Harvard Business Publishing

Fantastic post to follow up a fantastic night. Time for everyone to get behind creating a better tomorrow.

Indeed a very inspiring person.
I say that as a German citizin.

WE DID IT!!!111111111111111

WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!1

"we must build small organizations that can do tremendously massive things."

On another post, someone criticized Apache by remarking how few people the Apache foundation employs...missing the point that 99% of the benefits are external to the firm.

Organizations created to make their external environment better, how novel!

That sounds sustainable!

(more sustainable than organizations striving to capture all the value they create)

If you can grow the pie for everyone, you should be confident that you'll capture some of the value ;-)

Prove you're useful, and then figure value capture: "business models happen", right?

WOOOOHOOO!!!

** A grand experiment in cultural change **

Cultural change comes much too slowly. This is as true of corporations as it is of bureaucracy. Not to mention House and Senate.

Mr. Obama’s presidency signals the culmination of a Revolution without Civil War, though one marked by bellicose confrontations, hatred, bloodshed, and death.

Nevertheless, Mr. Obama's feat may be sui generis. Was his victory occasioned by a breakdown in governing so vast, so dispiriting, so mindlessly evil that no appeal to fear, no promise of meaningful change could sound as anything other than wry sophisms when uttered by men and women who had disgraced themselves and the nation?

The conclusions you draw from Mr. Obama’s supposedly transformative approach will require a more sober evaluation than perhaps is possible in the afterglow of an overwhelming Democratic victory.

Of course, even if all seven innovations do in fact exist and were in fact instrumental to Mr. Obama's success, there remain tasks of adapting them to the purpose of governing. And perhaps by emulation other sectors public and private will apply them.

I expect his principles will apply to reforming and regenerating the executive branch as far as his direct authority under Senate oversight will permit. An answer will come well before 20 Jan 2009.

I certainly look forward to a very grand experiment, live and in real-time under only partially controllable conditions, of which all of us are a part.

bipolar2 ©2008

In regards to #6: Broaden Unity - does this contradict the mantra of Chris Anderson's "The Long Tail"? That we'll be able to reap profits by chasing ever increasingly niche consumers with customized services/products?

Thick power was used by others in the past. Military leaders like Napoleon, Alexander the Great... Others also, but they should remain unnamed. Thick power can be dangerous because of the possibility of a person being the focus or a destructive ideal.
What I'm trying to do in my mind is to take these seven points and envision how Washington might be changed and how the governmental bureaucracy might be reorganized using these ideas.
Nope, it's not working. Either these ideas only work in a very limited context or there's a lot more to this than seven points,
Or I'm really dumb and need to go back into my cave and finish that book by Kant.

Umair:

There are some beautiful points in this essay. I really am inspired by your meme of improving the world. I have faith in it.

I'm not entirely sure you got Obama's organizational analysis correct. There was great discipline to it. There was unbelievable organizational prowess. At minimum a very talented group of web developers built a way to organize millions of volunteers.

In any event, you inspire me and are partially responsible for YallaGuy.com

I hope we meet at some point.

Barack Obama has brought a delicate sense of hope and patriotism back to our country not seen since the rallying-together following 9-11 if not before.

It is just as important that President-elect Obama keep using these principles now that he is in office, as it was impressive that he used them to get to this truly historic moment.

Thanks Umair for your overview of what we consider in Europa as a friendly battle for US "stop-sinking", a mix of democratic thoughts with a steady but strong hand. B. Obama will probably exceed what we all expected from the next president of the USA. Because of background for sure, but because of its know-how too. He used the community tools on web2.0 concepts like no one, to gather American people. And it's a sign of our times like no other one, that he will be able to manage with future goals of USA, in a peace and minded way. We all need the world making a pause from wars, crisis and instability.

