just happen by
chance or the positive intent to do so. It is the result of the
application of specific universal principles of human
energies.
Barack Obama knows this energy— this power—
well. He understands how these universal principles are
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

at work, not only within him, but within others as well.


To become an Intrapreneurial Leader you need not read
another word here. You can simply observe Barack
Obama in action. I have nothing new to offer. All I can
promise you is documentation on what has unfolded
right in front of us. Here you are presented the universal
principles of human energy systems that I also have used
with enormous success. Often I am asked, “But do these
principles really work?” To which I can now reply, “Don’t
take my word for it. Just observe what Barack Obama has
accomplished.”
To further define Intrapreneurial Leadership, let’s
begin with leadership. Leadership is the activity or inten-
tion of directing or influencing the behaviors and though-
ts of people in order to attain a goal. It is the deliberate
use of power to achieve the desired results. It is critical to
your success that you understand that it is not power over
people that allows you to achieve your goals; it is power
with people that you achieve positive results. In order to
accomplish this you must understand the concept of
energy.

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Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

WHAT MAKES A LEADER? Is it the amount of time they have


spent in positions of power? No, it isn't. Is it that they never
change their original strategy, for fear of “losing face”? No, it
isn't. Are you automatically a leader because you've been in a
war? No, you aren't. What makes a leader is a true understand-
ing of the issues at hand, not only how they affect people right
now and right here, but their long-term ramifications and their
affect on the world, as well as the affect of any solution for
these issues. What makes a leader is bringing people together is
moments of crisis and uniting them for the better good. What
makes a leader is having passion for always doing the right
thing, regardless of the pressures to take an easier road. What
makes a leader is inspiring that same passion in others.... Ba-
rack Obama is a true leader. History will find him to be one of
the greatest leaders ever known. With all the hard times, hypo-
crites, and skepticism in the world today, the fact that Obama
can still infuse that kind of faith and hope in me, and countless
others, and where he can take this country—now that is a true
leader.
Jessica Smith
Amesbury, MA

Let’s be clear. Here energy describes that inner,


nonphysical source of ‘power’ that drives all of us. We
consist of two distinct energy systems. Each of us is an
energy system made up of two sub-energy systems, the

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

first of the body, the second, of mind and spirit. The first,
the physical energy system, includes the five senses.
While the physical energy system of the body is impor-
tant, it is the second, nonphysical human energy system
that is the primary power of each individual and of each
group or organization.
Life is about energy. Your results, your power, in
life are dependent on how you use and control energy. As
a leader, you must understand that your results are
dependent upon your use and control of organizational
energy. While energy exists in many different forms, your
primary concern as a leader, is the energy of the individu-
al, the nonphysical, human energy that exists within each
of us, within the people that
If you have the heart
make up your teams. These are and the determination
to inspire and moti-
the energies that fuel our vate others into action
thoughts, passions, emotions, only then can you call
yourself a leader.
ideas, motivations, and self- Jeremy Everett
Tripoli, IA
esteem.
“Energy” is classified as life energy when it cannot
be produced by physical means or measured by scientific
instruments. Such energies are life energies; they are
produced, perceived, and used by people—life entities.
You can’t go down to the local hardware store and say,
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Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

“Give me a pound of love, a quart of intelligence, and a


bag of happiness.”
The forms of human energy, life energy, include
will, consciousness, mental energy, emotional energy,
human communications, and relationships. The sounds or
the words on paper that we make to communicate are
physical energies; but what we communicate—
information, ideas, feelings, beliefs, values, desires, and
needs, are nonphysical, human energies. Likewise, infor-
mation, knowledge, intelligence, creativity, and intuition
are also human energies. Information may be represented
physically with letters on this page, or 1 and 0’s in a
computer memory, but the information itself is mental
energy.
You operate on energy. At the end of the day you
are usually tired, of low-energy, and sleep to recharge
your life energy. You awaken in the morning full of
energy for a new day, or charged with negative energy if
you are unhappy with your life situation. You may think
that is a purely physical, biological recharge, but sleeping
is much more than that. It also recharges your life ener-
gies. Your mind operates with energy. Every thought,
idea, datum, memory, image, or vision is an energy form,
molded by your energy.
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Your emotions are energies. Joy, passion, love, en-


thusiasm, satisfaction, monotony, indifference, anger,
fear, anxiety, rage, worry, guilt, resentment, hate, sorrow,
loneliness, sadness, grief, desperation, and depression—
all of these are energies. Pain and suffering; love and
happiness are all energies. Understanding that the most
important energies of all are the human life energies
within the individual—mind, feelings, and your interac-
tions with others—is critical to your power in life. These
are the energies that most affect and control the individu-
al, family, groups, and organizations.
The human energies are the most powerful ener-
gies that exist. Power is the ability to produce the desired
results in any area of life, and for any person or any
group. As human energy is the most powerful of all
energies, power in life depends on the ability to control
human energies. Understanding this fundamental prin-
ciple of human behavior and motivation is what allows
the Intrapreneurial Leader to experience astounding
personal and organizational results.
Everything powerful that exists is an energy sys-
tem. An energy system is any structure, physical or
human, that combines and concentrates energies to create
the power to produce the desired objectives. All groups
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Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

and organizations are human energy systems. You,


others, your family, your teams, and your business are all
energy systems. Your understanding of life and energy
systems and your understanding and application of the
principles of human energy will create the power neces-
sary to achieve your desired goals.
Consider any organization or human energy sys-
tem. Take a look at your family. Is there much negative
energy in the form of sadness, fear, anxiety, blame, re-
sentment or depression? If so, than more than likely you
have kids in rebellion, arguments, reduced financial flow

On August 4th, 2008 I had the


or strained relation-
privilege of going to a Barack ships. It is the negative
Obama Speech in Lansing. I have
to say, as an 18 year old college human, nonphysical
student, and in the words of an
ole song: 'from a state that gets energies “inside” of
pneumonia, when America gets a people that cause
cold', Barack Obama inspired me
that things can get done here in negative energies and
Michigan and America, and that
the American Dream, can be poor results in life.
renewed once again.
Derrick Chamberlain
Now, let’s go further,
Midland, MI
take a look at the
national situation. Is there much negative energy happen-
ing here? How much negative energy, in the form of
sadness, fear, anxiety, or blame can you find? You do not
have to operate with negative energy within you, your
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

family, your community, or your organizations. By


understanding how it is generated, as part of the human
energies of the human being, negative energy can be
eliminated.
Intrapreneurial Leadership begins here: under-
standing that positive results depend on the ability to
understand the human energies of people within organi-
zations. The results of any organization (human energy
system) depend on whether people and teams are operat-
ing on positive or negative human energy. A human
energy system can be a family, a neighborhood, a city, or
a nation. The end results produced by any human energy
system depend upon the collective energies of the people
that make up the energy system.
In short, the nonphysical, spiritual Self, includes
three major areas of energies:

1. Mental phenomena: Your level of cause and re-


sponsibility, ideas and intuition, intelligence and
creativity, beliefs and values, knowledge and
memories.
2. Emotional energies: Includes all emotions and
feelings, both positive and negative: joy, enthu-
siasm, like and dislike, interest, happiness, anger,
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Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

worry, fear, hate, resentment, guilt, sadness, grief,


depression, etc.
3. Motivations and behaviors: Includes your rela-
tionships with others; these are always energies
and include such factors as principles and integri-
ty, communication and affinity, negotiations and
agreements, service and love.

All of the important experiences of life—


intelligence, creativity, personal power, good relation-
ships, joy, love and happiness, etc.—are your nonphysi-
cal, spiritual expression of Self. Your ability to lead, to
direct change, begins with
this experience of Self and A leader is someone who
helps others to be better
your relationship and ability leaders at what they do
through mutual learning.
to understand and control Barack Obama often talks
these nonphysical energies. of a bottom-up approach in
problem solving and getting
Barack Obama, in a the nation back on track. It
means empowering every-
full embrace of Intrapre- one to be a leader.
Ted Tata
neurial Leadership, has Stoughton, MA

initiated and demonstrates a


powerful strategy of leadership for the third millennium.
While his opponents would diminish his success by
explaining that it’s all ‘talk’, he’s just delivers a good
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

speech—there is far more to it than that. Yes, Obama is


motivational with a powerful ability to inspire, but as any
supervisor, manager, or parent knows, motivation and
inspiration do not last for long.
And yet, Obama successfully moved and grew a
grassroots movement for over two years with no signs of
slowing down, even as he has moved into the presidency.
Enthusiasm, passion, and commitment remain high
among supporters. Each month, more and more people
added their support to his grassroots campaign move-
ment—individuals ready to provide whatever resources
they could. Some of his most ardent supporters are un-
employed, have lost homes, have out-of-control health-
care costs, are living paycheck to paycheck—and still,
they squirreled away their dollars to donate to his cam-
paign, many continuing to provide financial support even
after the election has been won.
Barack Obama has catapulted himself to a place in
history by his ability to first harness, and then unleash,
the positive human life energies of millions, worldwide.
He has transformed the internal energy systems of indi-
viduals from negative energy to positive energy. In turn,
that individual energy, in synergy with others, has
created a whole that is more significant, more powerful
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Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

than any force on earth. This is the energy that fuels the
nonphysical self. It is this collective energy that binds us
together as a nation and as a global community. In many
of his speeches, Barack Obama makes reference to the
biblical dilemma, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Ultimately
we will all rise together or we will all fall together. Once
we understand that, the answer to this timeless question
becomes clear. History will note that the hallmark of
Barack Obama’s grassroots campaign was the high level
of personal empowerment that participants enjoyed.
This increase in personal power resulted in a high
level of creativity, enthusiasm, resourcefulness and
initiative. People were encouraged and invited to partici-
pate at whatever level they could. As we move through-
out 2009, Barack Obama continues to provide citizens the
opportunity to experience themselves as creative and
empowered participants of government. In December,
2008, citizens were asked to host house parties to assist in
determining which issues warrant immediate priority.
Over 4,000 people hosted “Change is Coming” house
parties in all 50 states.
In a state of personal empowerment, individuals
enjoy the experience of positive energy. From this state of
empowerment, individuals become innovative thinkers.
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Innovation is the fundamental ingredient of intrapre-


neurial and entrepreneurial enterprise. Innovation is the
foundation of our culture, the hallmark of the American
Dream as further explained in the next chapter.

JOHN MCCAIN RECENTLY ridiculed Barack Obama for telling


“Joe the Plumber”(in reality “Sam the contractor behind on
paying his taxes”) that he wanted to “spread the wealth.”
McCain said he wanted “Joe” to keep his wealth—actually
much less than reported—to himself. McCain insisted that
Obama’s tax plan would hurt Joe’s plan of buying his employ-
er’s plumbing business when all indications are that Sam would
actually benefit from Obama’s plan. Such is the continued
misrepresentation that has become a hallmark of the McCain
campaign. Obama’s desire to “spread the wealth” deserves
more consideration.
Spreading the wealth is actually what we should be doing
individually and as a society, rather than hoarding wealth as
John McCain and the Republicans suggest. Those who suggest
McCain is uncomfortable with his own message may have
merit to their position, judging by his campaign demeanor. The
accuracy of this observation will become obvious following the
election. Our best response now, however, is to treat the Arizo-
na senator with compassion for the entrapped position he may
have provided for himself and to address the overriding morali-

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Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

ty of the issue he now presents as an attack on the Obama


campaign.
Hoarding wealth simply flies in the face of all accepted
human wisdom, no matter what the culture may be. Some
strands of Jewish teaching value wealth as a sign of divine
favor, but good stewardship and generosity are required of the
worthy recipient. Some aspects of modern Buddhist teaching
seem to reflect wealth possession and creation as a value, but
classic Buddhist teaching seems to focus more on avoiding
material wealth as a spiritual distraction. Still, as with Jewish
teaching, stewardship and generosity are valued qualities.
Personal blessings are to be shared with others in the community.
Christians specifically are urged not to hoard up treasure on
earth but rather to gather spiritual treasure. While Christian
teaching and its Jewish antecedents may provide the most
cogent admonition against John McCain's campaign position, it
is certain that his call for individuals to hoard wealth contra-
dicts the deepest strands of world moral teaching. No spiritual
teaching views wealth hoarding as a value.
The dragon in western culture hoards wealth but has no
idea what to do with it. He imprisons the virgin but has no idea
what to do but frighten her. His obsession with the goal of
possession inhibits knowledge. He can only learn by releasing
his self absorbed concentration on the tantalizing beauty he
hoards to become a part of the larger community, no longer
threatening civilization by fiery annihilation. He then becomes

24
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

the oriental dragon, a source of communal wisdom and an


expression of communal wealth. The oriental dragon brings
blessing, in essence spreading the wealth.
The responsibility of tithing is the principle behind com-
munal contribution through taxation. The object is to show
concern for and stewardship of the community by giving back
a portion of personal income to support community needs. This
commitment acknowledges that religious and also civil com-
munities sustain personal activity and well being. Contributions
to supporting communities are therefore as much acts of self
interest as they are of generosity.
Personal philanthropy is quite a different thing. Here gene-
rosity is shown to chosen people, organizations or communities
by generous benefactors. Philanthropy is implicit in Republican
ideas that high financial achievers should keep their wealth to
dole out to worthy causes as they choose. This is the principal
of “trickle down” economics. While this attitude values per-
sonal generosity, it provides little sustenance for the larger
community.
Philanthropy is selective and limited in its scope by the
awareness and generosity of contributors. Philanthropic indi-
viduals and organizations tend to address immediate rather
than chronic conditions and overall maintenance concerns.
Through the shared tithe—like contribution of general taxation
governments are able to distribute resources over the broad
range of concerns affecting civil and social wellbeing.

