Deputy Secretary's Speech

Remarks By Deputy Commerce Secretary David A. Sampson
Abilene Christian University College of Business Emerging Leaders Conference
Dallas, Texas

Thank you, and good afternoon. I want to thank Dr. Richard Lytle, Dean of ACU's College of Business, for the invitation.

I'm a proud graduate of Abilene Christian University, and I'm deeply honored to be one of your keynote speakers. I'm very passionate about our mission of helping young professionals develop sound skills as they take on the responsibility of leadership.

Today our nation probably enjoys the highest standard of living in the world. Nurturing great leaders is a large part of that success.

We agree that men and women serving in business play an indispensable role in society. They lead our communities and our country forward. And they lead us to ever greater prosperity.

President Bush's goal for the U.S. is to keep our edge as the most competitive and innovative economy in the world. This requires the U.S. to remain the best place in the world to invest, to grow businesses and to create jobs. And this conference is dedicated to developing the kind of high quality leadership we need to achieve that goal for this generation, and the generations to come.

One of the true blessings in my life is to have been mentored by great leaders, and to work closely with great leaders every day. I've seen a lot. And I've learned a lot. But to be honest with you, I'm not there yet.

I do not consider myself a great leader. But I do aspire to become one. I aspire to be like many of the leaders I've associated with. And that's what I think is the most important element of leadership.

The key is to know who you are--and to be who you are. Then, surround yourself with people who complement and balance your style.

So today, I want to describe the qualities of successful leaders I have observed throughout my career. I hope this will help you as you develop your own leadership styles.

Let me start with the powerful words of Calvin Coolidge, an American president known best for his strength of character when he was called to lead upon the death of Warren Harding. Coolidge believed leadership to be the greatest calling in life. He said:

Great men are ambassadors of Providence sent to reveal to their fellow man their unknown selves. [Having] a wholesome regard for the memory of great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of great men to come, who shall still be able to instruct, to lead and to inspire.

A leader, whether in business or government, finds it necessary to inspire and persuade, to reorganize, to probe the details and to delegate responsibility. A leader must also deal with the egos and character flaws of individuals. And all the while keeping in mind how the pieces and the plans of the organization fit together into the bigger picture.

Still, it is a common mistake to think that structure, process, and reorganization will suffice to solve a problem. Why is that a mistake? Because quite often, the missing ingredients are leadership, firmness, confidence, and direction, says Steven Hayward, who has written extensively about two of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan.

Studying these leaders, I came to realize that a leader's job is to read the compass, set the direction, move from strategy to action, and rally the troops.

To remind me of these principles as I work through the daily details of managing a federal agency, I keep them in my pocket on a card with an image of a compass. It keeps me on track.

A business, like a government agency or the military, requires a CEO--a commander--who sees the entire scene in strategic terms. This is a person who inspires confidence, who energizes the troops, be they soldiers or employees of a company.

Churchill himself often suggested that the genius of a great leader is the "constant harmony" of holding a variety of great purposes in mind--all at once.

At home, at church, in college, in the boardroom, in Austin at the Governor's office, and now, incredibly, at the Commerce Department and the White House, I've had the opportunity to observe great leaders in action.

Each has had a unique leadership style. And you don't have to be a Jack Welch to be a successful CEO, or a Winston Churchill to lead a country.

I've worked for two Secretaries of Commerce, both very successful as private CEOs, Secretary Evans at Tom Brown Inc., and Secretary Gutierrez at The Kellogg Company. Both are very effective and highly respected as Cabinet Secretaries. Yet, their personalities and leadership styles are completely different. President George W. Bush has a very different style than his father. The lesson: You can't become a great leader by emulating a single leader. It's not that simple.

Still, the great leaders I have known and studied have similar traits. I'll describe them to you, and offer a few examples.

Will to Lead
The first trait is that great leaders have a will to lead. They wanted to lead. They embraced leadership opportunities.

And as you know, leadership is hard work. Great leaders actually enjoy the challenge--the demands--the pressures of leadership. Leaders must desire to persuade others to embrace their vision for change. It can be a risky business.

