John, I want to clarify something that may or may not have been clear when we touched upon politics. What I said regarding not getting into political conversation in your role as CEO I meant and stand by. That is a separate conversation as a private citizen and it works to draw that line. As to your own development, it is useful to examine public leadership for what you can learn and perhaps apply in the private sector ….all useful and appropriate. To be clear with you, as a citizen I am what would likely be called an Independent/ Democrat ( understanding that labels never fully represent or express the person that they label) in that I reserve the right to assess and examine any thing and every thing on its own for what I perceive to be its merits….whom does something benefit, and in what ways, and who does it cost and in what ways, and not just financially but also in terms of rights, fairness, effectiveness …and I reserve the right to learn from and align with certain principled conservatives…..John McCain, Max Boot who wrote for him and the WSJ and wrote a book on why he switched parties , and George Will who wrote The Conservative Sensibility and most all genuine conservatives recognize him as a very well read and deeply thoughtful thinker…..I respect Mitt Romney in many ways particularly his stand for integrity as I very much do Liz Cheney. All of these conservatives, btw, all oppose Trump as does The Lincoln Project which used to do nasty ads for Republicans but turned against Trump with equal nastiness…most of these leaders are astounded by DT’s lack of integrity, consistency, decency, honesty, an authentic stand for anything bigger than himself, i.e., character. Character indeed matters in leadership arguably more than anything else.

I do not want to discourage you from thinking through and finding your own voice as a citizen. Democracy is participatory or else it dies. And keep your work, thoughts and actions as a citizen separate and distinct from your role as CEO. And I do invite you to be an active citizen…………..however you do so. I support the Voter Participation Center that registers millions of voters….both Democrats and Republicans…. of the 42! Million unregistered yet eligible voters in the US. Also I work with FridayAction.org that mobilizes grass roots citizens to get out the vote (postcards, calls, visits, registration forms) ……..citizen participation is requisite for our system. That is the heart of being a CEO and an active, impactful private citizen. I hope this is useful.