25
Intrapreneurial Leadership Defined

Shared representation in governing bodies, such as con-


gress, state legislatures, county and municipal councils provide
the broad consensus needed to identify shared concerns. While
no individual citizen may agree with all areas of social concern,
each individual has power to express opinion through persua-
sion and ultimately through the ballot. This is in essence the
social contract underlying our democracy. The “bottom up”
economics reflected in responsible taxation reflects the idea
that we will all contribute most effectively from positions of
wellbeing as opposed to neediness.
Starving animals or people may eat any proffered morsel
but they will still die of starvation unless the overall lack of
resources is addressed. While we may each offer food to an
individual through personal generosity, world hunger can only
be effectively addressed by our concerted action as individuals
within a world community. This example simple demonstrates
the difference between philanthropic contribution, no matter
how laudable, and united social action.
The past eight years have provided sufficient evidence of
the ineffectiveness of “trickle down” economics in addressing
civil and social issues. Our physical and social structures are
crumbling from fiscal neglect as a result. The “bottom up”
approach of sharing wealth through responsible taxation is the
only means to effectively address these issues. Because hoard-
ing is never a good idea, McCain's idea of reducing taxes and
freezing spending will only cripple our economy. Paul Krug-

26
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

man's recent New York Times article encouraging infrastruc-


ture investment as a means of job creation and economic re-
newal in response to the current crisis is an example of creating
and spreading wealth from the bottom up, the only way wealth
creation can effectively work for the good of all.
Positive response to taxation does in fact become an act of
patriotism as Joe Biden recently suggested. While qualifications
may be applied to provide overall fairness in tax assessment,
depending upon individual circumstances, tax loopholes allow-
ing those with means to avoid contribution are harmful to the
social structure. Anyone choosing to use such loopholes to
avoid the shared civic duty of contributing through tax assess-
ment are as unpatriotic as religious observers refusing to pay
for the upkeep of religious institutions are unfaithful.
We all benefit from the society in which we live. In Ameri-
ca we pride ourselves on living in the greatest nation on earth.
But we will only be great as long as we unite. It is simply a
matter of giving back to the society that sustains us, so that we
all experience wealth together without deprivation.

Douglas Robinson
Great Falls, MT

27
Chapter 4

Autonomy

AUTONOMY: The ability to take a lead on a project,


working independently if necessary, and allowing others
to do the same.

In the end, that’s all most Americans are asking for. It’s not a
lot. The people I’ve met during this campaign in town halls
and living rooms; on farms and front porches—they know
that government can’t solve all their problems, and they don’t
expect it to. They’re willing to do their part—to work harder
and study more and replace the remote controls and video
games with books and homework. They believe in personal
responsibility and self-reliance. They don’t like seeing their
tax dollars wasted.
Senator Barack Obama
Springfield, MO • July 20, 2008

YOU NOW KNOW THAT as an Intrapreneurial Leader, any


organization is an energy system. Understanding it from
this perspective will unlock for you new levels of power
and control. Energies rarely work alone. A single kind of
Autonomy

energy working alone can produce only very limited


results. Energies combine and synergize to work together
in energy systems, which in turn are composed of sub-
systems. “Synergize” means to create synergy. Synergy is
the alignment, cooperation, and synchronization of
different energies to increase power, to produce results
that would otherwise be impossible. Power is the result of
the synergy of energies.

FOR TOO LONG, our country has been seized by fear and division
which has polarized our electorate, has threatened civil dis-
course and discouraged constructive dialogue. I believe that
Barack has a unique ability to inspire, to help us to find the best
in ourselves and to begin to bridge the divide created by cur-
rent destructive, self-serving partisan politics. Such integrity
and leadership will be crucial as we collectively face the shared
challenges and sacrifices that ill be necessary to support our
beloved country, our world and the future of our children.
David Loewenstein PhD
Miami, Florida

Every human energy system, including a couple, a


family, a work group or team, a small business, a huge
corporation, a nonprofit organization, a church, a political
party, a government, a society, or a nation operates on

30
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

synergy. Human energy systems intake, transport, use,


transform, and output energies of many kinds and forms.
Every such group is an alignment of individual energies
working toward common goals and purposes. Group or
organizational energy systems synergize and concentrate
energies of all kinds, human and physical, to create
enough power to achieve things far beyond the power of
lesser energy systems or the individual.
Now consider Barack Obama’s grassroots cam-
paign organization. Is it not the perfect example of the
alignment of individual energies working toward com-
mon goals and purposes? Did it not use energies of all
kinds—human, technological, and financial, for example?
While some of these energies are of the physical universe
(technology, money, tools, etc.), the most powerful of
these are the nonphysical human energies such as com-
mitment; decision-making; persistence; ability to plan,
design, communication, analysis; and the human emo-
tional energies.
All of these energies work together to create the
human energy system that is who we are. The individual
then, is a subsystem of a larger, more complex human
energy system. Any organization then, is the collective
result of the individual human energy subsets.
31
Autonomy

While there are physical actions that take place


within any campaign such as phone banking, hanging
posters, or canvassing—the meanings, impulses, and
motivations behind them originate in the internal, non-
physical human energies. For those who question if these
energies exist, note your own energy level when you have
participated in a cause that you were committed to. What
energies were going on inside of you? Do you see these in
action in your spouse, your children, your family, and
relatives? Are any of these energies affecting the team-
work and performance of groups you participate in at
work? Are any of these energies affecting, positively or
negatively, the performance, power, and production of
organizations of which you
are a part? Absolutely. I feel very strongly that our
You can see that all country needs a sharp and
decisive change in our
of these energies occur not government. It must represent
who we are and what Ameri-
only in you, but also in ca is. We are diverse in our
beliefs. I see in Barack a
others, in all groups, and in
chance to have a leader who
all organizations. You is honest, who believes in
himself and this country. He is
experience, you perceive a leader who sees possibilities
and has thought of solutions.
and feel, and you live daily Maggie Walton
Houston, TX
with all of these energies.

32
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

We all do, and so does every group and organization


comprised of people.
Are these energies important in life? Obviously,
they are. They control us, and we control most of the
other energy systems. Are they complex? What happens
to the complexity of the organizational energy system
when you have many people involved?
If you consider the quantity and complexity of
your own human energies (mind, thoughts, emotions,
feelings, motivations, behaviors, likes, and dislikes), and
that every person has more or less the same quantity and
complexity, then add into the equation all the possible
interactions of all the energies of all people in the organi-
zation, the overall complexity is vast. Understanding the
importance of energy systems, and of understanding life
and organizations in terms of energy and energy systems
is critical to your success in life. The human being—the
being or spirit part, not the body—is an energy system.
You now know that this system is not physical energy; it
is nonphysical or human energy, but no less important or
any less powerful—quite the contrary.
The human energy system, the individual person,
is the most powerful energy system that exists. It creates
all other man-made energy systems, and is the basic
33
Autonomy

“chip” or “circuit” that comprises and operates all other


man-made energy systems, including organizations such
as the grassroots campaign movement that delivered
Barack Obama to the Oval Office. Each individual in-
volved in that campaign is recognized as the basic power
that moved that organization. Understanding that the
human energy system (mind, emotions, and behaviors) is
a coherent system is important. It is not just a collection of
unrelated or randomly occurring energies. It is a con-
nected group of human energy systems working toward a
common purpose.

America is the sum of our dreams. And what binds us togeth-


er, what makes us one American family, is that we stand up
and fight for each other's dreams, that we reaffirm that fun-
damental belief—I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's
keeper—through our politics, our policies, and in our daily
lives. It's time to do that once more. It's time to reclaim the
American dream.
Senator Barack Obama
Bettendorf, IA • November 7, 2007

With the understanding of how human energy sys-


tems operate you can now see that in an environment of
negativity, the organizational climate is degraded. Amidst
the negative climate you will observe an erosion of trust,
performance, commitment and motivation. Leaders who
34
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

possess an intrapreneurial mindset are resilient and free


of emotional reactivity.
Recall the first presidential debate of the 2008 elec-
tion season. Obama remained poised and confident
throughout the event. His responses were direct and
deliberate. He main-
tained eye contact and I had the amazing joy of
working a Town Hall meeting,
addressed his opponent
as a volunteer at the Duns-
directly, in stark contrast more Community Center near
Scranton on April 1, 2008.
to Senator McCain’s This was a lead-up to the PA
primaries. Besides canvassing
demeanor. The leader
and phone-banking I drove
who can maintain and voters to the polls…we were a
gloriously representative gang.
increase positive energy Black, white, Hispanic, old,
and young. All this in Millford,
can maintain a state of PA!
Catherine Sebastian
personal power, regard-
Millford, PA
less of the circumstances.
Your experience of positive or negative internal
energy is what determines your positive or negative
thoughts and actions. Your negative energy (emotional)
state, determines at what level ego is operating in your
life. Ego is all efforts and behaviors that try to raise you
up by putting others down and to create the illusion of
superiority by making others inferior. Ego sees life as a
teeter totter: I go up by putting you down.
35
Autonomy

Ego is the intent to compensate one’s negative self


belief by projecting them onto and invalidating others
(make them less); thus trying to assume a positive state of
self—a state or experience of more knowledge, power or
esteem. All ego is projection and polarization, a faulty
attempt to compensate for low self-esteem. Obviously,
ego is a negative energy behavior. It will always provoke
resistance, ego, and sabotage in others as they will often
react to negative energy with negative energy.

WHAT GOT ME MOTIVATED ENOUGH to donate money is Barack


Obama's confidence in ordinary people. He sent a message
telling us that we do matter, that our lives matter, that we're
capable of determining what the government should be doing.
It's not something we hear from government very often if at all.
He's the first truly inclusive politician I can recall ever. When I
read his website I was convinced to vote for him. Why? Be-
cause for the first time in my life a leader asked for my opinion.
I believe Senator Obama to be the last hope for middle and
lower economic class citizens.
Deborah Noah
Carmichael, CA

What we observe in Barack Obama is a man able to


maintain and create a positive state of Self from within.

36
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Out of this elevated internal experience of Self, repeated


character assassinations of his opponents were unneces-
sary. Leaders operating in negative energies such as fear,
anger, anxiety or sadness will often choose to invalidate
the state of Self of others in a false attempt to elevate their
own lack of self-worth. Ego is always negative energy
toward others, the end result being resistance, whether
overt (rebellion) or covert (sabotage). This resistance
makes it difficult to achieve personal and organizational
goals and objectives.
Ego can show itself in many situations—within the
family, in the workplace, within any human energy
system. Ostentation to show one’s power, wealth, or
success is also a form of ego. In our society at large, many
will pretend to be better than others as they show off
designer clothes and accessories. Much of the advertising
industry lives by selling people expensive things they
don’t need so that they can try to compensate for their
negative state of Self as smart, successful, and worthy as
others. We even have names for it: “conspicuous con-
sumption” and “keeping up with the Joneses.” Ego
demands respect that it has not earned and so will often
interpret others’ behavior as impertinence or insolence.

37
Autonomy

Ego spells the death of autonomy. First of all, in a


state of negative energy you are not operating in wisdom,
power or high esteem. Secondly, as a leader, if you are
operating in a dictator mentality you will destroy good
relations, cooperation, and support. Because of the innate
desire to experience happiness, people will seek to pre-
serve and expand their inner state of Self. Therefore, they
will resist the leader’s ego, which tries to reduce their
experience of the life energies of wisdom and power.
They will resist openly if they can, and covertly through
sabotage if they can’t.
Since ego activates
For the first time in my life I
ego, people often get into feel inspired to become
involved in the political
ego struggles, which often process. This is due to the
show up as a power struggle. honesty, integrity, judg-
ment, intelligence, and
Ego then, is all forms of leadership abilities of the
most inspiring political
intent to elevate a dimi- leader of our time, Barack
Obama.
nished state of Self, not by Roberta Kelinson
Rock Island, IL
‘polishing’ your inner Self,
increasing your personal excellence or achievement, but
by invalidating others. Ego is all efforts to increase ‘who
you are’, not be expressing more wisdom, power or
esteem, but by trying to ‘steal’ these from others.

38
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Your creations of Self are subtle energies, but they


are the most powerful things in your life. They begin with
and determine your thoughts, beliefs, actions, and there-
fore all other aspects of your life. Intrapreneurial leaders,
such as Barack Obama, understand that to the degree that
people are in positive energy, they will happily contribute
their time, energy and other resources to achieve the end
result. To the degree that people are unhappy, they will
express that unhappiness in the form of negative energy,
injecting it into the energy system, in this case our politi-
cal process.
Intrapreneurial leaders are those that know that if
high levels of people in your teams are expressing emo-
tions such as hostility, anger, resentment, spite, jealousy,
fear, indifference, apathy, frustration, impatience, and
depression, you cannot achieve the results you desire. In
other words the need to experience happiness, satisfaction
and enthusiasm is the controlling energy in every person.
Every thought, action and behavior, has as its intent a
desire to create the internal experience of wisdom and
power. This creates an experience of high self-esteem
which naturally leads to happiness and satisfaction. How
a person feels will determine whether they generate
positive or negative energy. To eliminate negative energy,
39
Autonomy

conflicts and problems, and increase the productivity of


your organization, you must understand how people
feel…. and… you must be secure enough within your own
energies to let them BE and fully express themselves as
the creative spirits that they are. This is the hallmark of
Barack Obama. He speaks to our inner Self; he speaks to
our creative spirit. He calls forth the leader that resides
within all of us.

