Hope is Not a Strategy
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Hope is NOT a Strategy:
Leadership Lessons from the Obama Presidency

By D. M. Lukas and John L. Mariotti  ©2012 All Rights Reserved


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The phrase “Hope is not a strategy” was first used in recent times by Benjamin Ola Akande, an economist, scholar, and Dean of the Business School at Webster University in Saint Louis in an open letter to President Barack Obama in 2009. What Akande meant was that Obama – and any other president – needed to act. He cannot wish away problems. There must be a concentrated effort to solve problems and to increase opportunities. Sitting around thinking about how the current situation could be better would not change anything. Certainly, hope and prayer can help, but one must also be prepared to do his/her part in achieving the goal.

Our purpose in this book is less to be critical of Barack Obama and his presidency, and more to find the lessons in the mistakes made, so they are less likely to be repeated.  We believe that failures represent some of the greatest of life’s learning opportunities.  By taking these very public and very painful failures and extracting the lessons from them, we want to help future generations to avoid those mistakes—those failures. 

Most of all, we know that these lessons can be transferred to the world of business too—especially in the United States of America.  It is our fervent belief that many of these lessons will help Americans in all walks of life be more successful, and they, in turn, will help our great nation return to economic growth and prosperity.


Table of Contents:


INTRODUCTION:  Hope is Not A Strategy

I.          LEADERSHIP

CHAPTER ONE: Style Is Only More Important Than Substance—Temporarily

CHAPTER TWO: Speeches Are Not Plans—or Strategies 

CHAPTER THREE: Don’t Change Your Values to Fit Your Audiences

CHAPTER FOUR: You Never Win Pitting Groups in an Organization Against Each Other

CHAPTER FIVE: Integrity Is Your Most Important Asset

CHAPTER SIX: What Do You Do When Nobody Is Following Your Lead?

II.        EXPERIENCE AND PEOPLE

CHAPTER SEVEN: There’s No Substitute for Real Experience

CHAPTER EIGHT: You Are Only as Good as the People You Surround Yourself with

CHAPTER NINE: You Are Known by the Company You Keep

CHAPTER TEN: Stay Humble, Don’t Believe Your Own Hype

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Beware the Pretender

III.       TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES

CHAPTER TWELVE: Words And How You Use Them ARE Powerful

CHAPTER: THIRTEEN  Be Prepared To Deal With The Consequences of Your Actions

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:  When You Don’t Have The Answer—Don’t Try To Sound Like You Do

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:  Take Responsibility For Your Actions—and Your Mistakes

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:  There Are No Successful Victims

IV.       MISTAKES AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:  Noble Intentions Don’t Justify Screwing Up

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: If Something Is Too Big To Fail, It Will!

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Throwing Money At Problems Doesn’t Fix Them

CHAPTER TWENTY:  All Spending Is Not “Investment”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:  Victory By Definition Isn’t Victory

V.         HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:  Change For Change Sake Can Be Harmful

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:  Wishing Doesn’t Make It Happen

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:  Tactical Executives Lose…Strategic Executives Win

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: The Humpty-Dumpty Principle

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Understand Your Customer Before You Try To Sell Them Something

VI.       TIMELESS TRUTHS

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Take Care Of The Stakeholders…They’ll Take Care Of You

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Lack Of Focus Will Sink You

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: Accountability Will Make You

CHAPTER THIRTY: The Definition Of Insanity

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: Make Three Envelopes

D. M. Lukas and John L. Mariotti, Columbus, OH 2012


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