From France, hope.
L.

thanks for sharing Umair.

our connectedness has really ushered in a new way of thinking about politics. in fact, it's come full circle. focus groups, campaigns run by media agencies; mistrust-disillusionment with washington has all meant people are looking for a purity of message with meaning, -- not tainted by rovian era spin and charged with agenda.

this 'purity' of message is robust and bulletproof . it is transparent. it is authentic. or as UH would say; with a halo of dna and purpose around it.

this new era of sticking with the an authentic message ('purity') reminds us of another campaign(?) ron paul and his repeated 'constitution-mantra' on constant re-play.

Let's check back in a year and see how much these cute sounding terms actually add up to something real. Obama's choice for his Chief of Staff, another millionaire I-Banker tells me what to expect.

I like the essay, but have a quibble re strategy - or maybe a different definition. I think what you mention as strategy above - "trying to dominate the news cycle, game the system, strong-arm the party, or out-triangulate competitors' positions" - are tactics.

Obama was once criticized by McCain or one of his minions as not understanding the difference between strategy and tactics, but Obama was a master of strategy, and McCain was all tactics with no purpose other than degradation.

I think strategy and defining purpose are the same. Obama had a soaring purpose. McCain's purpose was in the gutter.

But that's all quibbling. Great essay! Thanks.

#7 is killer. Shades of Hugh MacLeod: "The market for something to believe in is infinite."

I'm excited we all got to see a new blueprint for winning elections.

As other commenters have pointed out, we're really, really excited (anxious?) to see a new blueprint emerge for government, politics and society. The real fun starts today.

First off let me say here here! I'm overjoyed with the election results. Obama will be a breath of fresh air and a move in the right direction.

However, for someone who puts so much emphasis on organizational DNA, why do you expect that just replacing the CEO and board to make that much of a difference if he is limited to the same org structure and business model? How much of a change can we expect?

Saving the world type change doesn't come from replacing the CEO, it comes from changing the structure and business model completely. We don't get a Google by replacing the executives at Microsoft. It takes a new structure to make such radical change, and I don't see that happening.

Maybe we don't need such radical change, and incremental changes in the right direction, starting with this new Obama led administration, is enough to push us into a sustainable 'world saving' state. I hope that is the case.

Another stunning post Umair!

What is truly awe inspiring is the possibility that the same philosophy you describe so eloquently in this blog will be used to re-shape the USA with repercussions across the world.

You can see the realization that something big just happened in people's eyes, in the imagination he has sparked across the world. We had Canadians go down to help his campaign while others traveled from Canada to Chicago to be part of history yesterday.

If Obama truly gets this massive shift ... applying the new DNA on a massive scale could be a turning point in civilization ... something much bigger than the man himself.

Great post Umair!! The possibilities of what we can accomplish all of a sudden seem endless......

Great Umair. Abstracts out the key characteristics better than anything else I've read. I can't wait to see if and how they apply in governance and civic life in the US over the next four years.

I'm also looking forward to seeing the candidates and campaigns in other countries that will inevitably try to replicate the model-- I know folks already working on it in Brazil.

He also made use of the new centuries tools. People like you and me don't read newspapers anymore, they may rely on tools like twitter or blogs to know what's going out there, and he targeted the geeks behind those services as well as using those new media outlets to deliver his message. He also made use of viral marketing, and new-age marketing tools. Even in TV shows, an episode of Oprah, or Jon Steward's show is more effective than dozens of conventional talk shows.

In your entire article you FAILED to mention 3 of the most important pieces of his campaign.

1. MONEY

2. BODIES

3. MEDIA COMMUNICATION

1. The money flowed to this candidate like they were running a mint! If he would just continue campaigning for 2 more years he could either put a big dent in the deficit, or fund healthcare for quite a few of our "NEEDY" citizens all by himself.

2. NO other Presidential campaign has amassed such a work force. This is why he will begin with rebuilding infrastructure to create jobs.