A TRUE LEADER NEEDS to posses the quality to inspire the


masses. Barack Obama has what it takes to do this. This is the
first time in my life that I have been inspired by a politician,
and given hope that things can change. I live in West Virginia; I
was so ashamed of the racism here during the primary, but I
kept working by talking to people and educating my neighbors.
Change truly can happen. I know this because I am finally
hearing people that said “no way will I vote for him” telling me
yes he has my vote. I have seen my dedication to Senator Ob-
ama pay off, and I know he is change we can believe in.
I have been so inspired by what Barack Obama has accom-
plished, sometimes moved to tears. It is a truly great day in this
nation, for today Senator Obama will accept the nomination for
President of The United States of America. What a glorious
day, and on the forty fifth anniversary of Martin Luther King's
deliverance of his I Have A Dream speech. On this night I re-

40
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

flect on the many people with whom I have spoken with in


West Virginia. I reflect on how all some knew in March was
that Obama was a man of color, and that some of these people
could not understand the campaign materials.
I reflect on the time I have spent explaining what Obama
stands for and that change can happen. I reflect on the people
whom after listening to me have decided to vote for Obama,
including the ninety year old man who stated he never thought
he would vote for a black man, but for the good of his country
he will. For Barack Obama has given him hope that things can
be better in this country with the right leadership. The United
States Of America needs a leader who can inspire the people,
give us hope, and make each and every one of us understand
our duty to our country and what it means to be an American.
We have that in Senator Obama.
I am confident that not only will he bring hopes of a better
America to the people; he will lead us into a new generation of
politics that will not be run by special interest groups or lob-
byists. I know so many are tired of this. Last but not least, you
need to trust a leader and Obama is honest. I believe that he is
able to reverse peoples’ distrust of government that has come
about during the Bush era. Hope, change, honesty—three great
traits of a leader and three great things about Barack Obama. I
feel so blessed to be able for once, to vote for someone so
worthy, and someone who is not named Bush or Clinton. Ba-
rack Obama is the leadership and the change we need! I am

41
Autonomy

thankful I have had the opportunity to work on the biggest


grass roots effort since JFK.
I am truly inspired. Hope is still in my heart, as I see people
in West Virginia change their minds, getting over their racial
issues for the good of their country. It takes a strong honest
leader to reach and change the minds of as many of these
people that I have been talking to. That is proof enough for me
that he is what we need. It is wonderful to be inspired by a
politician that I can vote for. Before this the only two I found
that were special were JFK and RFK. This is truly a great time
in the history of this great nation.
Stephanie Shank
Elkins, WV

42
Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Situational Analysis

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS: The ability to analyze and


evaluate data independently in order to make effective
and accurate decisions.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know


you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the
enormity of the task that lies ahead….We know the chal-
lenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our life-
time—two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in
a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are
brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the
mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are
mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children
fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay
their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new
energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to
build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
Situational Analysis

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We


may not get there in one year or even one term, but Ameri-
ca—I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that
we will get there. I promise you—we as a people will get
there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many
who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as Pres-
ident, and we know that government can't solve every prob-
lem. But I will always be honest with you about the
challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we
disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of
remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America
for two-hundred and twenty-one years—block by block, brick
by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of win-
ter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is
not the change we seek—it is only the chance for us to make
that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the
way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service
and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and
work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.
Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us any-
thing, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while
Main Street suffers—in this country, we rise or fall as one
nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same parti-
sanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our
politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from
this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party
to the White House—a party founded on the values of self-
reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are val-
ues we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a

44
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility


and determination to heal the divides that have held back our
progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than
ours, “We are not enemies, but friends... though passion may
have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And
to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn—I may
not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your
help, and I will be your President too.
President Elect Barack Hussein Obama
Chicago, IL • November 4, 2008

FROM ANALYSIS COMES THE KNOWLEDGE and confidence to


devise and implement effective strategies to manage and
locate resources of all kinds. Positive emotional energy is
what grows organizations, while negative emotional
energy is what harms the organization. A person’s expe-
rience of positive energy is what motivates them to
perform well and contribute their best. Negative energy
motivates people to resistance, conflicts, and sabotage.
The positive energy of enthusiasm, passion, interest,
commitment, determination, initiative, and resourceful-
ness in your teams is the energy that grows human ener-
gy systems. The negative energies of anger, fear,
resentment, hate, indifference, apathy, etc., do the most
harm to organizations. So what causes and controls these
internal, nonphysical energies? The answer lies in the
Causal Sequence:
45
Situational Analysis

Your life functions according to a Causal Sequence


whether you know it or not, and whether you want it to
or not. You cannot escape the Causal Sequence; it controls
your existence. You can only learn how the sequence
works and harness it to your benefit. Doing so will give
you great power over life.

The Causal Sequence works like this:

Who I AM, My Energies (BE) determines



What I FEEL (positive or negative emotion) which
determines

How I THINK (my positive/negative thoughts)
then determines

How I RELATE: How I communicate & treat oth-
ers and

How I ACT, BEHAVE. My ACTIONS determine

My Results = My HAVE in life.

46
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Leaders are always working to achieve goals and


objectives. Doing so successfully depends on positive
actions, habits and behaviors. Your positive actions
include how you perform your work or business activi-
ties. It includes your driving ability, your ability to use a
computer, your hobbies, and anything else you do in life.
Your actions in life are either positive or negative. Positive
actions that leaders can take include keeping your word,
being on time, listening attentively, working with quality
and diligence, acting with response-ability and accounta-
bility. Negative actions include behaviors such as criticiz-
ing, belittling, arguing, blaming, laziness, ineffective
communications, and complaining.
As positive actions always originate in positive
thoughts, your positive thoughts originate from your
positive internal energies. If you wish to prove it for
yourself, look at anything you do, or have ever done,
from your point of view of what you were thinking at the
moment of action. Compare who you thought you would
be and feel if you did not do that action with who you
wanted to be and how you thought you would feel by
doing that action. You will find that you always acted
according to what you thought would best define who
you are— at that present moment.
47
Situational Analysis

As you can see, the state of your mind, positive or


negative, is the seat of your actions, and therefore your
results in life. You use your mind to create thoughts,
ideas, hypotheses, solutions to problems, art, designs,
planes, machines, etc. When these are accurate reflections
of reality, of events, our mind creations are useful to
create and control resources. That creation and control is
power. Thus, the mind is our source of power over both
the external and our internal world. But the mind creates.
And, if you don’t understand it and control it, it will
control you as it haphazardly creates false realities.
Most people think that what is in their mind, what
they think is the truth. This is very seldom true. Often,
much of what we think is a distortion of reality. Many
people live far too much in their head, in a world of their
own making. The failure to understand the difference
between facts, and these created distortions causes an
infinity of problems and conflicts.
An example: Barack Obama makes a statement—
”You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig”, making
a reference that his opponent is trying to camouflage
something. His opponent creates an interpretation and
assigns a meaning to this event to others. He demands an
apology based on his interpretation, his created meaning,
48
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

to the event without consideration of the originator’s


intent. You can see this often in relationships, personally
and professionally, where someone interprets the other’s
behavior, usually negatively.

WHEN I BECAME INTERESTED in the Obama campaign I began by


making phone calls, starting a blog, joining groups, and making
friends, all across this nation. I went to Austin TX to work the
Texas Primary. I helped to open an office in Bozeman for the
primary and then a new office for our general election. I am
grateful that this man, with a much more unlikely journey than
I, came along at this time, with all the right qualities. He has
the vision, the courage, and will turn the nation around, renew
our world-wide respect, heal our economy, and create a fair
healthcare system. He will end our dependency on foreign oil,
and carefully end the war in Iraq.
Nancy McCampbell
Bozeman, MT

For example, when a person is jealous (which is


always caused by negative energy such as low self-esteem
or fear of loss) interpretations of even minuscule events
can serve as triggers for the jealousy and the resulting
fights and conflicts. Your emotions (your energies) show
you—and everybody around you—who you are BEing,
your current experience of Self.
49
Situational Analysis

Intrapreneurial Leaders, such as President Obama,


know that the only reason anyone takes anything perso-
nally is because of their own diminished sense of Self.
Here is a secret: Nothing other people do or say is ever
about you. Nothing. Even when others attack with anger
and venom, they are acting at the effect of their negative
energy, projecting their negative Self on you (to try to
escape them) and venting their own negative energy.
External events never cause your experience. Nothing that
anybody ever says or how they treat you has any effect on
you unless you give it that power, unless you import it
into your world and believe in it.

I WANT A LEADER WHO is straightforward with the American


people. Barack Obama is forthcoming with us. For example,
McCain was willing to impose a short term plan to ease gas
prices, but his plan barely made a difference. He was willing to
say whatever he thought Americans wanted to hear. Obama
was very direct with everyone by informing us that it would not
help anyone in the long run. It was just a quick fix for Memori-
al Day. I do not care for quick fixes, so I was glad when Obama
spoke out. I respect the fact that Obama refuses to engage in
negative campaigning. He has a message for the American
people. I do not care for the “kitchen sink” type of politics.
50
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Adrianna Riley-Roach
Wheatley Heights, NY

That is what we see in Barack Obama. In his ele-


vated sense of Self. He does not import into his world the
low self-esteem and emotional garbage of others. He does
not need assurance of self-worth from outside sources
and can remain impervious to the detractions of others.
Barack Obama is at Cause in generating positive energy,
and is able to hold his experience of Self in the face of all
counter-opinions. A key component of Intrapreneurial
Leadership includes the ability to vary actions and res-
ponses until you achieve the desired result, as opposed to
repeating over and over an ingrained habit of behavioral
rut.
Intrapreneurial Leaders such as Barack Obama un-
derstand that sometimes you will take a hit. Tough deci-
sions have to be made that will bring out both the positive
and negative energies of people. Superior leadership
understands how to deal with both. Intrapreneurial
leaders will learn and evaluate the current environment
and will act accordingly (with deliberation and immedia-
cy) in response to the new situation.

51
Situational Analysis

Often that change in direction will result in an ap-


parent contradiction of a prior course of action. In many
instances Obama has been accused of ‘flip-flops’, an
apparent reversal of opinion or action to a previous
stance. What we are really observing is a leader who is
able to analyze and work with a new set of conditions and
has the confidence and wisdom to react proactively to the
new situation. In the absence of wisdom and the expe-
rience of positive internal energies, people will often
strike out at what they perceive to be the obstacle that
prevents them from obtaining the desired results.
Consider the proliferation of negative campaign ac-
tivity that happens during political seasons. Just think
what our political campaigns would be like if political
television advertising was banned! The majority of ‘attack
ads’ are termed negative because, instead of offering
proactive strategies and solutions, the focus is on usually
distorted information meant to ‘smear’ the opponent. The
tone and frequency of these ads generally increase in
intensity as Election Day approaches. Why do some
candidates resort so readily to this type of campaigning?
For these reasons:

52
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

• A candidate has no viable platform or offers noth-


ing substantially different from another candidate
and therefore seeks distraction from his or her own
weakness.
• A candidate, operating in the negative energy of
low Cause, feels his or her candidacy is threatened.
Nothing like a nice drop in the polls to see the at-
tack ads jump right to the networks—through tele-
vision certainly isn’t the only medium used for
such tactics.
• It works. Simply put, Like Energy attracts Like
Energy. When a segment of the population is en-
trenched in negative energy, they will resonate to a
negative energy message.

One of the most blatant examples of negative cam-


paigning was Senator McCain’s and Governor Sarah
Palin’s distortion on Barack Obama’s plans to increase
taxes. For weeks, the Republican Party bombarded the
airwaves with the claim that Obama will raise taxes,
carefully neglecting that only 5% will be affected. This
deliberate distortion created fear, anxiety and mistrust.
(Sarah Palin continues her divisive tactics to create and
generate negative energy with her inflammatory interjec-
53
Situational Analysis

tion of “death panels” into the healthcare reform debate.


While the actual wording concerns end-of-life counseling,
Palin deliberately equates this counseling with euthanasia
and infanticide.)
While the media asked surrogates of the McCain
campaign to explain the deliberate distortion, even those
responses were distorted and vague. The danger of this
strategy is that when people learn the reality of the situa-
tion, the tides of mistrust and fear often change, creating a
backlash. Take a look at these two simplified examples of
how the Causal Sequence works:

Negative Causal Sequence:


BE: I am not strong enough to beat my opponent.
FEEL: I feel worried and fearful.
THINK: I could lose. I must do anything possible to
beat my opponent.
DO: Negative attack ads, distort the truth, rash
decisions, character attacks on the opponent, erratic
behavior.
HAVE: Minimal success based on negative energy,
mistrust, internal conflicts. Campaign loss.

54
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Positive Causal Sequence:


BE: I can win.
FEEL: I feel confident, in-charge, passionate, enthu-
siastic.
THINK: Change is needed for the 21st century.
DO: Build a strategy based on facts and important is-
sues; consistent and reliable temperament.
HAVE: Strong, proactive, empowered and passionate
supporter base. Campaign success.

In April 2008, in response to a negative ad in sup-


port of his campaign John McCain stated, “…I'm making
it very clear, as I have a couple of times in the past, that
there's no place for that kind of campaigning, and the
American people don't want it.” By October 2008 he had
either forgotten the claim or abandoned this tactic. What
happened in a just a few months to create this change?
You are looking at the impact of a negative Causal Se-
quence.
Negative campaigning will have a greater impact
on persons of low self-esteem, low levels of response-
ability and low power. Negative campaigning feeds the
negative energies of people by arousing the negative
energy of fear—fear that the opponent is different than
55
Situational Analysis

you, fear that the opponent will somehow bring you


harm, fear that you will not be safe, fear that the opponent
cannot be trusted and the list goes on. It is especially
effective with populations that have lowered educational
levels, which isn’t all that surprising. Higher education
generally indicates a higher level of wisdom, accountabili-
ty and power. This demographic can analyze data, make
informed decisions and is capable of seeing through
smear tactics.

A FEW YEARS AGO I was getting ready for work and I happened
to turn the TV on. I saw a young senator from Illinois speak. He
was speaking about the war in Iraq …What he was saying is
what I had been saying for some time. I am a veteran and sup-
port my fellow service men and women, but this war is a no go.
To my surprise, someone in government agreed and was trying
to do something about it. This past year I saw that same senator
announce he was running for president. I didn't know if he was
ready for such a task until I began watching the debates and
reading his plans. He isn't saying “his goals” but instead “our
goals.” This is our country and Obama is fine being our voice.
That is what a president is. He is our voice. We want someone
in office who will stand up for the working people of the coun-
try, not just the elite and the rich. Change is a gift and a free-
dom that we have in this beautiful country. We must change as
a society, but changing doesn't mean you throw away the true
meaning of what this country was founded on. Change is not

56
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

something to be feared. Change is to be embraced and Obama


has shown me that he is indeed the right person to help lead us
in the right direction.
John W. King
Buckeye, AZ

In the same way that negative energy attracts nega-


tive energy, the same holds true for positive energy. Both
energies are operating within us. We all operate at some
chronic energy level and that can be either positive or
negative. Some may label these as the pessimists and the
optimists—some will see that the glass as half full, some
will see that it as half empty. Your long-term effectiveness
as a leader depends on which type of energy you attract—
and that attraction depends on whether or not your own
chronic energy state is positive or negative. When human
negative energies are activated, people will be in rebel-
lion, have negative attitudes, experience anxiety and
conflicts will be plentiful.
Barack Obama attracted millions of grassroots
supporters before and after the election, because of his
message of positive change. As a leader, Barack Obama
speaks to the positive energies that drive us. These are the
energies of enthusiasm, collaboration, satisfaction, hope,
self-motivation, resilience, flexibility and passion. That

57
Situational Analysis

does not mean that you will never see negative campaign-
ing from both sides of a campaign. There are times when
leaders must absolutely correct misinformation, distor-
tions and untruths. By creating mistrust and confusion in
the minds of people, negative campaigning will produce
results, however there are other distortions of the mind
that produce negative effects as well.
Intrapreneurial Leaders understand the mind crea-
tions of stories and histories. These mind creations work
like this: An event occurs. The facts are usually simple
and direct. However, some people take the event and spin
a long story around it. Usually they are both the innocent
victim and the hero/heroine, making the other person the
bad guy, the wrong or stupid one. You will find the best
examples of “Stories and Histories” in your own life. Who
delights in telling you long stories about something that
happened in the past—sometimes years ago? They will
also tell the story in present tense, present verb time, and
blow-by-blow.
Furthermore, they will tell you the same story over
and over again, at intervals of days or weeks or months,
as if you had never heard it before. The same thing hap-
pens in organizations. Turn on the TV and you will see it
in many of our political leaders. Many enterprises go out
58
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

of business as they glorify days gone by when they were


“the best game in town.” While the leadership and ranks
basks in the stories of days long gone, the rest of the
world moves on. Some people become adept at basing
their entire reputation and career on a single event. If the
event had a particular emotional aspect it can become a
crutch that can always be dragged out of the closet to
parade in front of the world in the absence of a present
positive experience of Self.

