Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 05

October/November 2018 // Canadian Government Executive / 25 began even in the early days of the strike to seek ways to inter- vene. He called for a report to get the facts on the table, which called for improved working conditions in the mines, but after asking his cabinet whether it should be made public, he took their advice not to, so he would seem uncommitted. As the situation worsened, he assembled a crisis management team from both outside and inside his administration. He then called the union and corporate leaders in the industry to meet in his office, speaking for the public at the outset. The owners rejected his bid for a tribunal and Roosevelt took control of mes- saging in the press, including releasing a transcript of the meet- ing that was not flattering to the owners. He then quickened his pace with multiple strategies, including, when not much changed, contemplating military seizure of the mines. “Don’t hit unless you have to, but when you hit, hit hard,” says Goodwin. Trying to save face for the mine owners, he offered arbitration instead of seizure and won financier J. P. Morgan to his cause. That unlocked further movement, with the miners returning to work. Rather than taking credit, the president praised Morgan–a useful lesson in the era of Donald Trump. “The Inauguration Day of Franklin Delano Roosevelt began in prayer and ended in action. His every word and deed com- municated the clear vision that this day represented no mere changing of the guard from one party to another,” Goodwin said. Roosevelt tried to restore confidence, while still trying to strike the right balance between realism and optimism. With banks failing, he sought a window of time, declaring a week-long banking holiday. In turn, he realized he had to get his message out through regular press conferences. His secre- tary recalls that he was “unusually nervous” before starting: “His hand was trembling, and he was wet with perspiration.” He also spoke to the nation in what would become regular fireside chats, telling his story plainly. The next period was one of launching lasting reforms to ad- dress systemic problems–a turnaround. He was open to experi- mentation, designing new, flexible agencies to deal with prob- lems. “Before Congress adjourned on its 100th day, 15 major pieces of legislation had been passed and signed into law. Bil- lions of dollars were appropriated to undertake massive public works, provide direct work relief, ease mortgage distress, safe- guard investors, guarantee bank deposits, ensure decent wages, provide collective bargaining, raise agricultural prices, generate public power,” she sums up. The day after John F. Kennedy’s burial, Lyndon B. Johnson chose to make a dramatic start with a major speech to the na- tion from a joint session of Congress, rather than before televi- web http://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/author/harveys/ sion cameras in an empty Oval Office. He led with his strength– domestic policy–calling on his former colleagues to act on the former president’s blocked domestic agenda. And initially he simplified the agenda to two essential items: a civil rights bill designed to end segregation in the South and a tax cut intended to stimulate the economy. Even for those, he established the most effective order of bat- tle, putting civil rights first. Like Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, he used the power of narrative to make his case; he repeatedly told the story of his cook Zephyr Wright, a college-educated col- ored man, who, on their journey back home to Texas from the capital, was forced to urinate in the fields because there were no bathrooms he was allowed to use. After he secured the civil rights bill and tax cut, Johnson set forth a compelling vision of the future–a Great Society–saying, “we have enough to do it all. We are the wealthiest nation in the world.” Fourteen task forces were set up, with the president tell- ing the chairs he wanted them to set their sights “too high rather than too low.” Transformation leadership, crisis management, turnaround leadership, visionary leadership: These four presidents offer lessons on each, and the book presents them well, with adept storytelling revolving around advice the author gleans from the leaders’ actions. H arvey S chachter is a writer, specializing in management and business issues. He writes three weekly columns for the Globe and Mail and The Leader’s Bookshelf column for Canadian Government Executive, and a regular column and features for Kingston Life magazine. Harvey was editor of the 2004 book Memos to the Prime Minister: What Canada Can Be in the 21st Century. He was the ghostwriter on The Three Pillars of Pub- lic Management by Ole Ingstrup and Paul Crookall, and editor of Getting Clients, Keeping Clients by Dan Richards. The Leader’s Bookshelf Transformation leadership, crisis management, turnaround leadership, visionary leadership: These four presidents offer lessons on each, and the book presents them well, with adept storytelling revolving around advice the author gleans from the leaders’ actions.