We’ve really been put through it.
Truthfully, we put ourselves through it.
We built an economic system that created a massive wealth gap, that sucked our core values down a pipe drain, that chased immediate and unreasonable profit over our collective mental health.
And now we face an accountability crisis in our political realm. This is no ordinary moment in American history. This is a moment of national character taking shape, and I have to tell you, in the past 40-years we’ve failed these, one after the other.
Accountability is a keystone trait of character. In leadership, and in our day to day lives, because to be human is to make mistakes.
We all do.
The thing that keeps us sane, both ourselves and the people around us, is owning up to those mistakes and failures.
Owning your failures allows you to move on. Allows all of us to move on. Denial keeps us tied to a stake in the ground, and there lies madness.
There is no greater lesson of leadership than failure. Believe me, I’ve had epic failure in my life, but learning those lessons has made me a better person. It’s helped my productivity, my leadership, and my confidence. Knowing you can fail gives you the courage you need to take risk, true risk, in business and life.
So yes, we’ve put ourselves in this national moment. It’s a moment filled with risk. And a challenge of national character. I’m skeptical how we will meet this moment, but it’s also an incredible opportunity to grow, to strengthen our character, and in those terms maybe the perfect crisis for our times.