Our nation’s best and brightest do not work in Washington.
Our best and brightest work in the private sector. They are on Wall Street and in the financial markets. They are CEO’s of companies. They are running hedge funds. They have created successful start-ups. They are collectors and managers of capital – both financial and human. They have no attraction for a traditional Washington and its hyperactive politics. They can deploy their skills far more successfully, and with far greater reward, in the free and open markets.
And yet they suddenly seem to be gravitating to Trump Tower – and that is of enormous benefit to our country’s future.
What do these folks have in common? They are all in jobs typically vilified by the left. They do not work in government. They are some of the smartest and most capable individuals this nation has to offer. They are driven.
Purpose. Meaning. Impact. Growth.
Four small words that sum up the entirety of how one goes about attracting the very best talent.
Purpose: Reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Have as one’s intention or objective. Person’s sense of resolve or determination.
Meaning: Designed or destined for a particular purpose. Important or worthwhile quality. Purpose; significance.
Impact: Having a strong effect on someone or something. Influence; transform; shape
Growth: Process of increasing in amount, value, or importance. Increase in economic value or activity.
These are the tenuous, somewhat intangible, yet all-important needs that drive and motivate all of us in our work and our life. Create an environment where people have the opportunity to attain these four things and you are guaranteed to attract the best of the best.
These values are exactly the reason our finest shy away from politics. In times past it seemed one could make a difference in Washington – or that was the fabled dream. That attraction has not existed in Washington since the Reagan Era. Doubt me on this? Simply look at the vast numbers of career politicians who have been there for decades.
That has all suddenly changed.
The single greatest opportunity has just presented itself with the election of Donald Trump. The chance to fundamentally re-shape our country. To truly and fundamentally make a difference. To Make America Great Again.
You may not agree with me. You may be on the other side of the political aisle. But that does not change the simple fact that Trump is being inundated with people who want to be a part of this administration – without pay (financial rewards are not the motivation – they already have that) and without tenure and in most cases without political aspirations.
They want the chance to truly matter. Purpose. Meaning. Impact. Growth.
You cannot hire these types of people. You cannot pay them enough. They have to want to be there. They have to be motivated to be there. They have to be driven. And they are.
Of course there will be Washington insiders as a significant part of the formal administration. There absolutely has to be. We need those with plenty of experience in and around the Washington power corridors. But there will also be a shadow administration that may well prove to be more powerful, more forceful and of greater purpose than the formal roles.
We are already seeing the shaping of what looks to be one of the strongest presidential cabinets assembled. That process is going to continue. It is my hope that President-Elect Trump adopts something of an advisory model whereby people are appointed consultant-like tasks of looking at the various parts of our governmental operations. Not another Czar. That’s the last thing we need. Rather someone whose responsibility is to look at the functioning (or lack thereof) of a specific sector or department and then see what can be done to fix and improve it – not run it. Or better yet how to get rid of it. And I think that’s what we are already seeing.
The magnitude of what we might be witnessing hit me (see: The Renaissance of the Right) several weeks back when I listened to Newt Gingrich disavow a cabinet position:
“I want to be the general planner, looking out over the next eight years, and trying to design how we fundamentally reshape the federal government and that’s a very broad job. The closest analogy probably would be Harry Hopkins and the work he did for Franklin Delano Roosevelt.”
That was the moment I sat up and really took notice because I realized he was serious. And he felt it was possible.
My fondest hope for Washington is a high unemployment rate. A Washington-isolated recession that would, by definition, propel the rest of this country to new heights.
It’s time to fix our bloated and corrupt federal government. It’s time to shed needless and productivity-sapping regulations.
It’s time to drain the swamp.
We have just the people to do it. And they are calling President-Elect Trump daily.
Purpose. Meaning. Impact. Growth.
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