Page 12 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

PREFACE

auditors and leading to criminal charges being filed against almost a dozen
executives. She then began a major corporate reorganization, ruffling many
egos, which ultimately led to her being fired. Imagine also what it was like
for Francis Harvey, a Fellow from the class of 1977–1978 who was men-
tored by Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, who nearly thirty years later
in 2007 was dealt a similar blow as the one delivered to Pfeiffer when, as
Secretary of the Army, he reached a critical impasse with his political supe-
riors over the appropriate level of funding to sustain the war readiness of
his soldiers. Harvey made the tough decision not to compromise, placing
his reputation and the Army he led at risk. Like Pfeiffer, he too was
abruptly forced to resign, allegedly for his handling of incidents at the Wal-
ter Read Medical Center, but in reality, it was for standing firm on the
Army budget. Their determination to do the right thing—even if it meant
losing their dream jobs—will undoubtedly encourage aspiring leaders to
hold fast to their principles and maintain their honor at all costs.
Consider as well a young man named Colin Powell, who, as a White
House Fellow in 1972–1973, was mentored by Fred Malek, President
Nixon’s former head of personnel and deputy director of the Office of
Management and Budget. Powell credits this leadership program as the
turning point of his career, laying the foundation for his later assignments
working for three presidents as National Security Advisor, Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State. Imagine too, a young Fel-
low named Louis O’Neill, who was mentored by then–Secretary of State
Powell in 2005 and who became Powell’s special assistant for Russian
affairs. As a nice perk, O’Neill, a former captain of the Stanford Univer-
sity cycling team, spent most weekends mountain-biking with President
George W. Bush. Just one year after leaving his Fellowship, O’Neill
became one of the nation’s youngest ambassadors, serving as head of the
Mission to Moldova, and later went on to work as a headquarters man-
ager for Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Powell’s legendary
team-building techniques and the insights O’Neill gained by working and
playing in the company of some of the world’s most powerful leaders will
inspire anyone seeking to bring out the best in themselves and those
around them.
Now imagine all of these extraordinary leaders—plus two hundred
more— sharing their wisdom and remarkable leadership expertise directly

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