General David Petraeus

I had the opportunity to hear General Petraeus speak at the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth last night at the Fairmont in Dallas. Over 1,000 people were in attendance including Ross Perot and his family. General Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), assumed control in October 2008. He recently relinquished command of the Multi-National Force-Iraq after more than 19 months at the helm. He was selected in a poll conducted by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the world’s top 100 public intellectuals and was chosen by Esquire magazine as one of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21 Century.

The structure of the presentation was a moderated question/answer format with Jim Falk, Council President serving as moderator. Questions were supplied in advance. Several leadership themes and attributes were very clear from listening to General Petraeus. How very calm, clear, controlled, and confident he is - - a national leader that answers questions completely and in a very articulate manner. Very, very intelligent - - but in a different way than many other really smart people. A very holistic and strategic thinker - - does not just see the individual pieces of the puzzle, he sees the entire puzzle and the connections. Not just the military pieces and puzzles - - but the connections to history, politics, economics, culture, language, and religion. Fundamentally the role of a strategic leader is to “Think Ahead.” As General Petraeus commented - - that is what he is paid to do. He also has a first class sense of humor.

He got this way by design - - he talks and writes a lot about the need to move out of your “Comfort Zone” - - read and learn new things. Interact with different people with different backgrounds. Travel and go to school in a different country. Learn a new language. Be curious - - look for puzzles and connections - - think about how you can solve them. People have a habit of asking the wrong questions, of looking in the wrong places, and in the wrong way. Strategic thinkers, like General Petraeus, look deeper, focusing on the things that move and change, never asking the usual questions. You add up the attitudinal shift, the curiosity, the focus on moving outside “Comfort Zones” - - we can get new leaders that have developed new ways of looking at problems that focus more on context than on reductive answers.