In his January 23, 2010 Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, Thomas Friedman offers some advice to President Obama. The advice targets job creation and while the author exhorts Obama to abandon the backroom politics of Congress and revitalize “the amazing, young, Internet-enabled, grass-roots movement he mobilized to get elected,” Friedman misses his own point.
He suggests that Obama bring together “America’s leading innovators” and ask them what government should do to stimulate innovation. Yes, Friedman does imply that President Obama should use his position and charisma to focus the country on the future…but Friedman implores Obama to make his own “Moon Shot”… in reference to a very inspirational film produced by NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship). He also suggests…” that Obama should arrange for this movie to be shown in every classroom in America.” The most effective way for any level of government to stimulate innovation is to get out of the way!
The lesson of the Massachusetts Senate race is people want less government not more!
I don’t want to target Obama or the Democrats on this issue, the Republicans and every modern President (beginning with FDR) must shoulder their share of the blame. Obama and leaders at every level of government should focus on removing government barriers to business formation and innovation. They should use their leadership positions to encourage the public to actively pursue the American Dream…and to assure them that it is still alive and well.
There are two kinds of leadership; the one with which we are most familiar is leadership by telling…telling the citizens what they should do, or more often legislating it…the other kind of leadership occurs when the leader uses his/her position to inform, convince and coach the intended result from the citizenry. Of course, the latter is more powerful, but it requires the leader to respect and trust his citizens.
So, my advice to our elected officials…inform, inspire and get out of the way…and trust the American People.
Tags: Barack Obama, Economy, Entrepreneurship, Government, Thomas Friedman