Daily Lesson from Life 20 January 2009

I am watching President-elect Obama inauguration as the 44th President of USA as I write this blog!

It is a historical moment for sure. A powerful symbolic moment for democracy as he is going to be the 1st black African American to be the President!!

I will reiterate what I shared when he won the President election for President Obama:

1. the expectations of Americans and the world of his administration are simply exceedingly high! He needs to keep this in perspective and manage that pressure! He will have to be honest and regularly update the progress or the lack of it and even setbacks on a timely basis. It will be tragic if he makes the mistake many prominent leaders in politic and business in recent times who tried to lie to keep the 'momentum and the glory on for a few more minutes and days and weeks' only to be exposed as cheats! e.g. Enron of old, Satyam of the latest scandal unveiled, Madoff's US$50b Ponzi Scheme, etc...;

2. get his team to pledge publicly and in a transparent manner that they are working for the people and not just for him! They will be team players who will speak their minds and work collaboratively for the good of America. Of course, they know who is the boss. They also know that the boss wants to hear divergent views and engage in robust and vigorous discussion before coming to a consensus or when there is a deadlock, the boss will decide and all will follow through as one!;

3. keep in touch with the people with whom he owned his Presidency to - the ordinary Americans. Make sure he still meet these people regularly with scheduled and unscheduled visits to the field. Feel the pulse on the streets regularly. Do not get isolated too much by the powerful people that are in your inner circle!

There are a lot to be done and a lot to achieve. There is an unique opportunity to do great things for America and the world.

I wish him all the best in this historical journey.