Leadership Lessons from the Trump Presidency

This book seeks to demonstrate that we can learn from both "good" and "bad" leaders. It is in two parts. Part one looks at President Trump's behaviour from inauguration to impeachment. The ancient Greek concepts of Kairos and Chronos are used to indicate Trump was almost a natural fit for the USA of 2017. Part two considers the implications of his behaviour on the USA, the world at large, and for leadership overall.

There is a temptation to consider only "good" leaders when asking what we can learn from others. This book explores the issue of what can be learned from any person in a leadership role no matter the value judgement we make of them. Part one explores Trump's behaviour to the moment of impeachment and the longer-term residual impacts this will have once his presidency is over. It shows that our value judgements tend to be based on perception and a priori assumptions. Part two explores what, no matter our leadership role, we can learn from the Trump event.

Disruption is endemic in today's world. Today it often seems we are born, live in, and die in three quite different worlds. Yet, at its core, things have changed very little. Oligarchy has been a reality since time immemorial. Unless we are first "unfrozen" from the status quo, change tends to be more cosmetic than real. Donald Trump's presidency has the potential to be the unfreezing agent that enables "real" change through which new forms of both democracy and capitalism can emerge across the world.