To all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from


parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around
radios in the forgotten corners of our world—our stories are
singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of Ameri-
can leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world
down—we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and
security—we support you. And to all those who have won-
dered if America's beacon still burns as bright—tonight we
proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes
not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth,
but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liber-
ty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America—that America can
change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have al-
ready achieved gives us hope for what we can and must
achieve tomorrow. This election had many firsts and many
stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my
mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta.
She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to

59
Situational Analysis

make their voice heard in this election except for one thing—
Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when
there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when
someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons—because she
was a woman and because of the color of her skin. Tonight, I
think about all that she's seen throughout her century in
America—the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the
progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the
people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we
can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their
hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak
out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was
despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she
saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs
and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threat-
ened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to
greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in
Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta
who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in
Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagi-
nation. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger
to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in
America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours,
she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
We have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is
so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves—if our
children should live to see the next century… what change
will they see? ….This is our chance to answer that call. This is

60
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

our moment. This is our time—to put our people back to


work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore
prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the
American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth—that
out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope,
and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those
who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless
creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can.
President Elect Barack Hussein Obama
Chicago, Il • November 4, 2008

As you can now see, production and profit are not


the prime purpose of any human energy system, business
or individual. Not only are they secondary purposes but
they are the by-products of how well you fulfill the
primary purpose of increasing the positive human energy
of people in your organizations, families and communi-
ties. The ultimate motivation of every person is the expe-
rience to fully express themselves in positive energy as
creator and contributor. This is the only way to achieve
real and lasting happiness.
Many people have money and material things such
as success and power as their highest goals only because
they do not understand the nature of Life, the nature of
themselves as non-physical, spiritual beings. As organiza-
tions begin to understand and implement Intrapreneurial

61
Situational Analysis

Leadership principles, energy levels in teams and


workplaces will increase resulting in the successful at-
tainment of organizational objectives.

To Senator Obama:
I watched that first debate from the University of Missis-
sippi. I want you to know that I was enormously proud of you
no matter what the pundits or spin doctors may say. I want to
explain why I was proud:
• You refrained from any personal attacks.
• You acknowledged when Senator McCain was right.
• You clearly stated when he was wrong, and why he was
wrong.
• You set forth your own views with clarity.
• You refused to talk down to the American people.
Whatever happens on Nov. 4, I will never regret having
worked hard for you as a grassroots volunteer. You have al-
ways conducted yourself with the utmost dignity and grace.
You have displayed integrity and authenticity. You have run a
positive campaign. And I know you are committed to bringing
the political parties together in Washington and people from all
walks of life around the country.
If you win, you will help to transform this nation at home,
and will restore our standing among nations. I say help, be-
cause you have always stressed that change comes from the

62
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

bottom up, and that the campaign is not, ultimately, about you;
rather, it is about the American people.
Contrary to the lie that has been promulgated, to the effect
that you are presumptuous, I feel that you have your ego under
control. You have always made clear that you are not a perfect
person or candidate. I appreciate that enormously.
I feel confident that you will win the presidency.
I have been happy to spend hundreds of hours as a gras-
sroots volunteer. Through this effort, I have met many wonder-
ful people of all races and from all walks of life. Participation in
this campaign has re-energized me. I know you will be OK,
should you win or should you lose. So will I. One of the great
things you have imparted to me is the desire to remain engaged
in the effort to change this country for the better—for the rest
of my life. What we see here is more than a campaign; it is a
movement for fundamental change in the way we treat one
another in this society, whether we act out of greed and malice
or demonstrate real concern for our fellow citizens, including
the poor, the disabled and the disempowered—and forcefully
act on that concern.
I have seen many candidates come and go. You are the
most impressive one since JFK, by far. I participated in the civil
rights movement in the South during the 1960s. You have
helped to make the spirit of that movement live again. I have
worked with the poor and disabled for many years as a teacher,
counselor and advocate. You have helped to restore my sense
of commitment to such work. Finally, your example of hard
63
Situational Analysis

work, dedication to the task and commitment to your role as


father and husband has inspired me to persevere in my own
attempt to manifest those character traits. Thank you, Barack
Obama, for the person you are. Your personal traits are as
important as the contribution you make as a politician.
Patrick Frank
Grassroots Volunteer
Kingstree, SC

BARACK OBAMA HAS THE JUDGMENT and temperament of a


leader. He will bring about the change we so desperately need.
I like his decision making process; he surrounds himself with
people who will challenge him (both democrats and republi-
cans), carefully listens to their viewpoints, and weighs all sides
before making a decision. As president, Barack Obama will
reach across party lines and bring sound solutions to the prob-
lems of the economy, the war, health care and education
reform. He will restore America's standing in the world com-
munity. I have watched Obama for many months now. I am
impressed by his honesty, intellect, integrity and calm yet
strong demeanor. That is the kind of person I want as my pres-
ident. Whatever your party affiliation, a vote for Obama is a
vote for change.
Chris Campbell
San Diego, CA

I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO SEE who Senator Obama would choose


as Vice President and was not disappointed. I don't have much
64
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

to add to Senator Biden's speech today; he basically said it all:


courage, wisdom and pragmatism is what a leader needs. The
fact that the Senator chooses his team so wisely is tantamount
to a leader. The responsibility of power which the position of
President entails should not go into frivolous hands. Ultimately,
the defining and ultimate decisions will be the leader's. I have
nothing but good feelings about Senator Obama's sound judg-
ment, open mind and willingness to question himself.
Simone Suter
Geneva, Switzerland

WHAT MAKES OBAMA a strong leader? I would have to point to


the way he ran his campaign. Obama put together a true team
that worked together to get him elected. Although his senior
team members have been around longer than he has, none has
shown themselves to be ego driven, or in need of the spotlight.
They have worked together to build a movement from the
bottom up, and it has worked. Unlike Senator Obama's compet-
itor Senator McCain, the Obama campaign has never gone
broke or even come close to it. If Obama runs our country half
as well as he is running his campaign, then we have eight his-
toric years to look forward to that we can all be proud of!!!
Karen Whittle
Kirkland, WA

65
Chapter 7

Empowerment

EMPOWERMENT: As leader, the ability to instill the


vision in all members of the organization. Managers
prioritize; supervisors direct; successful leaders will call
forth the positive internal energies/passions to move the
organization to the fulfillment of the vision.

We meet at a time when much of Wall Street is holding its


collective breath. Here at the NASDAQ and all across Ameri-
ca, the tickers are being watched with heightened anxiety and
considerable uncertainty. There is much anticipation about
tomorrow's meeting of the Fed, and with each new day, there
is hope that the headlines will bring better news than the last.
It is a hope shared by millions of Americans, men and wom-
en, who have experienced this kind of anxiety and uncertainty
long before it arrived on Wall Street…. Americans and many
others were already struggling before the problems on Wall
Street arose. Now they are looking at their homes and won-
dering if their greatest source of wealth will still have the
same value in another year, or even another month. So we
know there is a need right now to restore confidence in our
markets. We know there is a need to renew public trust in our
Empowerment

markets… But…..this is another moment that requires, in


FDR's words, a re-appraisal of our values as a nation. I believe
that America's free market has been the engine of America's
great progress. It's created a prosperity that is the envy of the
world. It's led to a standard of living unmatched in history.
And it has provided great rewards to the innovators and risk-
takers who have made America a beacon for science, and
technology, and discovery. But I also know that in this coun-
try, our grand experiment has only worked because we have
guided the market's invisible hand with a higher principle.
It's the idea that we are all in this together. From CEOs to
shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have
a stake in each other's success because the more Americans
prosper, the more America prospers.. ….We have not come
this far because we practice survival of the fittest. America is
America because we believe in creating a framework in which
all can succeed. Our free market was never meant to be a free
license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it.
And so from time to time, we have put in place certain rules
of the road to make competition fair, and open, and honest.
We have done this not to stifle prosperity or liberty, but to
foster those things and ensure that they are shared
and spread as widely as possible. In recent years, we have
seen a dangerous erosion of the rules and principles that have
allowed our market to work and our economy to thrive. In-
stead of thinking about what's good for America or what's
good for business, a mentality has crept into certain corners
of Washington and the business world that says, “what's
good for me is good enough.” In our government, we see
campaign contributions and lobbyists used to cut corners and
win favors that stack the deck against businesses and con-
sumers who play by the rules. Massive tax cuts are shoved
outside the budget window and accounting shenanigans are

68
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

used to hide the full cost of this war. In the business world,
it's a mentality that sees conflicts of interest as opportunities
for profit. The quick kill is prized without regard to long-term
consequences for the financial system and the economy. And
while this may benefit the few who push the envelope as far
as it will go, it's doesn't benefit America and it doesn't benefit
the market. Just because it makes money doesn't mean it's
good for business. It's bad for business when boards allow
their executives to set the price of their stock options to guar-
antee that they'll get rich regardless of how they perform. It's
bad for the bottom line when CEOs receive massive sever-
ance packages after letting down shareholders, firing workers
and dumping their pensions….It's bad for competition when
you have an Administration that's willing to approve merger
after merger with barely any scrutiny. Such an approach
stifles innovation….Americans or most businesses. And we
will not tolerate “what's good for me is good enough” any
longer—because the only thing that's good enough is what's
best for America.
I am also asking you to join me in doing something else
today. I am asking you to remind yourselves that in this coun-
try, we rise or fall as one people. And I am asking you to join
me in ushering in a new era of mutual responsibility in Amer-
ica.
Senator Barack Obama
September, 17, 2007 • New York, NY

EVERY ONE OF US is the creator of our experience—all of it.


Whether we believe that or not, whether we accept it or
not is irrelevant. We are at Cause for everything that
shows up in life, even our emotions. We may or may not

69
Empowerment

be responsible for the events and situations that we


encounter, but we are always at Cause for how we re-
spond. In any situation, you are either Cause (creator) or
Effect (victim).Cause is the ability to produce the desired
results. It is your ability to manifest and create what you
want in life—your vision, and the vision of the organiza-
tion. Leaders who act at Cause, are those who take re-
sponse-ability for their internal experience of Self.
Response-ability, you will recall, is your ability to respond
to any given situation.
It is time that we elect some-
This is the origin of one who is intelligent and
dedicated to the people of this
personal power. As
country instead of special
creator of your expe- interests. Barack Obama is the
right person at this critical
rience, you are no longer time to lead a new generation
of Americans into a better
the victim of events as future. We cannot allow our
you move to ever increas- fears and prejudices to detract
us from working for the
ing Cause in life. change this country sorely
needs.
The basic problem Joe Smith
Lowell, MA
of negative energy in life,
whether internally, within the family, or the nation, is that
most people think that they are Effect. They believe that
external events cause their experience, including their
emotions. When operating in a condition of no power, no
control, of being affected by some external cause or agent,
70
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

individuals descend into a state of “victim.” Clearly we


see in Barack Obama from his personal story, that he is
not a victim of life's circumstances or the expectations of
others.
Many leaders stand in the way of their own success
in this regard. Intrapreneurship is natural to most people.
Intrapreneurs (the entrepreneurs at work within any
organization) are born with the innate characteristics of
sovereignty, curiosity, ambition and creativity. These are
the organizations that are led by persons who are ahead
of events, who can foresee consequences and events and
take action in time to prevent undesired outcomes to
create the ones they want. Failure to understand the
impact of human negative energy assures a cycle of
inefficiency, lack of cooperation and reduced response-
ability. Intrapreneurial leaders and organizations are
defined by high levels of proactivity, creativity, dynamic
activity, optimism, initiative, accountability, and empo-
werment.
Leaders and organizations at effect are characte-
rized by procrastination, blame, complaints, conformity,
reactivity, pessimism, irresponsibility, dependence, and
mediocrity. Leaders at effect of circumstances operate
behind events and fail to see things coming or fail to take
71
Empowerment

action in time to prevent the undesired outcomes. These


organizations will have low levels of response-ability and
ingenuity and will fall back on past strategies, regardless
of effectiveness. Here you will find frequent distortions,
low morale, high degrees of error, and conflicts at all
levels.

...IT'S ONLY BECAUSE of Senator Obama that my husband has his


VA benefits back, and I'm not even in the same state as him.
He made a phone call on my husband's behalf and a month
later my husband had his NSC benefits back—he's a Vietnam
Veteran. We also lost our house this past year, and didn't get in
on the deal from Congress, but once Obama is our President I
believe I will have a house again and the American Dream . I
have gone from a Precinct Captain in my community to being
City Organizer for Nation for Change for Clearlake, CA to
being elected to District 2, City of Clearlake, Lake County
Democratic Committee. One man has started all this in my
life—that man is Senator Barack Obama, our next President of
the United States.
Michele Hopkins
Clearlake, CA

Leaders at the effect of circumstances will also find


the standard behaviors of the victim mentality. Instead of
taking action, there will be complaints about the 'bad'
72
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

things (and people) that happen to them to anyone who


will listen. Victims will assign cause to others for the
unwanted events of their own life. They will make others
'bad' and wrong for anything that they see as undesirable
in their lives and in their results. The victim, often by his
own actions, will often irritate and provoke others, be that
provocation deliberate or unconscious. Easily and con-
stantly provoked, the victim is emotionally reactive, easily
triggered and activated by others. The victim is an expert
at pointing blame to circumstances and others for their
own failed performance.
Organizations where most of the participants oper-
ate in victim mentality will possess low initiative and
originality. Some strategies for victims include a state of
waiting and hoping that things will get better. A common
technique of victims is to try to get others to take action to
remedy the things they don't like; they will use violations
of integrity such as lying or cheating to manipulate
people and situations to get what they want.
Victims will also wave the flag of incapacity and
helplessness to attract and justify getting energy from
others to help them through. Where they can, victims will
claim duty, obligation, and debt to get energy from

73
Empowerment

others. They will make statements such as, “Look at what


I have done for you, how much I sacrificed. You owe me!”