3. Their 3rd success/innovation was building a wall around themselves that even the media could not penetrate. (or would not at risk of being denied access.) It simplifies staying on messgae when the media is held at bay and all you have to do is talk your "TALK." (amazing Biden couldn't even do that) For news power CNN to say on Friday night that they really know nothing about Obama speaks volumes.

Yes it was a focused, well run, and obviously successful campaign. But I see nothing awe inspirng that convinces me he is going to "change the world." We all know its "SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, SAVE THE WORLD". Cut back on your lattes and get back to reality.

In summarizing your article for the board of a community organization, some questions came up that weren't apparent at first:

- Points 4, 6 and 7 could be different ways of saying the same thing. This organization's goals are already inspiring and and world changing, so of course they have a massive sense of purpose. Most non-profits probably believe this about themselves. Please elaborate the distinctions between these ideas.

- Does Point 5 advocate going back to a one-size-fits-all, any-color-you-want-as-long-as-its-black marketing? If you really mean that, you need a bit more of an explanation.

- Point 3 sounds good, but what does it mean? Obama's strategy was "post-strategy"? Actually I think that, thankfully, he is a master strategist; so good at it, he makes it look easy. Like landing a three point shot after just picking up the ball in a crowded auditorium -- how hard could it be?

- Mulling over Points 1 and 2 are the crux of it. But still, how did he do it? Perhaps the self organization and the resilience came from smart folks all over the country who were terrified of another 4 years. That can't be simply replicated by an organization that has all the points you sketch out.

Perhaps I'm being small minded here, nitpicking and uninspired. But the community I'm thinking of - see EthicalFocus.org - needs concrete advice in 21st century marketing. Maybe the success of the Obama campaign needs a tell-all book - but unlike most of this kind -- a happy one. You should get busy.

Thanks.

1. Unbalanced Media - Worldwide following the Pied Piper of Dinkelspul...

2. Untraceable funding - anyone seen the donor list to see if no foreign funding poured through the gaps?

3. Obama did this and Obama did that...nonsense...

4. As to the 7...double nonsense...fancy words that seem to have meaning...but doesn't...

Best post yet --- thanks. This a major moment in history. 911, Katrina, and Financial Crises, opened the door. Obama executed from a new mindset/dna expressed through his 'mode of organization' and the masses took part.

This is more than the election of an inspiring man. It is no less than a mark of a shift in the driving mindset of our civilization.

W00t!

Your post highlights a framework that is as revolutionary as ITW's idea of using the rule of 150 and focusing on 80/20. Very well articulated.

I'm starting to hear what you've been pounding out for about a year (or more):
* Ideals = strategy as meaningful purpose
* Edge = consumers as communicators and developers
* Unification = aggregate markets via simplification

I'm still not convinced Google is the next GE, but I'm getting a lot closer to believing that Google is the alpha version of the winner to come.

very thought provoking.

I would add #8. Obama surrounded himself with the right talent and listened to them. Without that even an inspirational leader with the right tools, org design, ideals, etc will fail. It has become obvious that one reason for the failure of the current administration is that Bush/Cheney don't listen. They dictate. If they had listened and had a white house culture of permitting, even encouraging broad discourse before making a decision we would not be in Iraq.

Obama didn't do this alone. And he won't govern alone. I hope he continues to use these 8 principles.

The commenters that are criticizing Mr. Haque are obviously A. Republicans, and B. Just don't get it. I like that. It goes to just prove his theories further. I hope their party continues on the same path forever. With that mindset they may begin their quest to a Palin 2012 presidency and I wish them the best.

My friends who are not even American (and thus not able to vote), volunteer and campaign for Obama.

Obama is able to touch and stand for something important for people from all walks of life. That's powerful...

My friends who are not even American (and thus not able to vote), volunteer and campaign for Obama.

Obama is able to touch and stand for something important for people from all walks of life. That's powerful...

I'm pretttttty sure I saw several attack ads from Obama. Or did we decide to ignore those?

