Blog

We had the privilege of being invited to the Business Leaders Lunch with President Barack Obama in the Eora Nation (Sydney) yesterday.  Obama shared his insights on how his early life shaped his desire to “… make a difference in the lives of the disadvantaged and marginalised”.  He reflected on how people should “…worry less about who you want to be and more about what you want to do”.

When Obama was President of the United States of America [2009 – 2017], he was often working within a broad set of constraints yet he had enormous influence.  Obama’s process of making decisions leading up to and during his Presidency centred around four questions:

1. “Why do you want this role – should you do it;
2. Can you win – can you do it;
3. What will this do to those closest to you, your family; and
4. Does the prospect of trying to accomplish this excite you even if you don’t succeed…do you have the passion, energy and focus to move forward”.

Obama reflected on what he was most proud of as he “… mobilised change from the bottom up” to “…create an inclusive and generous society”.  These achievements included avoiding a great depression at the beginning of his Presidency and introducing universal healthcare.  Obama also contemplated his disappointment at not being able to introduce the types of gun laws that Australia had achieved after the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania on 28 April 1996.

With his current focus on “…climate change, human rights, women’s rights and inclusive capitalism” Obama said we need to be “…more generous in our social good versus individual good [which] requires us to tell better stories… while maintaining your integrity”.  Even though Obama suggests “…we are all profoundly imperfect” and “…cutting corners may be expedient but may not be authentic”, we must “…believe in the capacity of people”, as he quoted John F. Kennedy who stated “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man”.

Obama finished by stating that “…everybody is worth something: we have common bonds, we can apply our reason and intellect to combine and live together – our companies, communities, our schools” and that “…young people give me hope”.