Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!
Are There Walls Impeding Your Atlanta Company’s Corporate Leadership?
As I reflect on the recent passing of the last Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022) I am reminded of a story that I read in Brett Baier’s book Three Days in Moscow- Ronald Regan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire. I am also reminded of my connection to the story and the lessons on leadership that the story provides.
The Wall
But first a very brief history. At the end of World War II, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, warned American President Harry Truman by telegram on June 4, 1945, and again in March 1946 in a speech in Fulton Missouri of “the descent of an iron curtain between us and everything eastward…” this iron curtain cutting across the European continent from north to south. On the western side of the iron curtain mankind was essentially free. On the east side of the curtain mankind remained in shackles under Soviet influence. No place was more emblematic of the Iron Curtain than the Berlin Wall that divided Berlin. The wall constructed in 1961 encircled West Berlin separating it from the East German territory. It separated families, it separated communities and it scarred and severed the psyche of mankind. To the west, light and freedom. To the east darkness and death
Leadership
Then on June 12, 1987, against the advice of all his foreign relations experts US President Ronald Regan went to the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall and boldly proclaimed Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall!" Two years later, in Nov 1989, the Berlin Wall came down! In October 1987 Nancy Reagan underwent a mastectomy. When she was released from Bethesda Hospital, Nancy learned of her mother's passing in Phoenix, AZ. Still recovering from surgery and mourning her mother's passing, Nancy Reagan was notified that the Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, were coming to Washington, DC to sign the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Having no time to waste, Mrs. Reagan had to prepare for a high stakes State dinner between two former adversaries with the security of the world in the balance.
Winning Hearts & Minds
Nancy Reagan had to win the hearts of the Gorbachev’s. But how? The tension was palpable. The mission critical. The security of the world hung in the balance. The First Lady recalled that decades earlier the American Pianist Van Cliburn earned worldwide acclaim when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow on November 27, 1958 at the age of 23! Mrs. Reagan invited Van Cliburn to the White House to play a recital on the occasion of the State Dinner for the Gorbachev’s, the President and First Lady and assembled dignitaries. Cliburn sat at the Grand Piano. He began playing “Moscow Nights” an anthem of sorts for the Russians. President Gorbachev and Raisa were deeply moved as their Russian delegation sang along as the American played. There was not a dry eye in the house. A treaty was signed. And the world took a step back from the abyss.
My Connection to the Story
On November 19th, 1967, almost exactly 20 years to the day before the White House Recital, my Grandmother Dorothy Kalajian took her daughter, Katie my aunt, to hear Van Cliburn play at the Masonic Temple in San Francisco, CA. It was my Aunt Katie’s 21st birthday. I have the program from the recital with Van Cliburn’s autograph. It is 55 years ago from this publication. Sadly, it was my aunt’s last birthday. She passed in Dec 1968, 1 year later, at the age of 22 from Lymphoma.
If you have ever been to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC, you have seen the Steinway Piano in the music room that Cliburn played on his visit to the estate in 1961. Coincidently the same year as the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Atlanta Corporate Leadership-Five Leadership Lessons
- A leader that uses fear and division to lead the people is no leader at all. German Democratic Republic
- A leader that leads from a position of character can win a better deal. Ronald Reagan
- The experts are not always right. The State Department
- It takes courage to change the status quo. Ronald Reagan
- If you win hearts & minds, you can change the world. Nancy Reagan.
Positive, Inspiring Corporate Leadership is critical, yet hard in the best of times. In today’s volatile economic and political environment it can be even more challenging. At Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting I want to help you find the words and path to motivating corporate leadership. Whether for you, your sales team, or company, I have ideas to help you break down the walls that are holding you back. To Learn more Contact Me Now or Call (770) 597-9005.