On the one hand, you ask people to follow. And you don't want to let them down. So there's always the pressure of showing them you were right, and that they were right to follow you. There's the pressure to deliver results. Great leaders are associated with great results. They get results for their people.

But on the other hand, leadership can be a lonely business. When things are rough, when spirits are down, when everyone is wondering if the roof is going to crash on them and the pressure makes people second-guess themselves, the leader doesn't have that luxury.

Everyone is waiting for the leader to show the way. Everyone else can worry; but not the leader. He or she doesn't have that luxury.

Make tough decisions

Second, I have found that great leaders are willing to make the difficult decisions, the tough decisions that no one else seems to want to make. Great leaders never pass the buck to a future generation of leaders. They confront problems, right now, today.

They confront the brutal realities. They meet them head on. They don't ignore them. They tackle them. It's a matter of honor. If you recognize a problem and you have been chosen to be the leader, then it's your responsibility to face up to it and try to fix it.

Today, President Bush is confronting the problems that face our nation and threaten our security and continued prosperity. He's not about to back away just because these are extremely tough issues: global terrorism, corporate scandals, Social Security reform, keeping up American competitiveness and innovative capacity, improving public education, or reducing our dependence on foreign oil. He won't pass the buck. It simply is not in his DNA.

Great leaders also don't procrastinate. They are willing to make the tough call even if people are upset. The leader is willing to take the hit even if assailed from every side. The desire to please people is simply not part of a leader's psychology. Rather, it is the commitment to do what's right regardless of the personal costs.

Bigger than self

Third, great leaders believe in something bigger than themselves: They serve a transcendent purpose and cause. And people will always notice, especially those you're asking to follow, they'll always wonder if you're trying to serve a greater good.

My experience, my observation, has been that if people see a leader is only looking out for his own best interest, then they won't follow him. At least they won't follow you as far as you're asking them.

People are looking for someone who is willing to look at the bigger picture, to serve a transcendent good.

And so, while it runs against the conventional wisdom, great leaders are the greatest servants. Great leaders lead by serving because they believe in something greater than themselves.

The last quality of great leaders that I have observed is a great sense of humility. Ironically, those who accomplish the most are the ones who brag the least.

In making this point to senior executives at the Department of Commerce, Secretary Gutierrez recounted one of his father's favorite Cuban sayings: "Tell me what you brag about, and I'll tell you what you lack."

I believe you can tell a lot about a leader by observing how they treat people who can do absolutely nothing for them, the "invisible people" in an organization.

Last November, I was in Beijing and spoke at the China-U.S. Relations: Trade, Diplomacy, and Research conference at the invitation of President George H.W. Bush, who sponsors the biannual event.

At a reception on the first night, someone approached the former President to have a picture taken. He turned around to face the camera and in the process accidentally bumped into a young waitress causing the tray of drinks she was holding to crash to the floor. The room fell silent. And I was amazed to see the former President kneeling on the floor helping the waitress pick up the shattered glass. Immediately one of the hosts said, "Oh, Mr. President please don't worry about this. We'll get someone to clean it up." He replied, "I bumped into her. The least I can do is help clean up [the mess]." The lesson: great leaders have a profound sense of humility.

In closing, let me leave you with a final thought that goes to the very nature of leadership. And I think this is what separates great leaders from ordinary leaders.

Great leaders are optimists. Optimists focus on the future--a better, more hopeful future. Optimists make decisions. They don't dwell on the past. And that's true when leading in the family, at church, in business or in government.

On winning the Rose Bowl in 2005, Mack Brown, the Texas Long Horn coach, may have said it best in the locker room after the game. After congratulating the team on its win over USC, Coach Brown said:

Finally, this is the most important thing I want you to hear tonight. Remember that we love you. Be proud of what you have accomplished, and enjoy this moment. Let this be a great thing in life, but don't let it be the best thing that ever happens in your life. Go on from here, be great husbands and great dads, and make a difference.

I sincerely hope that from my thoughts and experiences, I have been able to add something positive to the conference and to inspire each of you to excel in the leadership opportunities that lie ahead for you.

Thank you.