BARACK OBAMA BELIEVES in us (the people) and our ability to


bring about positive change. This is shown in the line, “We are
the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change we seek.”
Obama's background as a community organizer shows us that
we, individually, can lead and organize for positive important
results. Most positive change starts from the bottom and then
flows up. Look at the causes for the American Revolution and
the American civil rights movement, etc.
Thomas Brooks
Houston, TX

As you can see, you will get very low positive


Cause and lots of negative energy or negative Cause from
victims. Victims possess very little power, except in
generating negative energy that not only damages group
energy systems but ruins their personal lives as well.
Look around at the groups of which you are a
member. Look at your spouse, family, departments,
community, your business—are there any victims run-
ning around? Now pick up a newspaper, turn on the
radio, tune in to the TV news. Are there any victims
running around Washington?

74
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

OUR COUNTRY HAS FALLEN into the pitfall of dualism: “Us ver-
sus Them,” “My Way or No Way.” Or, as Prez Dubya Bush has
said over and over again, in trying to browbeat sovereign na-
tions and peoples worldwide, “You're either with us or against
us.” This 'logic' leads toward brinksmanship—saber-rattling—
and the threat of worldwide conflagration. Barack Obama has
been sent to us to heal that dualistic divide. He embodies with-
in himself the unity of “opposites”: he is black AND white; he
is national and international—USA citizen, and the son of an
African immigrant father…. he is father and husband—and
fighter for responsible fatherhood. He is a tough-childhood
pragmatist, a fighter for lofty ideals, and for the environment.
We must not squander this incarnate and precious gift of a
Healer, a Teacher, and Leader—all in ONE. Here in Minnesota,
the indigenous/Native people from the Lakota/Dakota and
related tribal communities have a prayerful saying in their own
language which I believe expresses this UNITY best: “Mitakuye
Oyasin”—All My Relatives—meaning what the Obama's stand
for—“WE ARE ALL RELATED. UNITY IS OUR SPIRITUAL
DESTINY.”
Alice Winfree Bowron
St. Louis Park, MN

Intrapreneurial Leadership demands accountabili-


ty. Response-ability, therefore, is the ability and the duty
to respond for our actions, including the restoration of
any damage that we cause. Accountability is justice; it is
the equalization of energy, the restoration of energy loss
due to failed actions and behaviors. Accountability has
two sides. The first is the positive side: positive results are
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Empowerment

rewarded. The second side is the negative side: whoever


produces negative results is response-able (at Cause) for
restoring the energy lost or damaged. Without such
accountability, without the restoration of energy, re-
sponse-ability does not exist. The violation of this funda-
mental principle of accountability destroys any system,
organization or government.
However, accountability is not punishment; and
the restoration of energy should not be confused with
punishment. Punishment is negative energy designed to
make bad-and-wrong-to hurt, to Cause pain to the per-
ceived offender, either as vengeance or so that the beha-
vior is not repeated.

BARACK OBAMA EMBODIES the spirit of positive and productive


compromise; he has an understanding, rare among politicians,
that we must truly work together as a nation to accomplish our
shared goals in the new millennium. Obama understands that
the more that we—the people—do for our nation and our
communities, the better our nation will be and the stronger our
communities will become. Senator Obama inspires us to stand
up and take steps to improve our world for ourselves, our child-
ren, and all future generations.
Matt Murchison
Tampa, FL

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Restoration is the production of positive energy by


the response-able subject to restore or correct damage
done. In this instance we have accountability, a key
ingredient in empowerment. The current economic crisis
in the United States is an example of an energy system
doomed to collapse as a result of a lack of accountability.
Wisdom and accountability are reciprocal factors.
Wisdom is the ability to predict the consequences of your
actions. To be response-able, to operate in positive Cause,
requires the ability to foresee the consequences of ac-
tions—which is wisdom. On the other side, accountability
develops wisdom. When you must respond for the conse-
quences of your actions, you are maximally motivated to
learn to predict and control those results in order to
maximize positive results and the rewards, and to reduce
damages. To do so makes you a wiser and therefore more
powerful person.
To the degree that leaders ignore response-ability
and accountability, their teams, acting in negative energy,
will lack wisdom (the ability to foresee the consequences
of actions), discipline and personal power. Accountability
is a great teacher of wisdom and a great trainer and
motivator of discipline. Without accountability, response-
ability does not exist. Without response-ability, any
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Empowerment

energy system will collapse. Where there is no response-


ability there is no Cause or personal power. Below, Ob-
ama's speech to NASDAQ in September 2007 continues.
Make careful note of the verbiage. You will find numer-
ous examples of accountability, innovation and the need
for a 21st century mindset in our economy, foreign rela-
tionships, technology and education.

Right now there are millions of hardworking Americans who


have been struggling to get by for quite some time. They have
watched their wages stagnate and their health costs rise and
their pensions disappear. Some have seen jobs shipped over-
seas and others have found new ones that pay much less.
Some tell their children they won't be able to afford college
this year, others send their youngest to a school that is crum-
bling around them. I meet these Americans every single day
… They understand that revolutions in technology and com-
munication have torn borders and opened up new markets
and new opportunities. They know we can't go back to yes-
terday or wall off our economy from everyone else. Their
problem is not that our world is flat. It's that our playing field
isn't level. It's that opportunity is no longer equal. And that's
something we cannot accept anymore…..And if we are hon-
est, I think we must admit that those who have benefited
from the new global marketplace … have not always con-
cerned themselves with the losers in this new economy. There
has been a tendency, during the boom times, to consider the
casualties of a changing economy to be inevitable, and to
justify outsized paydays or lower tax rates on Wall Street
earnings as part of the natural order of things. …..It may be

78
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

true, as some have argued, that larger forces are at work


here—that technological advance and globalization have trig-
gered a fundamental change in the economy. It is true as well
that we cannot simply look backwards for solutions—to try to
fence off the world beyond our borders…… we are going to
have to adapt our institutions to a new world as we always
have. And in doing so, we have to remind ourselves that we
rise and fall as one nation that a country in which only a few
prosper is antithetical to our ideals and our democracy…..
And so, in the coming weeks, I will be laying out a 21st
century economic agenda for America. It's an agenda that will
level the playing field for more Americans to ensure that
America can compete and thrive in a global economy. It will
focus on three broad areas.
First part of my agenda—a plan to modernize and simpli-
fy our tax code so that it provides greater opportunity and
more relief to more Americans. For far too long, our tax code
has been so riddled with special-interest loopholes and gi-
veaways that it's shifted the tax burden to small businesses
and middle-class Americans. At a time when most Americans
are facing stagnant wages and rising costs, that's not fair and
it doesn't benefit our economy. My plan will give a break to
middle-class Americans, seniors, and the homeowners who
are feeling today's anxiety and uncertainty, because I believe
that we all have a stake in restoring their confidence and in-
vesting in their prosperity.
The second part of my agenda will be to ensure America's
competitive edge in the 21st century. This starts with provid-
ing every American with a world-class education from cradle
to adulthood. We know that in this economy, countries that
out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. …We
can't allow ourselves to fall behind. That means investing in
early child education…… Tony Blair once said that “Talent is

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Empowerment

the 21st century wealth,” and I believe we all have a stake in


nurturing that talent if we hope to prosper in this century.
Ensuring our competitive edge also means investing more in
the science and technology that has fueled so much of our
nation's economic growth. And one place where that invest-
ment would make an enormous difference to the future of
this country is in a renewable energy policy that ends our
addiction
on foreign oil. We know this addiction isn't sustainable
for our security.
Finally, the third part of my agenda will be to modernize
and strengthen America's safety net for working Americans.
…..I also realize that there are some who will say that achiev-
ing all of this is far too difficult. That it is too hard to build
consensus. That we are too divided and self-interested to
think about the responsibilities we have to each other and to
our country. That the times are simply too tough. But then I
am reminded that we have been in tougher times and we
have faced far more difficult challenges. And each time we
have emerged stronger, more united, and more prosperous
than the last. It is faith in the American ideal that carries us
through, as well as the belief that was voiced by Franklin
Roosevelt all those years ago this week: “Failure is not an
American habit; and in the strength of great hope we must all
shoulder our common load.” That is the strength and the
hope we seek both today—and in all the days and months to
come.”
Senator Barack Obama
New York, NY • September 17, 2007

Intrapreneurial Leadership recognizes that intra-


preneurship is a counterpart of ingenuity. Creativity is

80
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

limited when organizational control impinges on anoth-


er's ability to act. The success of Obama's grassroots
campaign is its ability to pass the baton to the state, local
and individual levels. The 2008 Obama campaign invited
individuals to take response-ability for the outcome of the
election and therefore their future. How to do that lay
within each individual.

OBAMA'S ENERGY, PROFESSIONALISM, insight and in-depth view


of the United States and the world is inspiring. I have 3 bi-racial
grandchildren who live with us ages 13, 9 and 7. They are the
light of our lives. Obama, just by his running for president, has
inspired these children to walk taller, study harder, speak clear-
er and be more thoughtful. My 13 year-old granddaughter said,
“By the Grace of God goes Obama, by the Grace of God goes
America.” Amen.
Julie Paulsen
Iowa

The result—millions of people of all backgrounds,


with a variety of talents have emerged—all working
toward the same end. This massive grassroots organiza-
tion included musicians, artists, politicians, teachers,
retirees, students, union workers and far too many to list
here. Everyone understood that by their individual

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Empowerment

contribution, whether it was time, finances or other


resources, they were empowered to use their talents and
creativity to get the job done.
Self-esteem is your subconscious evaluation, your
estimation, and your good opinion of yourself. Your self-
esteem depends on whether that evaluation is positive or
negative. The most powerful factor in your evaluation of
Self is your perception of
My observation is that
your personal power. Barack Obama is a leader
who empowers people. He
Your personal power is
encourages them to take
your ability to act as action and bring the change
they want. He invited people
Cause; it is your percep- to get involved—and they
did in record numbers—even
tion of yourSelf as able my “apolitical” son volun-
and competent to handle teered for the campaign and
registered and voted for the
life, as capable of reaching first time!
Nancy Eaton
your goals. As response- Tampa, FL

ability is Cause, the ability


to respond, to be powerful, is an essential factor in self-
esteem. An intrapreneurial mind-set cannot exist in the
absence of response-ability. Denial of response-ability
creates a person as victim; victim is a position of low
power and therefore of very poor self-esteem.
Leaders, such as Obama, who understand the dy-
namics of human energy systems, will see morale, moti-
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

vation, commitment, accountability and personal satisfac-


tion soar. Obama has succeeded in establishing a culture
of ingenuity, unlocking new levels of power and control,
of ultimately increasing individual participation and
productivity. These are the ingredients of any successful
and powerful grassroots organization. These are the
critical success factors for our country. This is the frame-
work for successful and powerful leadership for the third
millennium.
Barack Obama understands that personal empo-
werment originates and thrives in positive energy. He
understands that there is a difference between inspiration
and motivation. Inspiration awakens people. Motivation
moves people. Barack Ob-
ama knows that personal When Obama said “Turn
off the TV and the video
empowerment (necessary for games and read to your
kids”, I knew that Barack
happiness) is the ultimate Obama gets it. That's
motivation of all our efforts when I decided to get
involved in his campaign.
and behaviors. Understand- Pamela Smith
Thornton, CO
ing this difference is what
moves ordinary people from complacency to positive
action. In accord with the Causal Sequence of Life, posi-
tive action, originating in positive energy, is what yields
positive results. This was the key to the Obama grassroots
83
Empowerment

campaign movement. This is how his campaign was able


to amass millions of financial donors, raising unprece-
dented campaign donations, in just months.
What is it that Barack Obama knows, that has es-
caped other political and business leaders? Simple. Nega-
tive energy in any organization will eventually sabotage
your success. Negative energy will destroy the vital,
intrapreneurial spirit of the people you seek to lead.
Barack Obama doesn't call forth volunteers. He calls forth
the leader that resides in all of us. He demands personal
accountability—and gets it.

IT WAS THE 31ST OF AUGUST in 1962 that 18 of us traveled 26


miles to the country courthouse in Indianola to try to register to
try to become first-class citizens.
We was met in Indianola by Mississippi men, Highway Pa-
trolmen and they only allowed two of us in to take the literacy
test at the time. After we had taken this test and started back to
Ruleville, we was held up by the City Police and the State
Highway Patrolmen and carried back to Indianola where the
bus driver …..On the 10th of September 1962, 16 bullets was
fired into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tucker for me. That
same night two girls were shot in Ruleville, Mississippi. Also
Mr. Joe McDonald's house was shot in. And in June the 9th,
1963, I had attended a voter registration workshop, was return-
84
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

ing back to Mississippi. Ten of us was traveling by the Conti-


nental Trailways bus. When we got to Winona, Mississippi,
which is in Montgomery County, four of the people got off to
use the washroom, and two of the people—to use the restau-
rant—two of the people wanted to use the washroom.
The four people that had gone in to use the restaurant was
ordered out. During this time I was on the bus. But when I
looked through the window and saw they had rushed out I got
off of the bus to see what had happened, and one of the ladies
said, “It was a State Highway Patrolman and a Chief of Police
ordered us out.” I got back on the bus and one of the persons
had used the washroom got back on the bus, too.
As soon as I was seated on the bus, I saw when they began
to get the four people in a highway patrolman's car, I stepped
off of the bus to see what was happening and somebody
screamed from the car that the four workers was in and said,
“Get that one there,” and when I went to get in the car, when
the man told me I was under arrest, he kicked me.
I was carried to the county jail, and put in the booking
room. They left some of the people in the booking room and
began to place us in cells. ..And it wasn't too long before three
white men came to my cell.. .and he said, “We are going to
make you wish you was dead.”
I was carried out of that cell into another cell where they
had two Negro prisoners. The State Highway Patrolmen or-
dered the first Negro to take the blackjack. The first Negro

85
Empowerment

prisoner ordered me, by orders from the State Highway Patrol-


man for me, to lay down on a bunk bed on my face, and I laid
on my face. The first Negro began to beat, and I was beat
by the first Negro until he was exhausted, and I was holding
my hands behind me at that time on my left side because I
suffered from polio when I was six years old….. The second
Negro began to beat and I began to work my feet, and the
State Highway Patrolman ordered the first Negro who had beat
me to sit upon my feet to keep me from working my feet. I
began to scream and one white man got up and began to beat
me my head and told me to hush…… I was in jail when Med-
gar Evers was murdered.
All of this is on account of us wanting to register, to be-
come first-class citizens, and if the freedom Democratic Party is
not seated now, I question America, is this America, the land of
the free and the home of the brave where we have to sleep
with our telephones off of the hooks because our lives be
threatened daily because we want to live as decent human
beings, in America?

