Although 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama admits that maybe he should have given his longtime friend and ally, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, credit for the lines he used at his Milwaukee's Founder's Day Dinner on February 16th shouldn't take away from the point Obama was making: Words matter!
What Obama said: "Don't tell me words don't matter! 'I have a dream.' Just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.' Just words. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Just words. Just speeches. It's true that speeches don't solve all problems, but what is also true is if we cannot inspire the country to believe again than it doesn't matter how many policies and plans we have... Don't tell me that words don't matter."
Words have power. They can inspire, motivate, encourage, and even challenge us to be better and to take action. Great leadership historically has been about people who could put language to use to do just that.
All of us who want to inspire change must learn to use words in a powerful way--in our speaking and writing.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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