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Vol. 3, No. 4  

The Journal of Leadership Applications

Editorial Comments

The recent presidential campaign in the United States has been one of the most hard and bitter of recent years. Because of this, opposing political parties have left nothing unturned or unexploited regarding foibles in the candidates' past. President Bush was chastised for using the influence of his father to join the Texas Air National Guard, being trained as a fighter pilot, and after that, for avoiding duty to work in politics. Senator Kerry was accused of hurting American POWs by his anti-war pronouncements after serving in combat in Vietnam in the Navy. Of course, the stories went on and on for both. But my point is this: this is the way they were. It is not necessarily the way they are now. The fact that both are high in government and ran for the highest office in the land attests to this month's theme that the past does not equal the future. President Bush was re-elected. However, had it been Senator Kerry, it would have made no difference in the allegiance of Americans. Whoever was  elected will becomes our President and Commander-in-Chief and Americans will come together as they always have and we will go on from there. Life will go one, and what either achieves is up to each as an individual. The way they were is the way they were. President Bush, Senator Kerry, and our own futures do not equal the past. Those are up to us.

As always, a subscription to The Journal of Leadership Applications continues to be free, supported by my Institute of Leader Arts. We solicit your comments and articles. Please write me personally at wcohen@stuffofheroes.com . 

Here is a little about each article we have this month.

The Way We Were

           William A. Cohen,  Touro University International and The Institute of Leader Arts

Some who achieve high fame and major contributions in life came from very humble beginnings. Moreover, virtually everyone has setbacks in life. I know of no exceptions. Even those who seem to be sailing through without encountering a single storm usually have plenty of cuts and bruises which can be seen if you look closely. What this means is that regardless of any setbacks you encounter, no matter how terrible, you can overcome them. This is true whether you have been fired, have been in prison, have a life threatening illness, or whatever. I am constantly amazed by the number of individuals that are incarcerated, for example, some for major offenses or for long periods, who pick themselves up afterwards and go on to almost unbelievable success. The way we were is only that. It is history. The future is up to us.

Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant: Grant Offers His Services and is Ignored         

            Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant, who eventually became general-in-chief and gave President Lincoln the victories he need to save the union did not arrive at this role without great difficulty. Although a West Pointer with considerable combat experience from the war with Mexico in 1848, Grant had been forced to resign his commission and was unable to get a job other than as a clerk. He volunteered for duty when Lincoln asked for volunteers in 1861. Despite considerable effort, including writing to a leading Federal general who he had known at West Point, he got nowhere. This chapter from Grant's book describe these tribulations, before he was finally given a command.

Mood and the Evaluation of Leaders

Birgit Schyns
Tilburg University, The Netherlands

Karin Sanders
University of Twente, The Netherlands

This article is a link to Current Issues in Social Psychology, Volume10, Number 5, Published on the Web November 2, 2004. One study attempted to show a relationship between mood and the perception of leadership. However, most of the hypotheses could not be confirmed. The authors' study attempted to examine the same hypotheses using an employee sample and a different assessment of mood. They found that mood and the perception of leadership are connected, especially in the case of less active leadership styles. The practical implication for leaders is that the mood of followers may affect the perception of the leader and that therefore the leader must take mood of the followers into consideration, before leader actions.

An Examination of the 'Sustainable Competitive Advantage' Concept: Past, Present, and Future    

            Nicole P. Hoffman

            University of Alabama    

This article is from the 2000 issue of The Academy of Marketing Science Review. Because of its importance to the long-term success of firms, a body of literature has emerged which addresses the content of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) as well as its sources and different types of strategies that may be used to achieve it. This article traces the origins of SCA and discusses how it has been applied to marketing strategy. A theoretical model of how an SCA is achieved in a network setting is offered, and future research opportunities are suggested. The article is important because competitive advantage has to do with a basic concept of strategy: being stronger than a competitor at the decisive point in the situation.

Management Skill as a Predictor of Success

Edward A. Merritt
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

This article was published in the Cal Poly Pomona Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies , Vol 15, Fall 2002. The author talks about assessment centers and what they can accomplish. However, the bottomline important point for all of us is that at a program at Cornell University, leadership skill was the best predictor of total income after graduation!

William A. Cohen, Editor

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