In case Obama's national socialists haven't guessed, he is the most devisive far-left liberal in our country's history. Patriotic Americans hate his beliefs far more than the nutty left hated Bush, and I will cheer every failure to move toward his agenda, along with every revelation that he lied all along to sucker the foolish into giving him power.

My children will not be made slaves to his "Compulsory Voluntary" national service of 50 hours per year in high school and 100 hours per year in college. We will not bow down and serve the father of our country's return to involuntary servitude!

I do not make anywhere near $250k but I will encourage my wealthier neighbors to find arguably legal ways to dodge the theft of "spreading their wealth" around to those who won't work. As for receiving stolen goods, I will donate to good charities (NRA comes to mind) any money stolen from our most productive citizens that Obama attempts to redistribute to me.

Four terribly disasterous days in our history will forever be remembered:

December 26, 1860,

December 7, 1941,

September 11, 2001,

and now November 4, 2008.

I have voted for black candidates for governor, senator, and mayor so it's not a race thing when the candidate is qualified and shares American values, but there is nothing in the Affirmative Acction President's entire agenda that I support, and I will do everything in my power to help him move toward the quick failure that he so richly deserves. Any questions?

Considering that 55 million people voted against Obama, and so many of them hate our next president with an attitude of "to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee," I hope Obama's "radical" organization has a plan for dealing with the non-compliance and non-cooperation that will be so widespread. "Unity" will not spread across that line in the Divided States of America. You can't appeal to their self-interest. For them it's about good and evil, or right and wrong. Read a Joe the Plumber transcript for one of many examples.

Very interesting piece,Umair.
Change managers world-over should approach the Obama campaign team to pattern change management strategies after those adopted by the team,moreso,i suggest to Umair to expand on this article into a book.
Great article once again.

Umair,

The post is very well written. However, I believe the main point that is skirted in nearly every blog, webpost, and other form of person expresson is simply this... P.E. B. Obama did something very simple, he was able to help express the feelings of millions of American's... A need for unified change and a call to action for those who can help make this change happen and they are all of us. One or two other people mentioned other world leaders that used "Thick Power" to motivate people to do extrodinary things. Yes, some of these world leaders were doing it for the wrong reason, but P.E. Obama is, I believe, motivating America to do the extrodinarily good that we all know we can do (but have expected others to do in the last 25 years). The issues that confront business and government today are not Rep or Dem issues. They are our issues. Bottom line.. the articel is well written and we should all try to find a way to use a nugget or two from it to better ourselves, our companies, our communitties, and our nation.

The comment by FreeAmerican that Obama "is the most devisive far-left liberal in our country's history" may draw laughs from some, but ignore it at your peril. The fact that more than 50 million Americans took this (and only this) away from Obama's "bigness of purpose" warrants attention.

"Bigness of Purpose" and "Edge Strategy" are also part of Al Queda's effort to "broaden unity." I look forward to reading Umair's praise for them.

Meanwhile, I'll stick with people like FreeAmerican.

It is a hard feeling to pen down, but I am going to give it a try nonetheless...

You've ever had those moments where you are left feeling shocked at things you expect? Well I am feeling that; I am pleasantly shocked... not that I least expected it. =)

I had written about putting context to content - the country and the world as they are now to the policies of the candidate, someone else simplified it to the "right man for the job"; well, let us pause and think about this for a moment.

In this day and age - of social media and web, of the opportunity of globalization and the erosion of local cultures, of market correction and an impending recession, of unjust wars and very real threats from terrorism and also in this time where we have been told that "we are the people that we've been waiting for"... a community organizer is the President Elect of the United States.

That sounds just right.

and

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!

Great article Umair!

I am deeply inspired and in awe of the possibilities that lie ahead us as a country as well as member of the international community. "Strategy" in government seems like a major paradigm shift that is going to upset the applecart of many who are not ready for change!!!

