Political

Keep it open

August 23, 2016
Matteo Renzi, prime minister of Italy since 2014, is brash, charismatic and often described in the media as Machiavellian.

A time machine interview with Harry S. Truman

October 22, 2015
“I never did give anybody hell,” Truman once said. “I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”

How Ike exerted his influence

May 15, 2014
Best known for warning of a growing “military-industrial complex,” President Dwight Eisenhower also played a central role in stopping the anti-Communist witch hunt called McCarthyism.

Margaret Thatcher on leadership

July 12, 2013
When former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died earlier this year, the media burned up with opinions on the conservative icon. Two things not in doubt are that she was a bold leader and one of the 20th ­century’s heroes.

Colin Powell’s rules to live by

June 26, 2013
Few men in politics have been admired by both sides of the aisle. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is one such man. In his memoir, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership, he offers up rules to live by.

Molly Ivins: straight shooter

November 21, 2012

The next time you wonder if you should say what you’re thinking, remember Molly Ivins, the newspaper columnist who made a career doing it.

Nelson Mandela’s 8 rules of leadership

March 15, 2012

The former president of South Africa who ended apartheid there, Nelson Mandela, has an African first name, Rolihlahla, which translates literally as “pulling down a tree branch.” What that actually means is “troublemaker.” Mandela’s life means many more things: warrior, activist and statesman. Here are his rules of leadership.

How FDR compensated for weaknesses

January 4, 2012
Think the economy is bad now? Here’s how things stood in 1933: The jobless rate in America hit 25%. Business investment choked. Banks defaulted. Totalitarianism swept the globe. FDR—according to his critics—appeared vain, insincere, a liar and, generally, not a nice guy. So, how did he restore faith in the U.S. economy?

Chilean leader takes gender to the U.N.

November 10, 2011
Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet hit a few bumps early in her term, but went on to reach Chile’s highest-ever approval rating. Even while she was president, she was being recruited to lead what would become a new initiative by the United Nations. U.N. Women would be the first high-profile inter­national agency dedicated to gender.

How LBJ used power and leadership

October 14, 2011
Understanding the distinction between power and leadership—how leaders use power to accomplish things—is the work of historian Robert Caro. In his books on President Lyndon Johnson, Caro shows that power doesn’t corrupt so much as it reveals: When you amass enough power, it reveals what you’ve really wanted all along.