Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Charles P. Garcia is a former White House Fellow, bestselling author, graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Columbia Law School, and bestselling author. In 2006, he sold his investment banking firm, which grew from three people to 60 offices in seven countries; Inc. magazine identified it as one of the top ten fastest-growing privately held companies in the country. Garcia was named entrepreneur of the year by three national organizations. He is on the boards of Fortune 500 companies and serves as Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy. For more information, go to www.charlespgarcia.com.

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Enduring Leadership Wisdom from America's Halls of Power

“In this excellent book, Garcia provides readers with splendid examples of what it takes to make a difference in our turbulent world."
--Tom Johnson, former CEO, CNN; former publisher, Los Angeles Times

“This book distills leadership lessons from generations of inspiring individuals and is a must-read for anyone doing his or her part to make the world a better place.”
--Alexander Friedman, Chief Financial Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“Garcia's book captures the many remarkable stories of numerous White House Fellows and makes accessible their valuable lessons learned on the path to leadership.”
--Michelle Peluso, CEO, Travelocity

“Leadership has never been more important than it is today, and this book helps us understand better how future American leaders can be developed.”
--Robert L. Joss, Dean, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

“Garcia has captured unique insights from men and women who have benefitted from the opportunity to work and serve alongside some of the nation's top leaders. It is a treasure trove of ideas about what successful leaders do to get results.”
--Rear Admiral Marty Evans, U.S. Navy (retired); former president, American Red Cross; former National Executive Director, Girl Scouts of the USA

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LEADERSHIP LESSONS OF THE WHITE HOUSE FELLOWS

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Contents

Chapter One

A genuinely free society cannot be a spectator society. Freedom, in its deepest sense, requires participation—full, zestful, knowledgeable participation. Toward that end, I have today established a new program entitled the White House Fellows.

—President Lyndon Baines Johnson, October 3, 1964

BOURBON AND BRANCH WATER

For a young man, Air Force Major John Pustay already had accomplished a lot. The New Jersey native had served as a military officer in South Korea and Japan, earned a doctorate, published a book on counterinsurgency warfare, and taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Although only one military officer had made it into the first class of fifteen White House Fellows in 1965, he decided to apply for the prestigious program. After a grueling selection process, he was chosen in 1966 and assigned to work for Secretary of State Dean Rusk.

Pustay knew that as a Fellow he would be given access to people and places in government that are generally off limits to everyone but the best-positioned Washington insiders, but nothing had prepared him for the experience he was about to have. In his first month as a Fellow, Secretary Rusk sent him to the Oval Office to take notes for him at an impromptu meeting between President Lyndon Johnson and some of his most trusted foreign policy advisors. The Vietnam War was in full swing, and the topics of the meeting were the American response to an insurrection within South Vietnam's leadership and target selection for the bombing of North Vietnam as part of Operation Rolling Thunder.

Pustay recalled the small group huddled around the president: Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy, Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms, and General Earle Wheeler, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The young major listened intently and took copious notes so that he could give Secretary Rusk a proper briefing on the important meeting. "So everybody leaves, and I am the junior guy, so I am going to be the last guy out," Pustay recalled. "And as I'm leaving, the president taps me on the shoulder and he says, 'Would you like to have a bourbon and branch water?' I did not know what the heck branch water was, but if the commander in chief asks you to have bourbon and branch water, you probably ought to do it."

The president summoned a steward, who quickly produced a bottle of bourbon and a pitcher of clear liquid. Pustay soon discovered—much to his relief—that branch water is just a southern term for fresh water. The two men settled onto the sofa in the Oval Office, Pustay sipping his bourbon, the president his scotch and soda, while engaging in small talk for most of an hour. During a lull in the conversation, Pustay swirled the amber liquid in his glass and marveled at the fact that he actually was sitting in the Oval Office sharing a drink with the president of the United States. He knew that being a White House Fellow had its benefits, but this was beyond his wildest dream—the folks back in New Jersey would never believe it! He smiled to himself and took another sip, enjoying the whiskey's rich flavor and smoky aroma, and he was about to congratulate the president on his fine taste in bourbon when he looked up to see Johnson's eyes welling with tears. "Mr. President," Pustay said. "I didn't realize, perhaps, the gravity of the situation we discussed in that meeting and the decisions that you had to make there."

"No, that's not it," Johnson said in his soft drawl. "I am very sad right now because this is still Jack Kennedy's house. Jack had charm—he was witty and handsome. And here I am, just a poor Texas schoolteacher, a dirt farmer. Since we got back from Dallas, the only one who has ever accepted me here at the White House is Lady Bird."

Pustay sat with President Johnson, reflecting on the private thoughts of the man who dominated public life with the historic passage of sweeping Great Society legislation aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice. President Johnson continued to talk about some of the burdens of that great office. Starting to feel self-conscious because he was taking up too much of the president's valuable time, Pustay said, "Sir, I think it's probably time for me to leave."

"Yeah, young man," Johnson said. "You know, thanks for listening."

That experience taught Pustay early on that even the most powerful leaders are human and that at the core, it is emotion that drives human behavior. He has recalled that lesson often throughout his distinguished military career. It undoubtedly helped guide him as he rose to the rank of three-star general, served as the lead advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and led the National Defense University as its president. Forty-two years later, Pustay counts his experience as a White House Fellow—especially that extraordinary hour as President Johnson's confidant over a glass of bourbon and branch water—as one of his most cherished memories.

President Johnson had opened the door to the White House with the new Fellowship program. Whether or not he intended it, he also had opened a window for Fellows to witness firsthand how the nation's top leaders personally cope with the burdens of immense responsibility, impossible expectations, and brutal public criticism, a side of their essential humanity the general public rarely gets to see.

A "RHODES SCHOLARSHIP" FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

Each year since 1965, the White House Fellows program has granted exclusive access to the Oval Office and other Washington power chambers to some of the nation's most promising young leaders. Similar to the Rhodes Scholarship competition in which thirty-two of the nation's brightest college graduates are selected each year to study in Oxford, England, the White House Fellowships are offered to a handful of young Americans from all walks of life, who spend a year working at the highest levels of government, learning the process of leading a nation. Out of the thousands of applications submitted for Fellowships each year, fewer than twenty outstanding people—mostly in their late twenties and early thirties—are chosen to work in the executive branch with cabinet secretaries, the vice president, and senior White House officials. Indeed, nearly forty Rhodes Scholars over the years have gone on to become White House Fellows. The formal purpose of the White House Fellows program is "to provide gifted and highly motivated young Americans with some first-hand experience in the process of governing the Nation and a sense of personal involvement in the leadership of society." What's really special is the access to the people, places, and procedures that are at the heart of governing the world's most prosperous and powerful nation.

During his Fellowship year in the Office of Management and Budget, former Secretary of State Colin Powell [White House Fellow (WHF) 72–73] recalled the opinion of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) public relations director who thought the Fellowships gave young people too much access to the down-and-dirty inner workings of government. "It's like letting little children watch the sex act," he told Powell. "Now, there's nothing...