Thank you.
Fannie Lou Hamer
Democratic National Convention • July 1964

86
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

SENATOR OBAMA HAS A TREMENDOUS amount of innate leader-


ship talent and charisma. He is a brilliant and well-educated
man. The trait I would single out as key is his determination to
empower the electorate. He challenges us to become more and
through the campaign has provided an education and the tools
for all of us to become community organizers. The past years
have been demoralizing. We've watched our country be stolen
from us by the powerful; election fraud, the Bush Administra-
tion, corporate media, and special interests. They have sold us
out and left us believing that nothing we can do makes a dif-
ference. We've seen our moral standing and leadership role in
the world diminish. Our country is in debt to China and tied to
the Middle East because we won't put the money into develop-
ing alternative energies. Senator Obama has reminded us that
we make up this nation and that yes, we can challenge our
government. We can become our government. This is excep-
tional leadership in action.
Jessica Meltzer
Berlin, MA

THERE ARE MANY REASONS why I believe Barack Obama is a


great leader. His honesty, tenacity and hopeful nature are but a
few... However the most compelling reason for me is his desire
to empower others. I have been working on political campaigns
since I was 12 and I haven't seen the like. Obama's campaign
setup a community organizer training program during the pri-

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Empowerment

maries. I took part in this program. I have never felt more effec-
tive politically. As a GenX cynic, I never thought I would have
“hope” for a politician. He has already left a great legacy—
regardless of the results of this election—with the army of
politically aware people he has left behind. He has reawakened
something in me and many others. I feel proud of my country,
for the first time in a long time. Go Obama!
Sarah L. Gerhardt
Portland, OR

I FIRST KNEW OF BARACK Obama when he gave the keynote


address at the 2004 Convention. He appealed to both parties
with his message of universal themes. We are not just the
groups that define us, we are definitively Americans first. This
was the message that cut across all of the divisions…. We all
have had a sense of being beat down, betrayed, and of wishing
that a person like us could rise above it all and become Presi-
dent. For African Americans, perhaps it was only Dr. Martin
Luther King that last brought that authenticity and hope that
the world could really change. For most of us, there have been
so few politicians that could both stir us and communicate the
American dream. Barack has come further than many politi-
cians because of this coming part way to the ideal.

Glenn Williams
Lincoln, NE

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

I WAS A REPUBLICAN my entire adult life until I was visiting my


father in Nebraska during the caucus. What I saw there told me
that I had not only made the right decision to support Sen.
Obama but to totally change my party affiliation. Most Ne-
braskans don't really come out in the primaries. The state is
what they call a “fly over” as most candidates just fly over on
their way somewhere else. The Obamas came; they talked, they
listened, and they responded. What I saw was this—major
roads that had to shut down because of people trying to get to
caucus locations. I saw people OUTSIDE in freezing tempera-
tures in February because there was no room indoors. I saw
news coverage all day long just astounded with the number of
people that were trying to make their voices heard. The reasons
I'm voting for Senator Obama are numerous but “Change” in
my life right now—that is a powerful word.
Deb Montanez
Jacksonville, FL

I BELIEVE IN BARACK OBAMA'S leadership style and methods of


delivery because of the HOPE he generates with a very positive
and inclusive message. Obama challenges people to be better
and do more as citizens of America, to do more for each other
and our communities and to get involved and stay engaged
with our government. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, he
DARES “We the People” to unite and work together in order to

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Empowerment

affect change. The Obama campaign is proof of what a unify-


ing leadership style can create. For me, Barack Obama's most
powerful and inspiring statement has been—“We are the
ONES we've been waiting for!” This short statement was
enough to get me up on my feet and involved in a historical
journey for positive change to my country's way of governing.
Barack Obama and the campaign have already created this list
of positive changes in America: Grass roots participation bring-
ing in over 1 million new voters; One of the many things I like
about Barack Obama is that he pushes us out of our comfort
zones. All of my life I have sat on the sidelines waiting for
someone else to do it. But, one day earlier this year that
changed. As I watched his speech in which he said, “We are
the change we seek”, words can not express how much that
moved me. After that I got on the Obama website and found a
group in my area. I sent a mass email telling everybody that “I
am fired up and ready to go!” We had a meeting a week later
at Starbuck's. At that moment I realized that I could make a
difference and ever since that day I have worked to merge the
local groups together, worked on numerous voter registration
drives, along with other activities. This was never me, this has
never been me—to be the catalyst for something. I owe it all to
Barack Obama's ability to inspire me to believe I could. I did
make a difference. We all can make a difference. We just need
the leadership that will tell us “Yes We Can!”
LaShawn Pant
Pensacola, FL

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

AFTER HEARING SENATOR OBAMA speak at the Town Hall Meet-


ing, everyone walked away with the sense that here was a once
in a lifetime leader. His confidence, dignity and charm won the
audience from the start. I had the honor of introducing him that
day. He met with me for a few minutes just before we started. I
almost fainted, but he immediately put me at ease. He spoke as
if we were old friends. I have every confidence that here is the
next great leader of America! And, I will do what I can to see
that he is elected. I am Lutheran and believe that God wants us
to help our fellow man and all creatures great and small. I
firmly believe that this is the year for change for our country.
We must change the way our government works and become a
good neighbor to the world community again. The person to
bring that about is Senator Obama. I am proud to have had a
small part in his campaign!

Denise Cyr
Medford, OR

91
Chapter 9

Diversity

ABLE TO EMBRACE DIVERSITY: The Intrapreneurial


Leader understands that diversity is not to be feared but
to be celebrated. While our common purposes far out-
number our differences, it is through those differences
that we can expand our consciousness and celebrate our
common humanity.

In many ways, Miami stands as a symbol of hope for what's


possible in the Americas. Miami's promise of liberty and op-
portunity has drawn generations of immigrants to these
shores, sometimes with nothing more than the clothes on
their back. It was a similar hope that drew my own father
across an ocean, in search of the same promise that our
dreams need not be deferred because of who we are, what we
look like, or where we come from.
Here, in Miami, that promise can join people together.
We take common pride in a vibrant and diverse democracy,
and a hard-earned prosperity. We find common pleasure in
the crack of the bat, in the rhythms of our music, and the ease
of voices shifting from Spanish or Creole or Portuguese to
English. These bonds are built on a foundation of shared his-
Diversity

tory in our hemisphere. Colonized by empires, we share sto-


ries of liberation. Confronted by our own imperfections, we
are joined in a desire to build a more perfect union.
Senator Barack Obama
Miami, FL • May 23, 2008

So, let us not be blind to our differences—But let us also di-


rect attention to our common interests and to the means by
which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot
end now our differences, at least we can help make the world
safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic
common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all
breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And
we are all mortal.
John F. Kennedy

ACCORDING TO THE UNITED STATES Census Bureau, Latino,


Asian and African-American populations will more than
triple by the middle of this century. Combined, ‘persons
of color’ will then outnumber whites. We are a diverse
nation. We are a diverse global community. And yet, the
2008 presidential election showed us that racial prejudice
remains a critical issue throughout the United States as
the question had been raised—is the United States ready
for a black president? Prejudice is the attempt to escape
the feeling of inferiority (negative energy) by projecting
and polarizing others to the inferior position so that Self

94
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

will assume the superior position. Prejudice occurs when


ego is projected to an entire group or class of persons.
Polarization, a creation of the mind, is the division
of anything into two groups, one of which is the in-crowd,
the “good” guys, and the other is the out-crowd, the
“bad” guys. According to the good guys, the bad guys
should not Be or Think as they are or Do. Polarization is a
unique human creation, one of the delusions of the un-
controlled mind. Polarization occurs when a person
creates (thereby interpreting and distorting reality) that
other people are inferior, less-than, bad, or wrong.
Globally this separation is usually based on super-
ficial and insignificant differences such as race, ethnicity,
nationality, sexual orientation, economic status, gender,
politics, or religion. By polarizing people on such insigni-
ficant things, and often on things over which the out-
crowd has no control (such as gender, nationality, sexual
orientation, or race), the in-crowd gets to declare itself
superior and more deserving, without having to compete
on ability and merit.

95
Diversity

BARACK OBAMA REMINDS US that we are citizens first of this


great United States of America. His motto “I'm asking you to
believe not just in my ability to bring about real change in
Washington, I'm asking you to believe in yours.” is a reminder
of what this nation was founded on—that We The People have
basic rights and we have generated a social contract between
our people and our government, not just in 2008, but in 1787
when the United States Constitution was adopted. What seems
to be revolutionary in political mottoes is in fact a return to the
best of the past, but with a diversity of the present and future
added to it. The draw of Barack Obama is his sense of decency,
that there are certain areas that we will not go in opposition of
the other party. It is this appeal to our better angels that helps
us to see Obama in the role of every person. What surprises me
is when I write something in a weblog matches what Obama
believes in. We come from different backgrounds and life
experiences. To the extent that Obama matches my own expe-
rience, only aids my idealism that we are as one. What Barack
Obama has provided me in this election is the ability to no
longer hide my political views. When you are born and raised
in a region where being a Democrat is not necessarily a reason
to go shout from the hilltops, you try to see other political
views and find common ground . What Barack Obama promis-
es is a day where party labels may not be as important. In the
meantime, it has become cool to be a Democrat as the party as

96
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

a whole has experienced a resurgence across the nation be-


cause of and also apart from Barack Obama.
Glenn Williams
Lincoln, NE

Prejudice and bigotry are just another of the many


forms of projection, polarization, and ego. A person of
lowered self-esteem, a negative energy state, will try to
compensate for his decreased sense of Self by invalidating,
polarizing and treating others with negative energy.
Intolerance is based in the delusional justification to
invalidate another for inconsequential or uncontrollable
characteristics. Organizations that embrace diversity are
those that strive to reduce and eliminate the use of such
negative energy by exposing ego as the effort to compen-
sate feelings of inferiority.
Polarization even occurs within families. Examine
feuds within families and more often than not you will
find family members “taking sides,” often on issues of
little significance. Polarization is sadly prevalent through-
out the history of humankind. Look at our nation and
look at the world. Polarization particularly ignores that
we are all nonphysical, spiritual life entities, with the
same desires, needs and ambitions. We can see that
polarization exists in every corner of the world.
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Diversity

Humanity is polarized in nations, races, politics, re-


ligions, cultures—name a difference and you can find
polarization. Recall that people are the basic chip, the
basic generator of energy and therefore the power of any
organization. The Intrapreneurial Leader understands
that polarization, prejudice, bigotry, and all forms of
harassment only serve to denigrate the integrity, and
therefore the power of the organization.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage,


aware that my parents' dreams live on in my precious daugh-
ters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger
American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came
before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story
even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of
our nation….Our pride is based on a very simple premise,
summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years
ago, “We hold these truths to he self-evident, that all men are
created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.” That is the true genius of
America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insis-
tence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at
night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm.
That we can say what we think, write what we think, without
hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an
idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or
hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political
process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will he
counted—or at least, most of the time. It's not enough for just
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individual-


ism, there's another ingredient in the American saga. A belief
that we are connected as one people.
…There are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin
masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of
anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liber-
al America and a conservative America—there's the United
States of America. There's not a black America and white
America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the
United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice
our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for
Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for
them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States,
and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries
in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States
and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who
opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are
one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and
stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In
the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate
in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? ….. I'm not
talking about blind optimism here No, I'm talking about
something more substantial.
It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing free-
dom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant
shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrol-
ling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who
dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny
name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The
audacity of hope! In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us,
the bedrock of this nation; the belief in things not seen; the
belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can give
our middle class relief and provide working families with a

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Diversity

road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the job-


less, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in
cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that
as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the
right choices, and meet the challenges that face us.
America! Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the
same urgency I do, the same passion I do, the same hopeful-
ness I do—if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt
that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from
Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November….
and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long
political darkness a brighter day will come. Thank you and
God bless you.”
Senator Barack Obama
Boston, MA • July 27, 2008

By now you understand that life is about how we


express ourselves as nonphysical, human energy—as
spirit. These nonphysical energies are not independent,
and are in fact, interdependent. To be powerful, to pro-
duce successful results, many forms of energies must
align and cooperate in an energy system. As each of us is
an individual energy system, consisting of positive and
negative human energies, we combine to form larger and
more complex energy systems such as families, businesses
or communities.
A nation is an energy system, as is the entire pla-
net. Working in synergy, the synchronization of human

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

energies creates an energy system where the power of the


entire system is far beyond that of any individual ele-
ment. Any system operating in negative energy or lacking
critical elements cannot operate successfully. The energy
climate of any organization is the net combination of all
the human mental, emotional, and behavioral energies,
both positive and negative. The energy climate is felt as
the overall morale, motivation, enthusiasm and individu-
al fulfillment in the organization.

