Presidential Principles for the CEO

CEOs can learn a lot about leadership from US presidents. Some of that learning comes by negative example, but there are plenty of presidents who left us with positive lessons too.

On this Presidents Day, here are three presidential principles I incorporate into my training for CEOs.

Eisenhower: Influence Over Control

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower

I use Eisenhower’s quote as my standard definition of leadership. The brilliance of it is that it acknowledges the integral role of influence and persuasion in leadership. No CEO gets people to act by issuing orders. You have to explain the why behind your vision, to show people how they will benefit personally if the vision is achieved, to make them WANT to achieve it with you.

Eisenhower famously convinced a group of young soldiers to storm a beach while knowing that many of them would not return. If he could do that, your challenge pales by compar…