Let’s Zoom Out a Bit

Let’s Zoom Out a Bit

A month from today, we’ll be basking in the post-4th of July glow…or nursing a national identity hangover.

In the meantime: another week, another firehose.

Travel bans. Pride flags. A tax bill that spikes the deficit while slashing Medicare and threatening philanthropy. A retirement age hike on deck. The Social Innovation Summit buzzing in San Francisco.

And today? World Environment Day. (Check out the Good Recommendation below for more.)

Each headline feels like the most important - because depending on who you are, it probably is.

But this week’s edition isn’t about these issues - it’s about how we frame them.

Back in grad school at the Clinton School of Public Service, a classmate (hey, John!) asked a question I’ve never stopped thinking about:

Do we want to be the world’s leader…or just its boss?

That’s the lens I’m borrowing this week. I invite you to try it, too.

Let’s do (more) good (better)—with perspective—together.



A Good Quote

“You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.” —President Dwight D. Eisenhower


 

A Good Note

America: The World’s Leader, or Just Its Boss?

Let’s talk about power, posture, and how a country shows up.

Right now, America is loud, busy, and a bit messy. But are we actually leading - or just being bossy?

We call ourselves the richest country on Earth. But we’re not the most generous.

We claim the best education system. But we’re gutting trust in it and walling it off from the global talent that  helps power it.

We insist we have the best healthcare. And maybe we do if you’re already sick, already rich, and already inside the system. But as a system for keeping people healthy and thriving? We’re failing. The data doesn’t lie (unless you lie about the data).

We champion immigration on paper, on statues (hey, Lady Liberty), and in slogans, but the actual policies and enforcement paint a very different picture.

Travel bans. Workplace raids. Political theater, not public service. With dire, gut-wrenching human consequences when you skip the slogans and look at your fellow human.

Even our foreign policy -  historically anchored in principles - is becoming more transactional. Less Liberty, more leverage. Less coalition, more coercion.

So what does that all add up to?

It adds up to a country that feels less like the world’s leader and more like its boss.

And we all know the difference.

People follow great leaders because they’re inspired, included, and invested.

People tolerate bad bosses…until they don’t.

In a moment this chaotic,  contested,  consequential, we need a lodestar. Something to help us evaluate not just what we think, but how we think about all of it.

So here’s my recommendation, from now through July 4th (and, of course, beyond):

Ask of every major policy, program, or political move: Does this make America a world leader…or just its boss?

Because with great power comes great responsibility. And if you want the world to follow, you have to lead.

If we lead with inclusion, generosity, fairness, foresight, it’s leadership. If it rules through fear, exclusion, dominance, or short-term wins, it’s boss behavior.

We’re better than that. And we know it.

It’s cool…we can have discussions and differences of opinion about scope, degree, and where blurry boundaries should be. But there is a difference between being a leader and just being a boss.  

Try applying that lens and see where any given analysis lands.

What would a leader do?


A Good Example


Article content
Ocean Plastic Solution?

Ocean Plastic Solution?

Spend any time looking into the ocean plastic crisis and you’ll see it’s a disaster unfolding in real time. Like, catastrophically bad.

Which is why this story caught my eye.

A university-led breakthrough rooted in science, discovery, and innovation tackling a real, global problem we can’t afford to ignore.

University. Science. Discovery. Solutions.

Read the story → Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours.


 

A Good Recommendation


Article content
One of the most important videos you'll ever watch. Ever.

Now Let’s Zoom Out a Lot: The Pale Blue Dot

On this World Environment Day (which, to be honest, I didn’t know was a thing), here’s a bit of cosmic perspective on how we show up on the world stage.

In this Space Camp alum’s mind, this is the kind of perspective that matters most.

There’s nothing political about caring for our planet. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. As Carl reminds us—it’s the only home we’ve ever known.

Give yourself the gift...and the perspective.


 

A Good Question

What’s a trait  you admire most in great leaders?

Click to Answer!


 

Share the Good!

Share this with (or tag) a leader you admire. Tell them this made you think of them.

Phenomenal read Scott. Really value this clear distinction you make.

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