Skip to content
Who's in the Video
Bill George
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[…]
Go to Profile
Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter
A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

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

Up Next
Related