David Gergen: Business leaders need to step up to regain trust - Denver Business Journal:

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The veteran journalist, television-news commentator and White House aide through four administrations brought that message Wednesda yto Denver, where he served as the moderatot and keynote speaker at the first Denve r Leadership Summit, at the Ritz-Carlton Faced with a tarnished reputation amid a bitter economixc downturn, American business risks increasing levels of publixc distrust and government intervention if it fails to “stand Gergen said.
At the same time, business leadership in the 21st centurgy is far more difficulyt than ever before because executives are bombardedwith “Leadership in the business community has becomer much more complex,” Gergen told an audiencd of top Denver business leaders, including Mayor John Hickenlooper and executives of , , and otherd top companies. “You have to have more bandwidthto function. It requireed people with more breadth.” Gergen was a top aide to presidentwsRichard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton.
In his Gergej distills the successful leadership traitds of the presidents he served intoseven “lessons of leadership,” and argues that many of thoser traits apply to business leadership as • Leadership starts from within. • A compelling purpose. • A capacity to persuade. An ability to work withinm the system. • A quick start. • Strong, prudent • Inspiring others to carry on the mission. In his Gergen also cites flaws in the performancwe of his former bosses that servwe as warnings tobusiness leaders, from Nixon’s paranoia and secretivenessw to Clinton’s inability to control his urges.
Gergen praised Denver for its “upbeart quality” and the calibeer of its business andcivid leaders. “We’re at the edge of a very importanr period inAmerican history,” he “and you’re in an area wherew a lot of that history is going to be These days, Gergen is a professor of public service at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy Schoopl of Government and director of its Centerf forPublic Leadership. He is also editor-at-largew for U.S. News World Report and a senior political analystfor CNN. Betweem panels at Wednesday’s Gergen spoke with the Denver Business Journal about businessw leadership in acrisis economy. (The interview is edite for clarity.
) Denver Business Your argues that businese needs to stand tall that corporate leaders shoul take charge of their fate or the government will assumwe an evenlarger role. Clearly business faces a public-perception problemm in light of the recessionb and thefinancial meltdown. How can businese leaders begin to repairtheir image?