Obama will definitely employ the strategic methodologies during the campaign in a way that will make us all responsible for deliberate outcomes. I think it is delicious to ponder what the next eight years will bring.

great it is so wonderful to see the evolution of a revolution from martin luther king 1960s to Obama 2008

Inspirational Umar. I am one of your true 1000 fans (from Seth Godin Tribes)

Ok what should a leader do next after he finds his purpose. How can he find his team across the world and how can he work with them over timelines , eventhough he has not met them. How can he read the minds of his people.

I want to build organizations like threadless, how can i go about that task.

The article is a good Dissection of campaign efforts of Obama & his election team.
However, I have no doubt Mrs. Hillary Clinton or any other candidate of the Democratic party, would have also won this election, with a comfortable margin, thanks to the hatred & discontent generated amongst the USA voters, by the most incompetent & unpopular straight eight years of governance(in the entire history of the USA) of President Bush & his team.
As such, analysts must not forget the contributions of the incumbent government, in the landslide victory of the Democratic Party candidate.
Here, we should remember the adage which says that ‘You can't clap with one hand’. Any post mortem of events must take into account the ground realities & objective conditions, prevailing in the battlefield, before giving 100% credit to any one party.

"We're going to need not a hundred different kinds of razors - and their spiraling costs of complexity and waste - but a single razor that everybody, from the slums of Rio to the lofts of Tribeca, is overjoyed to use."

Yikes! one razor, one model car, one shoe?
There's got to be a better definition/explanation of unity that does not sound like Soviets' economic approach.

The DNA sequence of this current global economic crisis will demand political innovation well beyond our current structural capacities. The coming age of global recession will soon challenge every mathematical, social and cultural model known to humans. I hope Obama is quickly ready to demonstrate innovative leadership versus just simply flipping a political coin to empower the opposite side of the spectrum with a taste of what just destroyed capitalism. This systemic financial and social collapse can not be solved by the on-going ineptness of nepotism and politically connected corporations that want a hit off the meth-pipe of TARP and other bailout boondoggles.

Unfortunately, Obama is out of his league, because the promises of hope and change will crash into the wall of a very real tsunami of synthetic financial derivatives -- which will nullify the ridiculous philosophy of cutting taxes or bailing out failed corporations. This financial cancer can't be cured with words and it remains to be seen if the cure can be found, one dollar at a time, as an example of his campaign funding success, i.e, will offering credit to those with debt solve the problem, or will that just defer the debt to a later time, when the debt will be greater?

The ultimate failure or series of mistakes which I think Obama will make, will be in attempting to carry forward old plans that were hatched two or three years ago; I saw that in the last several debates, i.e, using old talking points that are related to another era, which have no meaning with this current and unfolding crisis. Obamas old talking points are as meaningless as the last ditch effort to bring Joe The Plumber in, as a symbolic figure of small business challenges. Joe, most likely will be limping along next year or filing for BK, as he looks around for work. Hence, shifting tax dominos around at this point is the absolute equivalent of re-arranging deck chairs on The Titanic, or re-arranging chairs at Ford, GM, Chrysler, AIG and 1000's of sinking, failing corporations that are tangled mess of financial derivative chaos. Change going forward is going to be bleak for everyone!

The period of transition which Obama is intersecting, is a crucial period which is not unlike a crisis in putting out out an oil rig fire or shutting down a nuclear reactor going critical, i.e, there is zero time to tinker with philosophy or to allow political nepotism to add fuel to this spreading global fire. I saw the incubative phase of Obamas nepotism this week with Xerox being part of planning for the future of America -- and I was wondering WTF was going on by bringing a dead dinosaur out of the woodwork, because it seemed utterly stupid to look to ideas from a company that represents a failed past. Xerox??? This is an amazingly complex time today and this fire is moving towards a generational collapse that will alter, mutate and re-sequence DNA. This mess will depend on shutting down the mechanisms of financial derivatives and then living with the reality of decreased global trade and competition -- thus -- I seriously doubt Obama is up to that challenge, and obviously McCain wasn't either!

