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The basis of my bestselling business book, LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), is the concept of Love and Fear.  

In the book I make the case that there are two things in the world; love and fear, and what you don't love, you fear.  And the reason the world is all screwed up, is that most of our so-called leaders are leading by fear. 

Look at how President Mubarak of Egypt ruled his country, and you see a strategy rooted in fear.

Look at how President Mugabe of Zimbabwe continues to rule his country, and you also see a strategy rooted in fear.

Look at how during the mortgage crisis, companies treated their clients like short-term transactions, rather than long-term relationships, and you see strategy rooted in fear.

Look even at the history of financial services, where you are hounded for your bad behavior (say being late on a loan), but are rarely rewarded for your good behavior (say being on time with every payment for say 10 years), and you see a strategy, or at the least a culture rooted in fear (and laziness).

Fear's first cousin is laziness, short-termism, a focus on what do I get, versus what do I have to give, and an absolute focus on making money and getting rich, over adding value and building sustainable wealth.

In coming weeks I am going to talk more about specific Love Leadership based approaches to solving a range of our societies problems, but for now I simply wanted to leave this with you to think about — there is another way to live, as this way has not sorted out too well.  Long-term, it doesn't even feel good.  Ultimately, no one really like a taker.

Let me know your thoughts, leaving comments and notes with each of these pieces, here on my Blog, on Facebook and Twitter.  Let's start a new conversation on "a new way to live in a fear-based world…"

 

John Hope Bryant is founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE, bestselling author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), and a member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for President Barack Obama

 

 

 

 

 

 

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