BARACK OBAMA IS A GREAT leader because he can relate to the


American people and their issues. He understands many of the
situations that many people are going through in this rough
economy as he has been here too. Barack Obama's presidency
is not about black and white. It is not about race, color, or
culture. It is about America and its future.
Anita Stroud
San Jose, CA

Intrapreneurial Leaders know that results are the


product of how well you fulfill the primary purpose of
increasing the positive human energies of people in
organizations and communities. Barack Obama stands as
an example of a leader who understands the human life
energies, the energy of the spirit that underlies “Who We
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Diversity

Are.” Obama speaks to our nonphysical, spiritual life


energies of wisdom, power and esteem. He speaks to
people of all ages, professions, ethnicity, sexual orienta-
tion, culture and any other demographic you can name.
Because Obama has embraced these leadership principles
he has experienced a phenomenal leap in motivation and
energy in his grassroots movement and will continue to
do so as he assumes the presidency of the United States.
It is reported that Robert F. Kennedy once pre-
dicted that race relations were progressing so rapidly that
within 40 years the county would see a black president.
While there is some doubt about the actual date of such a
prediction, we do know that in 1968, the statement had
found its way into the press.
Many still question whether or As I canvassed for him
in the poor section of
not the United States is ready our county my school
for a black president. Based on children were running
up to me hugging me.
the positive result of the 2008 Little did they know that
I was campaigning for a
presidential election, the man that would give
majority of Americans have hope to their lives!
Lynn Morris
crossed that threshold. We are Rivesville, WV

a diverse nation.
We co-exist in a diverse global community of reli-
gions, cultures, nationalities, histories and ethnicities. The
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

United States has always been a world leader in freedom


and democracy. To remain so demands a complete and
celebratory embrace of the diversity of our country. This
ideal can only be realized in the application of these
Intrapreneurial Leadership principles.

AS BEING A SWEDISH CITIZEN I support Obama, for the best of


USA but above all for the best of the world. He is a true world-
leader. Not only Americans, but people in Europe, Asia and
Africa are also fascinated by him. He touches the soul of
people, speaks to what is best in us, asks us to look for some-
thing greater in life, to look beyond our personal self. This
message and this leadership is what so many people are so
eagerly waiting for. He unites the world by uniting us around
the values of compassion, truth and justice.
Torgny Jansson
Gothenburg, Sweden

OBAMA: The Triumph of Unity in Diversity


The USA is a country that typifies the world at large, simp-
ly because it is the microcosm of the real world. Obama is the
triumph of the beauty and glory of the term “unity in diversity”
and furthermore, “strength in diversity.” Owing to the honesty,
dexterity, and the absolute desire and commitment to a positive
change in the way politics is being run here in the USA, Sena-
tor Obama has displayed that, he is capable of leading us to the

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Diversity

Promised Land; one which is flowing with justice and peace,


love and happiness, honesty, and respect for mankind.
Moreover, most frankly and on a very positive note, Obama
is viewed as a unifier, rather than a divider. He has miniaturized
the existence of discriminatory factors such as racism. Suffice it
to note that many of Senator Obama's supporters are essential-
ly the majority of the American people and minorities too. The
exemplary display of maturity and calmness in the face of
unhealthy and deceptive propaganda by special interests and
lobbyists, has further endeared him to the generality of the
American people.
In Obama, diversity has a new meaning;
Different
Individuals
Values
Each other
Regardless of
Skin,
Intelligence,
Talents and
Years!
This is the time for a change that we can believe in. Let us not
allow this unique opportunity to pass us by. Obama's promises
are the peoples gain and honest desire and aspiration.
Peter Odeh
Baltimore City, MD

I WAS TOO YOUNG TO WALK with Martin Luther King in Selma,


Alabama. But while watching the Democratic National Con-
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

vention I couldn't help but feel that I had finally joined with
those pioneers of civil rights. I have become one with them. I
think many others feel that way too. Senator's Obama's elec-
tion to office would be, for me, as important as of the fall of
the Soviet Union and something I never thought would happen
in my lifetime.
Gary Gagne
Charlotte, NC

I'M A 25 YEAR OLD VETERAN of Operation Iraqi freedom…... I


am going to college with the help of my Veterans benefits from
the GI bill. I have never had a passion about politics as I have
for the cause of Senator Obama and the vision he has created
here in America and around the world. I am so committed to
ensuring Obama gets elected that I have not even cared about
my local elections in my own hometown. Freedom is not free,
for all that has come before him and now all that will follow.
Obama has opened the gates for all of us to follow.
Preston Bostick
Quincy, FL

SENATOR OBAMA REPRESENTS this country because he can relate


to all races and walks of life. He does not favor rich people or
poor people. He does what is just. Obama is a shining example
of how the system despite its flaws does work if you work
within it. He rose from humble beginnings and did not let race
stop him. He relates well with all Americans and shares our
core spiritual and family values. Obama inspires all to go for

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Diversity

their highest dream of success. Yet he does so without resort-


ing to negative attacks. We need a leader who is diplomatic
because the world needs more level headed leaders, not ones
who act out of fear. He is strong and brave. Obama does not let
negative attacks deter him. His policies show that he has this
country's best interests in mind and will stand up for what is
right for us all.
Karen Walton
Fort Lee, NJ

I AM ORIGINALLY FROM MOBILE, AL. I am here in Florida with


my kids and grands to help as much as possible because the
economy is too much for my kids to maintain with school age
kids and all the expenses. I am attending Troy State University
to gain a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice/Business Adm. I
am proof that you are never too old to get an education. The
country needs a change with family values, and family struc-
tures reiterated. The Barack/Biden families can bring this. Ob-
ama has inspired many young people to become a part of the
voting arena. He has caused some of the elderly to want to
return and vote again, feeling that they are blessed to witness
such an event. The night that Barack gave his acceptance
speech on the 40th anniversary of the never to be forgotten “I
Have A Dream” speech by Dr. MLK, that night, it was the
Dream. He brought people from all over the United States, no

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

matter the age, color, religion, gender, financial status—they


were there—all 85,000 of them . As they looked on, some with
watery eyes, holding on to those beside them and became one,
I know Dr. King looked down and smiled! That was the
Dream!
Darlene Gay-Allen
Fort Walton Beach, FL

IT IS MY BELIEF THAT one of the greatest strengths America has


going for it is ethnic and cultural diversity. I believe this be-
cause I believe that with time and exposure to the way different
cultures live their lives and strive for freedom, our universals,
the way we are the same, are more widely recognized. This
gives us more tolerance for those who are at first seen as dif-
ferent from us allowing our various strengths to be put to work
in society. Long lasting peace comes to people who feel in-
cluded in society. As societies grow and merge, it is important
that we find ways to agree rather than try to exclude fringe
groups. One reason I am supporting Obama is because I believe
he can help bridge the racial divide in our country. Beyond that
I believe he can help restore confidence among Americans that
will be necessary to re-ignite our market and help us compete
better globally.
But more than that, he understands that competing glo-
bally does not mean pushing other countries around or down.
Obama will have a robust foreign policy that recognizes
the legitimacy of our world neighbors. It is not us against them.

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Diversity

We are in it together. I believe in education—what our young


are taught is of utmost importance. To get back on track, edu-
cation in America should teach skills and knowledge that help
us compete in a global marketplace. Among these principle
skills are theoretical and applied Sciences, Mathematics, Eng-
lish, Languages, Music and Arts. We should be flexible and
seek out the best methods to help our children learn. Public
education should be available equally to ALL children and
young people! There is no excuse for inferior schools! Diversity
is strength. Education is necessary for a viable future.
Jeff Powell
Kent, WA

I AM A MULTIRACIAL AMERICAN woman (First Nations, Irish, and


Italian) married to a Nigerian-born man, with four beautiful,
spirited children. I work in hospital administrative management
in the area of trauma. I am currently in the process of complet-
ing my Masters in Healthcare Administration. I do not follow
any particular faith or church, but believe in a higher power, as
well as participate in occasional traditional indigenous religious
ceremonies. I believe a true leader trusts those he or she leads
to be the best that they can be, without the need for an auto-
cratic micromanaging authority style….. A true leader under-
stands he or she cannot succeed alone. My family and I look
forward to the possibility of Senator Obama leading us into a
better way of life. What inspires me so much about him is the
fact that he knows he cannot do it alone, and that he has asked

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

us to step up and be the change we want to see. His message


of change and hope resonates with me in a time where we
have moved away from such ideals in the past eight years. He
truly represents inclusiveness of all Americans regardless of
race, gender, socio-economic status, religion, etc. and as such
in my mind represents a true leader for all American citizens.
Tetana Oguara
Seattle, WA

I long for a president who will inspire, uplift, excite and moti-
vate me; with a fresh perceptive, intellectual curiosity, unwa-
vering integrity, a sense of humor, kind heart, spiritual soul and
peaceful nature; an orator and a leader; a humanitarian and a
philosopher; a poet and a teacher; a sage man and healer; a
person who has strength of character and the passions of his
convictions; a person of principle, veracity and courage; some-
one who makes me believe again - actually believe for the
FIRST TIME IN MY ADULT life - in the promise, dignity and
spirit of America. That man is Barack Obama.

Saudia Lawrence
San Francisco, CA

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Epilogue

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a


place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the
dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions
the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools
and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by
people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the
very first time in their lives, because they believed that this
time must be different; that their voice could be that differ-
ence.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor,
Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native
American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled—
Americans who sent a message to the world that we have
never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are,
and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so
long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of
what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history
and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of
what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining mo-
ment, change has come to America.
President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama
Chicago, IL • November 4, 2008
Epilogue

THE LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES OF “WE ARE ONE”, docu-


mented in this book are not new. As you move back into
history you will find many leaders who employed these
very same leadership strategies. One such leader who
personified these leadership characteristics emerged from
our own political landscape. You can see these very
principles at work in the administration of John F. Ken-
nedy. Since his noted arrival on the Washington scene at
the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Barack
Obama has been likened to John F. Kennedy, Robert
Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
There are those who will dismiss this comparison,
noting that the likeness comes from the fact that all of
these men knew how to deliver a great inspirational
speech. Those of us fortunate enough to have been alive
to witness the power of these men, however, know that
there is something more. Many are unable to describe it,
but understand it nonetheless. While inspiration can
provide an emotional lift, it never lasts longs. No, there is
something more.
What these men did was to provide a framework
of personal accountability and empowerment, designed to
make changes in the way we feel, think, treat and react
towards each other, our government, and our world.
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Intrapreneurial Leaders understand the true meaning


behind, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” This doesn’t mean
that we take on everyone’s problems but it does mean
that we provide each member of any human energy
system the means to be individually empowered. As a
collective whole, any human organizational system,
operating in positive energy, will show compassion,
empathy, and concern for all its members. Its leaders will
understand that successful outcomes are the results of
people working together toward common goals.
We can see this in action in Barack Obama as he
and his staff struggle to find bipartisan solutions to the
current healthcare crisis. The common objective is health-
care reform⎯ providing quality healthcare for the 50
million Americans without healthcare and also providing
affordable healthcare for all. Clearly, the issue has been
derailed as some politicians and factions have decided to
distort the original objective in an effort to pursue their
own agenda. Observe the intense negative emotion at
many of the town hall meetings across the country in the
summer of 2009. Much of this negative energy is fueled
by distortions and deliberate sabotage⎯ with the end
result of a loss of focus, conflict, and ineffective communi-
cations.
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Epilogue

The Intrapreneurial Leader understands that hu-


man energy systems, in synergy, operate within the
paradigm of “We Are One”. People working in the posi-
tive energies of respect, compassion and decency will
work together to achieve common goals. This leadership
style recognizes that the combined positive energies of
each individual contributes to the success and well-being
of the entire system⎯ which could be your business or
your community. In the following words by Ted Kennedy
in the last days of his life, note the theme of “We Are One”
in his passion to create healthcare reform.

“This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied


my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention
in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure,
as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee
that every American…will have decent, quality health care as
a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four
decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the
United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never
been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my
belief in a just society...it's always been deeply personal,
because the importance of health care has been a recurrent
lesson throughout most of my 77 years.”

Senator Ted Kennedy


Newsweek • July 27, 2009

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

It is the understanding of leadership as a model of


“We Are One” that draws the comparison of Barack
Obama to many of the greatest of leaders of the last 40
years. It is a new strategy of leadership—Intrapreneurial
Leadership—the fundamental ability to communicate to
our nonphysical, spiritual, life energies. In doing so,
Obama, as do all effective and powerful leaders, speaks to
the Godness and the goodness that resides in all of us.
These leaders have called forth the leader that resides in
all of us. As a human energy system, as a collective, we
are of one Energy; we are either primarily of positive
energy or we are primarily of negative energy; we either
rise together, or we fall together. We are One.
These leaders have issued both the invitation and
the invocation for all of us to reach to our inner selves,
where our true power in life resides. They have succeeded
in communicating far more than mere words. What we
have heard, and now hear from Barack Obama is an ideal
that we can BE better, that we ARE better, that we can DO
better, that we can HAVE better. It is from these core
ideals that peace and prosperity will come.
As business and political leaders center themselves
on these principles, you will see a quantum leap in moti-
vation and energy of individuals that will result in nota-
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Epilogue

ble increases in the quantity and quality of organizational


and national results. In the global market and information
sphere of today, competitive advantages from purely
physical advances are fleeting. Information, technologies,
and products travel too fast. The next frontier of competi-
tion is not physical science and technology; it will be the
harnessing of human energy. The next challenge of
business is human energy development—the only true
power of any organization. Leaders such as Barack Ob-
ama—those who understand Intrapreneurial Leadership
principles will create the desired results. Leaders that
understand and are able to unleash human energy, to
foster intrapreneurship, will ride the wave of the future
into the third millennium.

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You


Inauguration Speech Delivered by John F. Kennedy
January 20, 1961
VICE PRESIDENT JOHNSON, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Pres-
ident Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman,
reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory
of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as
well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change. For
I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quar-


ters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mor-
tal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and
all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs
for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the
globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the
generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first
revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to
friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new
generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by
war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our an-
cient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow
undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always
been committed, and to which we are committed today at
home and around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that
we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the sur-
vival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge—and
more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins
we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United,
there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.
Divided, there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a po-
werful challenge at odds and split asunder.

