THE 100-Mile Walk A FATHER AND SON ON A QUEST TO FIND THE ESSENCE OF LEADERSHIP Sander A. Flaum and Jonathon A. Flaum with Mechele Flaum Foreword by John Glenn A M E R I C A N M A N A G E M E N T A S S O C I A T I O N New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City San Francisco • Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C. ................. 11562$ $$FM 10-12-05 13:38:55 PS PAGE iii Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Tel.: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212-903-8083. Website: www.amacombooks.org This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Flaum, Sander A., 1937- The 100-mile walk : a father and son on a quest to find the essence of leadership / Sander A. Flaum and Jonathon A. Flaum with Mechele Flaum ; foreword by John Glenn. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8144-0863-X (hardcover) 1. Leadership. I. Title: One hundred mile walk. II. Flaum, Jonathon A., 1968– III. Flaum, Mechele, 1950– IV. Title. HD57.7F593 2006 303.3⬘4—dc22 2005020263 䉷 2006 Sander A. Flaum All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 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Printing number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ................. 11562$ $$FM 10-12-05 13:38:56 PS PAGE iv CONT EN T S F O R E W O R D The Leadership Enigma, by John Glenn vii A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S xi P R O L O G U E Walking the Rocky Road 1 C H A P T E R 1 People: When Ideas Lead, People Follow 22 C H A P T E R 2 Purpose: Before You Set Sail, Know Your Direction 52 C H A P T E R 3 Passion: A Fire That Warms 75 ................. 11562$ CNTS 10-12-05 13:39:09 PS PAGE v vi • Contents C H A P T E R 4 Performance: Results Don’t Lie 95 C H A P T E R 5 Persistence: ‘‘No’’ Is Only for Today 111 C H A P T E R 6 Perspective: The Seeing Is in the Doing 137 C H A P T E R 7 Paranoia: Never Take Your Eye off the Ball 156 C H A P T E R 8 Principles: A Leader’s Cornerstone 174 C H A P T E R 9 Practice: It Never Stops 197 C H A P T E R 1 0 Coda: The Tenth P—Providence 206 E P I L O G U E What We Know Now That We Didn’t Know Then 211 A P P E N D I X A Resources 215 A P P E N D I X B About the Leaders Discussed in This Book 219 I N D E X 245 A B O U T T H E A U T H O R S 253 ................. 11562$ CNTS 10-12-05 13:39:09 PS PAGE vi F O R EWORD The Leadership Enigma My dad told me stories of his service in the First World War in France, and my hometown of New Concord, Ohio, resembled the one in the famed Broadway hit The Music Man. There was not a better place to grow up in America. Because of my father, the warmth and purpose of the people of New Concord, and a great high school civics teacher, the desire to serve my country found its way into my heart early and burns as brightly today as it ever did. When we founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at the Ohio State University in 1998, our vision was to create a place where young people could be inspired to pub- lic service the way I was years ago. After a life in the military, NASA, and the United States Senate, I knew that there was still much work to be done. Who would be our next generation of lead- ers? Who would train and inspire them? How would they know that public service is not only an honor but a great joy? I wanted to build a place that grappled with these questions and was prepared ................. 11562$ FRWD 10-12-05 13:39:30 PS PAGE vii viii • Foreword to develop innovative responses to them. I am proud to say that in the years since founding the institute, we have made great strides down this road—though a long way is left to travel. When Sander and Jonathon asked me to talk to them about this book, I told them that I don’t know any more about leadership than anyone else. I know there are shelves full of books on the subject—I read many of them starting from the time I was in the Marine Corps—but still, the subject feels like a great mystery to me. I was relieved to hear that it was a mystery to Sander and Jonathon too, because sometimes struggling with our questions is more important than trying to present neatly packaged answers. As this father and son team persisted, I decided to get involved for two reasons. The first reason is that this book does not presume answers; it asks probing questions. It analyzes real-life leaders from different walks of life who are acting as leaders out in the field. Not simply the well-known leaders either, but those folks just making things happen every day. This is not a book about the beliefs of leadership; it is a book about how real people practice leadership in a variety of circumstances. I think this is the only way to understand the leadership enigma, to study the practices of real leaders. The second reason, and probably the most compelling one, is that this book is written by a father and son of very different gener- ations and points of view. The book models its own message that leaders from the next generation must step up and take an active role. I make no bones about the fact that I want to inspire young people to get involved in public service leadership positions. I want them to understand the joys, duties, and rewards of such an en- deavor. This book speaks to young people. It invites them to develop their own leadership practice. It is a call to action for them without being a diatribe. This book illustrates what I aim to do with young ................. 11562$ FRWD 10-12-05 13:39:30 PS PAGE viii Foreword • ix people every day—to hold a dialogue. The book puts the older generation and younger generation in discussion together for the purpose of discovering what qualities make someone a good leader. We need to ask these questions together. We need to make a space for every age and generation to lead together, and understand each other, so we can fulfill missions that are bigger than ourselves. When I orbited the earth that first time, I was struck by how fragile the atmosphere is—how precious the whole earthly experi- ence is for us. The feeling of that orbit has never left me. Our responsibility to serve and lead is awesome. If this next generation is not inspired and prepared, we are in big trouble. May this book serve as a guidepost to a life of leadership in which the mission is always about something bigger—something further out there be- yond the horizon. —John Glenn ................. 11562$ FRWD 10-12-05 13:39:31 PS PAGE ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FROM SANDER Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known. —Garrison Keillor The vision for this book rose out of my intense curiosity about the activity of leadership . . . whatever leadership really means. As John Glenn writes in the foreword, I’m not sure I can ever define the term leadership; but I sure can describe it when I see it executed by other people. I am privileged to have been mentored and sur- rounded by some wonderful, wonderful people who are profiled in this book. They have taught me, my students, Jonathon, and Mech- ele how people are inspired, how passion is instilled, and how great ................. 11562$ $ACK 10-12-05 13:39:53 PS PAGE xi xii • Acknowledgments executions are manifested. The people we have written about and studied are people who have accomplished much in their lives for their firms, for their cities, for their universities, and for the people who have been privileged to work with them and for them. My deep thanks to Jonathon and Mechele, who helped me so much to think, write, and express my thoughts on leadership and who made laughter part of the big deliverables. Getting back to Garrison Keillor and his description of luck, I am grateful that I have wonderful children in Pamela and Jonathon and am surrounded by their loving (and brilliant) children. I found later in my life an extraordinary human being who is supportive and loving, my wonderful wife, Mechele. Without her inspiration, logic, and support, The 100-Mile Walk would never have been written. Also, I would like to thank Adrienne Hickey, our very talented editor at AMACOM, and her excellent colleagues, particularly de- velopment editor Barry Richardson; and Florence Stone, editorial director of marketing communications for the American Manage- ment Association. My hat is off as well to a great leader at AMA, Bob Smith. The book focuses in the main on the speakers at the Fordham Leadership Forum. I am indebted to former Dean Ernest Scalberg and ex-President Reverend Joseph O’Hare for recruiting me to start the Leadership Forum at Fordham. I salute the present dean of Business, Dr. Sharon Smith, and, of course, Reverend Joseph M. McShane, president of Fordham University, one of my mentors, and a man I respect greatly. Lastly, thanks to my book agents, Jan Miller and Michael Broussard of Dupree-Miller & Associates, for their understanding and belief in this book concept and for all they did to get our first book published by the folks at AMACOM. ................. 11562$ $ACK 10-12-05 13:39:54 PS PAGE xii