When he entered the Oval Office - by fate, not by design - Citizen Ford knew that he was not perfect, just as he knew he was not perfect when he left. But what president ever was?
Interpretation
No leader is perfect, and acknowledging one's imperfections is a part of the journey.
This quote reflects the understanding that leadership, particularly at the highest levels such as the presidency, comes with inherent flaws and challenges. Tom Brokaw emphasizes that Gerald Ford recognized his imperfections both when he entered and exited the Oval Office, highlighting the notion that no president, or leader for that matter, can achieve perfection in their role. This sentiment reminds us that leadership is about striving for improvement while accepting that mistakes and shortcomings are part of the human experience.
In practice
During a team meeting, to remind colleagues that mistakes can lead to growth and improvement.
The WWII generation shares so many common values: duty, honor, country, personal responsibility and the marriage vow " For better or for worse--it was the last generation in which, broadly speaking, marriage was a commitment and divorce was not an option
Your grandparents came of age in the Great Depression, when everyday life was about deprivation and sacrifice, when the economic conditions of the time were so grave and so unrelenting it would have been easy enough for the American dream to fade away.
While Pickstown may not be what it once was, it still is framed by the natural beauty of the ancient river, the sweep of the Great Plains, and the long, unbroken shoreline of the lake behind the dam. It gave me a 19th-century childhood in a modern mid-20th-century town, and for that I will always be grateful.
I am simply the most conspicuous part of a large, thoroughly dedicated and professional staff that extends from just behind these cameras, across this country and around the world, in too many instances, in places of grave danger and personal hardship. They're family to me.
I had good care going. I had Meredith and the family. And I didn't want to become the object of some kind of pity, most of all. I didn't want to show up on the Internet, 'Tom Brokaw has cancer.'
Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away.
To make peace, one must be an uncompromising leader. To make peace, one must also embody compromise.
Where the stakes are the highest, in the war on terror, we cannot possibly succeed without extraordinary international cooperation. Effective international police actions require the highest degree of intelligence sharing, planning and collaborative enforcement.
Exercising leadership is an expression of your aliveness... But when you cover yourself up, you risk losing something as well. In the struggle to save yourself, you can give up too many of those qualities that are the essence of being alive, like innocence, curiosity, and compassion.
History has shown that one cannot legislate a culture of integrity. And yet, one of the paramount responsibilities and challenges of corporate leadership is to ensure such a culture.
Each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.
Nobody knows how to be a CEO. It's something you have to learn. It's a very lonely job.
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