We all know the person. They tell you about all the great things they have done and all they will do for you and your organization. When it is time to show up and work they are nowhere to be found. They always have an excuse. Talk is cheap. It is actions that count.
I teach the leaders on my high school soccer team, “When it comes to leadership, example isn’t the main thing, it is the only thing. If you want your people to be on time you need to be on time. If you want your people to work hard you need to work hard.” We can never expect our people to work any harder than we work. We need to watch our attitude because our people will reflect our attitude whether it is positive or negative.
One thing that all great leaders have in common is they won’t ask their people to do anything they haven’t done or wouldn’t do. We respect this kind of person. At work they are not a boss they are a leader and we will not only do what they ask, we will do a little extra because we respect them personally, not just their title or position.
We should apply this same principal to politics and our potential leaders. They all have a great story to tell about what they will do for us. We have all seen how quickly some politicians forget the promises they made after they are elected. This shouldn’t be a big surprise. They most likely have a history of big talk and no action. If a person has a history of cheating on their spouse(s) and remarries, we aren’t surprised when they cheat on their new spouse. Our past leaves clues about our real values and our future actions.
When it comes to the elections this year (national and local) we need to think about the type of leaders we are electing. There are a lot of national issues but for me energy is the big issue. The availability and cost of energy, particularly petroleum, will determine our life style and even our freedom. You can’t fly a fighter jet on wind power or run a tank on solar power. They run on petroleum.
Looking at just this one important issue, we have Hillary and Bernie promising to ban or regulate fracking out of existence in the USA. We have fracked almost every well we have drilled in the last 60 years. Fracking is like putting tires on a car. If a well can’t be fracked it isn’t drilled. We have done over 2 million fracks in the USA with few problems. The process is safer and has less environmental impact than driving a car or flying an airplane. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have actually improved the environment in the USA by lowering CO2 emissions through the expanded use of natural gas, by bringing industry back to the USA to operate under our environmental laws and by creating wildlife habitat for deer, birds and other animals.
If Hillary and Bernie really believe that fracking should be banned in the USA then they need to be true leaders and set the example by not using the products of fracking. They need to park their private jet plane, their campaign buses and even limos. These all use petroleum and petrochemicals from wells that have been fracked. We won’t see them on Twitter anymore because they need to ban their cell phones and computers. (Plastic again) Abraham Lincoln didn’t need a microphone. They won’t be able to use one either. (Plastic from petrochemicals again) This is a start but it would send a message to the voters that they will do what they say.
Maybe they don’t understand energy and how important fracking is to the US economy and our freedom. I suggest that they educate themselves and then have the courage as a true leader to change their position. On the other hand maybe their plan is to ban fracking here and to buy our oil and petrochemicals from OPEC and Russia. (Who will still be fracking) This will put OPEC back in control of world oil prices and our gasoline prices. Maybe ISIS will sell us oil to finance their war effort. If that is the plan then Bernie and Hillary should at least tell us to plan on paying $5 per gallon or more for gasoline, more for utilities and for everything else we buy. That would be showing integrity and leadership.
The absolute power is in our hands as voters. We need to understand the truth about our energy and true leadership. Only then can we make the wise decisions that will ensure a positive future for our children and grandchildren.
Thoughts to ponder.