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Bill George is professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership since 2004. He is the author of four best-selling books: 7 Lessons for Leading in[…]

It’s not clear you can get elected by saying what you believe.

Question:  Is the American political system broken?

Bill George: The fact . . . Well certainly politics and how our politicians all around the world, particularly in the United States, don't say what they believe. Every time I give a speech, I get asked, “Do your ideas about authentic leadership apply to politics? And I say, "I really don't know if you could get elected. Because today, it's not clear you can get elected anywhere by saying what you believe. And I think the lack of . . . the compromise that' taken place in public life is a tragedy. And to me it's gotten much worse over the last 40 years, to the point where good people . . . young people today don't want to go into that life.

Recorded on: 7/6/07


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