A radical innovator he certainly is.

But the world reach of his idealism is the most sgnificant part of Mr Obama for me. Someone pointed out all the hurdles he faces. Others note that many Americans didn't vote for him; he may face intransigence.

But if we compare the number of poor in the world, to the number who voted against him. Or compare the number of young in the world to the number who voted against him. If we look at those numbers there is a huge tide of positivity enabled by this election.

That positivity involves increased spending. I'm in Hong Kong. I bought some flowers for my wife to celebrate and my florist said "Obama?" and then, with her half dozen words of English and my miserable Cantonese we confirmed each others relieve about the implied change in the economic position.

"Activity would rise on this positivity", she said. Values would rise. Layoffs and foreclosures will slow and stop; indeed rehiring will start. America's increasing isolation will end.

I'm starting an international schools choral festival. It is idealistic, schools choirs coming to NZ from around the world to sing. But idealism doesn't now seem so impossibly old fashioned.

Owen Sharpe
Festival Director
New Zealand Schools Choral Festival
www.schoolschoralfestival.co.nz

Another point perhaps: stick to your message ad naseum (ala Jack Welch)... and then make the other guy repeat it for you (ala Obama). The election likely turned when McCain began to advocate "real" change. Even in the face of such "flattery" Obama never backed down from his single focus -- er, I say hedge hog (ala...) well you get the idea.

Umair,
With regards to self-organization, have you ever thought about the implications of Wolfram's NKS theories on organizational design? Specifically, I posit that just as science is encumbered by finding the "grand" calculations that explain the universes' workings, organizational strategy is encumbered by developing the "grand" top-down strategies that will lead to success. Rather, I believe that new management strategies need to focus on the "algorithms" that all of our organizational components use to execute and I think this is similar to your self-design concepts (although, it sounds like you may allow much more freedom in setting the algorithms). Focusing on the rules/policies (hate the word policies, but it's what everyone uses) and finding a new set of policies that enable speed of development, fast-iterations, protect against runaway spending and generally enable people to get back to sane business practices will lead to superior results. I don't know if I'm being clear enough with this line of thought, but I'm still curious if you've ever thought about NKS and it's potential implications on organizational design.
Cheers,
Jake

Umair-

Your optimism is palpable. It is genuine and impassioned, but it is steeped in the same syrupy rhetoric that many find troublesome with Obama. "Hope" and "change" as emotional appeals were crucial in inspiring this nation, but we need to move past this celebratory period. Tears and slogans aren't going to suffice. And if they carry on as rhetorical mainstays during Obama's presidency, they will become points of ridicule, at home and abroad, for the partial or non arrival of such "change".

If this election has inspired a passion for politics among young people and minorities (if we are gauging that on voter turnout, it hasn't- http://www.mlive.com/us-politics/index.ssf/2008/11/that_huge_voter_turnout_didnt.html) it has also produced legions of completely uninformed voters. We aren't post-racial. Many voted for Barack on the basis of his race. It was a large factor for me. Having a man of color as our executive is fantastic for international PR. Rich american men who arrived at their stature by way of priveledge and patronage aren't terribly popular these days, if you weren't aware.

Anyway Umair, much of what you say is spun up in the arbitrary, feel-good rhetioric. "Elasticity of resilience"? More like redundancy of redundance. Those two words mean the same thing, and you fail to offer a real world example of this concept. You rely on vague terminology- "broadening unity"? Have past politicians endeavoured to shrink or minimize unity? "Thicken power"? What does any of this really mean? Hope is important, but we as a nation to be more substantive in our aspirations for this nation. It has to extend past rhetoric.

Great essay! Like all great essays, this one will be parsed; because that's what you do with great essays that put forth debatable ideas.

What's clear is that Obama and his team put together an unusual win and did so against all odds. If Umair's thesis is not dead on, then someone propose a better one.

