ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Over the years, I have greatly enjoyed teaching about leadership, focusing on leadership best practices and topics such as building high-performing teams, leading high-performing teams, and building a strong “personal brand.” As I have taught or spoken on such topics in a wide variety of environments, leaders of all backgrounds and levels of achievement—from seasoned CEOs to young emerging leaders—have inquired about President Barack Obama. Regardless as to whether they support Obama’s stances or not, they have universally viewed President Obama as a highly accomplished orator whose strength as a communicator has enabled him to gain the support of millions of people and helped him to make history. “What is President Obama doing?” they have asked. What best practices and techniques enable his success, and what can they learn? This book is intended to address these questions, providing a valuable glimpse into one of the most accomplished speakers in recent years.

Writing this book has been particularly fascinating for me given the depth of my work in South Africa. Since the 1990s, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of South Africa’s greatest leaders—who are indeed among the world’s most esteemed leaders—including President Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Walter Sisulu, and Senator Govan Mbeki. I have greatly benefited from their examples and from our exchanges, and I have since enjoyed sharing some of the lessons I have learned from them through my leadership development work. Both in the United States and abroad, I have seen that some of the world’s greatest leaders have been seeking the same goal—a world in which, as Martin Luther King Jr. put it, people would be judged not “by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” In light of this background, it was intriguing for me to write this book assessing some of the factors that have helped make President Barack Obama one of the most distinguished communicators of recent times. It is clear that in many ways, Obama represents what many influential leaders of earlier generations had hoped to see.

I would like here to thank the many people who have supported me over the years. Thank you to my son, Joshua, for being the light of my life. A special thank-you to my parents, Barbara Geiger and the late Dr. David N. Geiger, and my siblings and their spouses. Thank you to Christine Baker and Aunt Mildred Geiger, who have provided such mentoring, love, and support. Thank you to my wonderful friends Ted Small, Audrey Gross-Stratford, Yvonne Chang, Ruby Lue Holloway, Jennifer Gonzalez, Cynthia Haines, Lorelee Dodge, and Bonnie St. John. A hearty thank-you must go also to my cousins, and to my aunts and uncles and their families, including William Geiger, Edward Geiger, Sr., Joyce Montgomery, Thomas and Eunice Holloway, Andrew Geiger, and Johnnie Scott. I also gratefully acknowledge the faculty and staff of St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School.

Very importantly, a huge thank-you to Mary Glenn, Zachary Gajewski, Janice Race, and Tania Loghmani of McGraw-Hill, and to Alice Peck.