117
Epilogue

To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the


free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall
not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron
tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting
our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly sup-
porting their own freedom—and to remember that, in the past,
those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the
tiger ended up inside.
To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe
struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our
best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period
is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not
because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free
society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the
few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a spe-
cial pledge—to convert our good words into good deeds—in a
new alliance for progress—to assist free men and free govern-
ments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful
revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers.
Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to
oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas.
And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends
to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Na-
tions, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war

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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our


pledge of support—to prevent it from becoming merely a
forum for invective—to strengthen its shield of the new
and the weak—and to enlarge the area in which its writ may
run. Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our
adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides
begin anew
the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction
unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or acci-
dental self-destruction. We dare not tempt them with weak-
ness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can
we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take
comfort from our present course—both sides overburdened by
the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the
steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that
uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's
final war.
So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that ci-
vility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject
to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never
fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us
instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both
sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals
for the inspection and control of arms—and bring the absolute
power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all
nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science
119
Epilogue

instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer


the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and en-
courage the arts and commerce. Let both sides unite to heed in
all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah—to “undo the
heavy burdens—and to let the oppressed go free.”
And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jun-
gle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor,
not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the
strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be
finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Adminis-
tration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let
us begin. In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine,
will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this
country was founded, each generation of Americans has been
summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves
of young Americans who answered the call to service surround
the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear
arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though
embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twi-
light struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient
in tribulation”—a struggle against the common enemies of
man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global al-
liance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more
fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
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Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

In the long history of the world, only a few generations


have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of
maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility—I
welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange
places with any other people or any other generation. The
energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor
will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from
that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country
can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will
do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of
man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of
the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and
sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only
sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go
forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help,
but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our
own.

THERE IS A SENSE OF URGENCY in the air within my community


and a marked shift that is taking place within my own spirit.
Raised a conservative evangelical republican, even my parents
have shifted. Almost 70 years old, these two wealthy whites

121
Epilogue

living in the suburbs attend an almost all black church in the


city.
I don't consider myself either a democrat or a republican
because the labels simply cannot contain what my heart knows.
This country needs a leader who is larger than him/herself. We
need a leader who is humbled at the chanting of his name,
knowing that of himself, he is not the answer. We need a lead-
er who has questioned himself, his heritage, his spirituality, his
politics, his motives, his family, his existence.
I want a thinker. After his appearance at Rick Warren's
Church the press called him “nuanced—I called him a thinker.
They called his answers the answers of a college professor
while calling John McCain's answers were “definite”, “sure”
and “solid.” I want a thinker for my president—who thinks
about cause and effect, and one who changes his mind given
more information. I want a leader who does not spout off
about the weaknesses, strengths, or latest gossip of his opposi-
tion, but one who forges ahead and focuses on his mission. I
want a leader who will help small business figure out how I can
pay for health insurance for all of my employees. I want more
for them, and I want more for me—and yes, that means prof-
it—it is what we're in business for.
I want a president with a background in working with
communities, one who supports grass roots organizations, even
when they feel like no one is hearing them. Many thought the
world wouldn't hear him. The world is listening to this man

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because the world sees itself in this man. I need a leader who
believes in the basic goodness of human beings first. I want a
leader larger than him or herself. I want as a leader a man who
listens, has a diverse team around him, and sometimes screws
up, always feeling humbled after—knowing his humanity, yet
looking to divinity for assistance. I want a leader who is willing
to admit mistakes—his own and a nation's. I want an America
willing to believe that a powerful person is patriotic when he
can see the mistakes his country has made—and care enough
to confront them, and to turn them around. I want an America
that does not demand perfection from its president. We need a
leader who can shed needed light on a path—and then we'll
walk down the path and we'll work together, and we'll give a
little of our own comfort to help a brother—and Mr. President,
we promise not to try and make you into the Messiah. We
commit ourselves to the journey, and we won't sit back and see
what you're going to do. This is our country, and we want it
back. You understand this because you were a part of that in
Chicago. You know the power of church basements, and you
know the danger of lethargy among a people. What I love
about Obama is that he already knows that he cannot change
the state of this economy, war, or health care alone. A leader is
a humble servant. I want a humble servant who believes in
something larger than himself. I want Barack Obama.
Cheryl Saluga
Boardman, OH

123
Epilogue

124
About The Author

VICTORIA C. DEPAUL, M.S., Business Consultant, Life


Coach, Facilitator, Author

http://www.GalileoConsultants.com

Victoria DePaul founded Galileo Business & Learn-


ing Consultants in 2007 after many years in human re-
source management. As a retired corporate executive, Ms.
DePaul has gained extensive experience in the develop-
ment of human potential holding positions as supervisor,
manager, leader and corporate trainer. She has inspired
many with her personal challenge with weight loss,
appearing on the Today Show, CNN, The NBC Nightly
News, 20/20 as well as several national and international
publications. Through seminars, consulting and speaking
engagements she continues to motivate and move people
toward peak-performance in all areas of life.
Her personal development and self-mastery style is
based on her personal, management and business leader-
ship success and is documented in “Creating the Intra-
About The Author

preneur: The Search for Leadership Excellence”. Here


readers learn that organizations are energy systems where
the basic unit of power of any energy system, whether it
be a business, a family, a neighborhood, or a global
community is the individual. The power of this new
business methodology is its recognition that every person
is a Life Energy, Spirit entity, an energy system itself
consisting of Wisdom, Power, and Value. This Life Energy
can manifest itself as either positive or negative. Organi-
zations can control the positive or negative outflow of
energy once they understand how to harness the true
quantum, spiritual energies of its members. When busi-
nesses, organizations and communities begin to under-
stand the ultimate motivation of all persons – the
experience of more and more Life Essence Energy, they
can be the catalyst for positive, permanent change in
people, their families and communities- local, national
and global. At the core of “Creating the Intrapreneur” is
the knowledge that all that exists is Energy – Human
Quantum Energy, the Energy of Life itself.
Based in personal experience and application, the
concepts that Victoria introduces are more than theory—
they are the proven steps to organizational transforma-
tion. For much of her career, Victoria struggled with how
126
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

to motivate people to higher levels of performance. What


she found was that the primary motivation of each of us is
the desire to be happy, whether at work or at play. Fur-
ther, she discovered what true happiness is- the full
experience of our creative, spirit Self. In order to achieve
excellent results, all that was necessary was to empower
others to express their unique creativity. In other words,
she learned to provide the vision, guidance and tools and
then got out of the way. The natural result was a moti-
vated and innovative workforce, leading to increased
production results, high levels of morale and accountability.

127
Acknowledgements

DR. DAVID G. GLIDDON serves as faculty in the School


of Business at Colorado Technical University and the CTU
Institute for Advanced Studies. He is Subject Matter
Expert for the MBA Leadership program at South Univer-
sity. He is the founder of ISOIL, the International Society
of Innovation Leadership. He received his Ph. D. in
Workforce Education and Development with a specializa-
tion in Training and Human Resources from Penn State
University. He received his MS. in Human Resource
Administration with a specialization in Human Resource
Development from the University of Scranton and his BS.
in Psychology with a specialization in Business and a
Minor in Philosophy from Penn State University.

Dr. Gliddon received the International Society of Perfor-


mance Improvement's 2009 First Place Distinguished
Dissertation Award, a 2008 Obama Organizing Fellow-
ship, the 2005 Colorado Technical University Faculty
Service Award, serves as Chair of the Colorado Technical
Acknowledgements

University Library Committee, and is an Eagle Scout. He


has provided executive consulting to clients achieving a
multitude of successes in state-wide strategic curriculum
development projects in Pennsylvania; nation-wide
compensation, EEO, and employee relations projects; and
global performance management, staffing, training, and
HRIS project implementations.

Dr. Gliddon is currently authoring the book Innovation


Leadership and has written numerous articles on the
topic. The initial press release on innovation leadership is
listed as suggested reading by the US Department of
Treasury. Dr. Gliddon authored the chapter Leading
Democracy for Letters to President Obama, Performance
Management Systems for the ISPI Handbook for the
Selection and Implementation of Human Performance
Interventions, and two chapters for the Praeger Hand-
book of Human Resource Management and Workplace
Policy.

JOHN R. WILSON earned his M.S. in Technical Communi-

cation at North Carolina State University in Raleigh,


North Carolina. His journey from childhood fundamen-
130
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

talism and racism to Unity and the "one nation" of Barack


Obama traveled through the maze of Christianity.
It appears that historical followers of the "Christ" were not
all alike, but differed widely in belief and practice. Ameri-
cans must respect differences and pursue common
dreams and goals in charting a new direction for our
country.

MELISSA DEPUTY is a Public Speaker, Author, and the


founder of Deputy Speaks and A Woman’s Best. Melissa is
available for speaking engagements and consulting
services on time management, customer service, market-
ing and sales, abuse and recovery, living your ideal life,
and self esteem. Visit her website at www.DeputySpeaks.com.

TYLER O’DAY, a resident of West Boylston, MA, is a


ninth grader at the West Boylston Junior – Senior High
School. Even at his young age he is active in school, local,
state, and national politics; he describes his political views
as ranging from liberal to socialist. He enjoys sports,
especially football, and vacationing with family on Cape
Cod.

131
Acknowledgements

Special Thanks…..
IN THESE PAGES YOU HAVE BEEN introduced to a new para-
digm of organizations, how life works, and the internal
mechanisms of human energy. This book is an application
study of my interpretation of the works of Thomas Mi-
chael Powell, a modern-day philosopher. At the heart of
these teachings is the codification of the universal laws of
Wisdom, Power, and Esteem. From my personal mentor-
ship with Thomas I have learned that life is a polarity;
true personal power comes from understanding that all of
experience is both positive and negative. Our inability to
effectively manage our internal negative energies is the
only cause of unhappiness in life. Not only have I learned
how these universal laws work in determining the out-
comes of our individual lives, but they are the determi-
nants for success or failure in all human organizations.
Thomas has given me unlimited access to his books and
course materials to aid in completing this project and so
many others.
Once again, I extend profound gratitude and ap-
preciation to Thomas Michael Powell for his contribution
to this book, my life, and to humanity.

132
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Contributors

Abarquez-Delacruz, Prosy Los Angeles, CA


Abdulraheem, Abubakar Nigeria
Beauleri, Rick Indiana, PA
Betts, Sheri Beltsville, MD
Bostick, Preston Quincy, FL
Bowron, Alice Winfree St. Louis Park, MN
Brooks, Raymond Birmingham, AL
Brooks, Thomas Houston, TX
Burwick, Louis Worcester, MA
Campbell, Chris San Diego, CA
Carter-Brooks, Emma Leeds, AL
Chamberlain, Derrick Midland, MI
Christiansen, Charles Rockville, MD
Claire Paris, France
Cronin, Allan Santa Barbara, CA
Crowell, Mickie Elk Grove, CA
Cyr, Denise Medford, OR
Deputy, Melissa Flemington, NJ
Dorff, Raissa New York, NY
Duncan, Jacob Ocala, FL
Eaton, Nancy Tampa, FL
Everett, Jeremy Tripoli, IA
Fiore, Lee Worcester, MA
Fitzharris, Stephanie Austin, TX
Frank, Patrick Kingstree, SC
Gagne, Gary Charlotte, NC
Gay-Allen, Darlene Ft. Walton Beach, FL
Gerhardt, Sarah L Portland, OR
Giacomuzzi, David J Palm Springs, CA
Gliddon PhD, David Colorado
Goodwin, Rolanda Lawrenceville, GA
Gray, Gloretha Port Saint Lucie, FL
Greene, Rene Atlanta, GA
133
Acknowledgements

Hoffine, Dalton Winston-Salem, NC


Hopkins, Michele Clearlake, CA
Jansson, Torgny Gothenburg, Sweden
Jones, Robert Westminster, SC
Joslin, Rachel Browns Mills, NJ
Keane, Martin Voorhees, NJ
Kelinson, Roberta Rock Island, IL
King, John W. Buckeye, AZ
King, Okela Brooklyn, NY
Lanahan, Anthony Park Ridge, IL
Lawrence, Saudia San Francisco, CA
Lillge, Eugene Appleton, WI
Loewenstein PhD, David Miami, FL
Manns, Ron Rockford, IL
Marlowe, Christina Summerland, CA
Martin, George Wilmette, IL
McCampbell, Nancy Bozeman, MT
McLaughlin Jr., Richard Warrington, PA
Meltzer, Jessica Berlin, MA
Miller, Mary Beth Northville, MI
Montanez, Debra Jacksonville, FL
Moore-Bruno, Korkie Courtland Manor, NY
Morris, Lynn Rivesville, WV
Murchison, Matt Tampa, FL
Noah, Deborah Carmichael, CA
Norman, Betty Chicago, Il
O'Day, Tyler West Boylston, MA
Odeh, Peter Baltimore, MD
Oguara, Tetana Seattle, WA
Orie, Ada Cockeysville, MD
Ozanne, John Carmel, CA
Pant, LaShawn Pensacola, FL
Pao, Al San Francisco, CA
Paulsen, Julie Woodbury, IA
Powell, Jeff Kent, WA

134
Obama: The Leadership of We Are One

Rapalje, Tryntje San Francisco, CA


Reid, Tim Hanover, PA
Riley-Roach, Andrianna Wheatley Heights,NY
Roberts, Lloyd Dexter, ME
Robinson, Douglas Great Falls, MT
Saluga, Cheryl Boardman, OH
Sciscoe, Verna Bellingham, WA
Sebastian, Catherine Millford, PA
Shank, Stephanie Elkins, WV
Smith, Jessica Amesbury, MA
Smith, Joe Lowell, MA
Smith, Pamela Thornton, CO
Spillman, Denise Boardman, OH
Steinbach, Bernhard Charlottesville, VA
Stroud, Anita San Jose, CA
Suter, Simone Geneva, Switzerland
Tarpai, William Riverside, CA
Tata, Ted Stoughton, MA
Timmons, Wynona B. Rio Vista, CA
Turner, Marla Las Vegas, NV
Wallace, Angelique Haverford, PA
Walton, Karen Fort Lee, NJ
Walton, Maggie Houston, TX
Wenger, Allen Mountain Home, ID
White, Bridget Baytown, TX
Whittle, Karen Kirkland, WA
Williams Esq., Dr. E. Faye Washington, DC
Williams, Glenn Lincoln, NE
Wilson, John R. Raleigh, NC
Wilson, Kathy Bowie, MD

135
Acknowledgements

136

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