FT.com | John Gapper’s Business Blog | Obama still has some lessons for business

January 10, 2008

Obama still has some lessons for business

My Financial Times column this week is on Barack Obama and what chief executives can learn from him about leadership. You can read it here and comment below.

January 10th, 2008 in Management | Permalink

7 Responses to “Obama still has some lessons for business”

Comments

Thank you for the article. This is one of the best summation on what and why I support and will work to have Barack as my CEO in the White House.
Posted by: Mary | January 10th, 2008 at 10:19 am | Report this comment
An excellent article you have distilled the essence of the obama factor. When so much has been written about him in the media you stand alone and pull out the salient themes.In an age where change is all about us both politically, socially and in the economic spheres. We need to rely less on media that just regurgitates with the same old unorginal thoughts to ones that enable us to examine, reflect and challange our own thoughts and views to build our own capacity to deal with age of change in the 21st Century.
Posted by: david | January 10th, 2008 at 11:57 am | Report this comment
They can’t hope to match his skills as a speaker??? Are you watching the same Barack Obama as I am? This guy must have marbles in his mouth! He stumbles through speeches pausing and you can almost see the wheel turning.He NEVER gives a straight answer and just right off the bat struck me as a completely fake and insincere person. The same is true for almost all of the candidates…..this is a sad presidential race.Bottom line what he says is rhetoric…..he represents the status quo! I don’t see him wanting to reform our messed up tax system like some other candidates…..and they are republicans!
Posted by: paul roselino | January 10th, 2008 at 3:02 pm | Report this comment
G-D BLESS AMERiCA … WeARE ONeNATiON “CONSTiTUTiONALL” iNDiViSiBLE IN ALMIGHT G-D WHO IS ONE WeTRUST

THANK YOU FOR YOUR A2zAMAZeMiND INSIGHT ABOUT “OBAMA” LOVE THE ARTISTIC CREATIVE FREEDOM EXPRESSION GRAPHIC IMPRESSION … GLOBLLY WHICH EXPRESSES & SAYS iT ALL for US LOCALLY NATIONWIDE

With your permission & to your credit … I have email & reposted this blog everywhere I can
Posted by: Abdul Hakeem Hasan | January 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pm | Report this comment
It would be great if presidential candidates actually spoke to voters like a close friend, i.e. with honesty and empathy, as well as admitting deficiencies in experience or knowledge. Unfortunately, everyone and especially the media is more than ready to criticize anything that the candidates do or say. Expecting the human qualities that we see among our colleagues, family, and friends in candidates on a consistent basis is impossible. Sure, Obama seems fake and unwilling to give a straight answer a lot of the time, but then again, I cannot recall when I saw a politician not do that.
Posted by: steven | January 11th, 2008 at 5:08 am | Report this comment
Lesson 1,

If you don’t say much of anything, the FT will continue to write puff pieces like this and ignore your voting record and campaign positions.

Comparing Obama’s managerial skills to Rick Wagoner, who has seen his GM stock drop almost 50% in the last 3 months may be accurate, but it certainly isn’t flattering.

JBP
Posted by: John Powers | January 11th, 2008 at 6:29 pm | Report this comment
It is difficult to take Mr. Gapper’s columns seriously when he quotes the likes of Peter Wehner of Commentary who objected to the reference by George W. Bush to the situation in the Palestinian territories as an “occupation” in a recent post on his blog .
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/wehner/1884

It is a noisy political discourse in the US now and there are many sources to cite. Mr. Gapper could cast his net wider in looking for founts of received wisdom. Neocon Commentary doesn’t impress.
Posted by: FT Readers Deserve Better | January 12th, 2008 at 5:10 pm | Report this comment