Thanks for this inspiring post. If I'm allowed, I'll add what was the conclusion of mine in my post.

What is tremendous and allows to oppose to the 'inexperience' vow that has spreaded along these last weeks about the now President-elect, is that he has won making these huge accomplishments seem effortless, has kept up the US citizens need to believe and has created a cultlike following.

He has overcome the Clinton machine inside his own camp, has demonstrated he mastered the art of timing, has shown along 21 enduring months that he has full control over himself, has sniffed out the spirit of the times and the trend that was likely to carry him where he is now and has been since the debut presidential if not royal.

What's next? In the domestic affairs, many have to be done, and involve every single citizen. It will not be a matter of politics only and afro-americans that have been singularly touched by this election will have to behave more than anyother.
In Foreign policy, let's say that USA is USA, and none can ignore it if not at its own peril. Great day, great times.

Good article and a lot that I agree with. However, the media seemed to dismiss any issues with Obama and highlight even the slightest mis-steps by McCain or Palin. Top that off with the fact that people just wanted change and any candidate with a (R) next to their name was doomed. I think too much credit is being given to the "new approach". Honestly, I am shocked the popular vote was as close as it was and hardly consider the results the "landslide" that the electoral votes seem to portray. Don't get me wrong, I want Obama to succeed and if 50% of what he promised comes true he will.

I feel I must respond to Fair American's specious comment:

"I do not make anywhere near $250k but I will encourage my wealthier neighbors to find arguably legal ways to dodge the theft of "spreading their wealth" around to those who won't work."

Where on earth, Mr. Fair (or do you prefer Mr. American), did you read that the tax cuts are going to people who are not working?

A tax cut per se goes to someone who is, quite obviously paying taxes. Otherwise -- nothing to cut. So Obama's tax cuts will be going to people who ARE working and earning -- just less than a quarter of a million dollars a year. People who are NOT working -- whether it's out of choice as in your snide "won't work" comment -- or because they are laid off -- will not get a tax cut. So your rich neighbors and friends don't have to worry about helping out any truly desperate people.

SO -- the "spreading" of said wealth, via tax cuts, will go to WORKING Americans. People who work at McDonald's and WalMart and the local gas station and as janitors in your office building and as day care providers and home healthcare aides -- in short, the people in this country who actually DO WORK, and WORK HARD. And are barely getting by.

Now if you have a problem with people who are making more than a quarter of a million dollars a year, pay a bit more in taxes, so a home healthcare aide can buy food for her kids or a janitor can keep his old car fixed so he can get to his job -- well Mr. Fair American, that is just really terribly sad and pathetic.

Christmas is coming up -- try auditioning for Scrooge in your local community theatre.

An interesting article and very thought provoking. But, before we apotheosize President elect Obama, let's see how he ultimatley handles the economy, war, terrorism and the hatred among people all over the world. He won an election, overwhelmingly so, but he did not win all the votes. I agree that his strategies were unique and he developed an overwhelming support network but he still needs to prove he can pursuade those that dislike him and his philosophies to follow him. I truly hope he can because this country and the world needs a unifying force to conquer all elements established to keep us divided and afraid.

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While accurate points, it does seem a lot of buzz words packed into a single article. This is just a 21st century critique of biz talk.

Great work and inspiring ideas. Excellent work.

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Excellent essay Umair Haque
Absolutely revolutionary! What a great time to live.

Great, innovative campaign.

Terrible, cowardly, incompetent. Will wind up being worse than Bush - already halfway there. Unbelieveable! America has Ray Nagin as president!

The only problem with your high praise for Obama tactics is the fact that he is a Chicago radical who hates America and is working furiously to destroy the Constitution. He does not have the welfare of the people at heart. Power, money and politics are his god. A one-world government for the elite is the movement he has joined. He also, does not have clean election. His tactics have been deception and are now becoming strong-arm. Tyranny is in the future of the US.