Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from it's
death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts.
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?
>Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got
a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff,
we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after
a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when
The politicians say, 'Stay the course'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the
damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe
I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country
anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in
handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody
seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom -poms' instead of
asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents
and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not
outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest 'C' is Crisis !
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's
easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send
someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in
our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell
of a Mess .So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no
plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit
in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia ,
while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy
policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle
class is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out for
leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask:
'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative
communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence,
and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get
the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making
us
take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent
billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how
to do is
react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane, or
demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial
hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen
again.
Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car
companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to
do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the
debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem.
The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at
our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your
asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked
and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call
them a name? Give me a break.
Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to
light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America . In
my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's
greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the
'GreatDepression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the 'Kennedy
Assassination', the'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:
'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody
else to take action.
Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our
children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in
this book. It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America
It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the
crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
Make a 'real contribution' by sending this to everyone you know and care
about......our future is at stake!
death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts.
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?
>Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got
a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff,
we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after
a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when
The politicians say, 'Stay the course'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the
damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe
I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country
anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in
handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody
seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom -poms' instead of
asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents
and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not
outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest 'C' is Crisis !
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's
easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send
someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in
our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell
of a Mess .So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no
plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit
in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia ,
while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy
policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle
class is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out for
leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask:
'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative
communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence,
and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get
the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making
us
take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent
billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how
to do is
react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane, or
demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial
hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen
again.
Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car
companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to
do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the
debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem.
The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at
our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your
asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked
and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call
them a name? Give me a break.
Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to
light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America . In
my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's
greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the
'GreatDepression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the 'Kennedy
Assassination', the'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:
'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody
else to take action.
Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our
children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in
this book. It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America
It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the
crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
Make a 'real contribution' by sending this to everyone you know and care
about......our future is at stake!
