How do I wish a country’s president to think? (VII). Recognize a Good Presidential Thinker when you see him (her).
Recognize a good presidential thinker when you see him/her.
I am in the final sprint to finish this saga. I really hope we have been able to learn something new during the last weeks. I also wish to apologize if you see one or a few orthographic slips every now and then. Yesterday I was using a petit tablet with a damaged screen, and it is extremely hard for me to examine or upload documents in a public coffee shop. Today I am writing from home, so let’s begin.
How do we recognize good presidential thinkers? So simple. By their actions. Their words or speeches are just the preludes or the introduction, but actions are what define them. Through their actions (before they even knew they were going to be presidential candidates) we can measure their thinking skills.
To observe someone’s actions takes a lot of time. It is not automatic. We can´t perceive someone as a good presidential thinker based on the look or the allure or the physical aspects. We can’t choose a president based only on how he talks, because we have already done those mistakes in El Salvador. People who speak nicely, are not always the ones who are good thinkers. Why? Because good multidimensional thinkers are brave enough to set into action all that they think. And we can see their consistent whereabouts, engagements, activities, deeds, behaviors, and dealings with people previous to their commitment to begin any political campaign.
Like all in life, it takes time to recognize a good presidential candidate. There is a lot of hypocrisy in many aspirants, they can promise and lie or behave falsely just to get votes, and that is why we can’t blindly accept their political campaigns as the trustful source of actions. We have to see their conducts or comportments before they were considered for the role. We must observe how they made decisions, how they accomplish their tasks, how they solve conflicts, and how they act in moments of extreme pressure. How they conduct their life not just on the professional side, but also in personal interactions with friends, acquaintances, partners, stakeholders, suppliers, clients, students, etc.
Particularly we must observe them closely when they are under different faces of pressure (psychological anarchy, economic adversity, social confusion, environmental chaos or cultural turmoil). 
Moreover, they must endure the capacity to be calm, to say NO to wrong behavior. To say NO to things which seem to be good for the short term but are harming for the long term. To be cool when in moments of success. To be wise and respectful to life in moments of considerable difficulties. Many leaders who were considered as good thinkers, have shown us ridicule amoral decision making in moments of trouble. They slip down or fall in their most crucial moments of truth, through group thinking, through their wicked actions when they are under burden circumstances. In addition, a president who has a multi-dimensional mental frames structure has the possibility to create new policy innovations, which are also multidimensional to unravel problems.
Let´s consider an example of good presidential thinkers´territory which is heaven, Switzerland. Switzerland is what it is now because the Swiss have always respected their aged citizens, and had elected mature good thinkers as presidents during the last 100 years. 
Each president of Switzerland has been prudent, and respectful to the law. We can see Swiss good thinker’s leadership past actions reflected in their economic, social, educational, cultural and environmental policies. Switzerland is in the middle of Europe, and it is a fascinating country. So well improved, so well cared to dream levels, with plenty of natural resources which are crystalline and pure. Switzerland pays better salaries in comparison to its neighbors. Certainly, it is more expensive to buy goods and services in the Alpine territory too. Switzerland has a healthier quality of life in every dimension (first-rate food, no pollution, fantastic education systems at the public and private level, enjoyable balanced life, superior infrastructure, first-class transportation systems, successful welfare programs, etc). Switzerland is an example of efficiency when it comes to public taxes administration. Poverty, as it is known in developing economies, doesn’t exist there. Of course, a wonderland country as Switzerland will always attract immigrants, particularly refugees from conflicted countries, or from the east poorest European nations.
Swiss Slums
I have always asked myself, how is it possible for Switzerland to protect itself from the refugees’ immigrants? Moreover, this country doesn’t have a borders’ wall. They don´t even consider building one. Why? The country has a flawless administrative control system (tied to highly regulated standards of work permits). Even though lately Switzerland has been worried by the increment of refugees’ migration, their solutions tackle its problems through law prosecutions and fair judicious procedures, and their institutions are always in search of way-outs using their law enforcement system.
In summary, to recognize good presidential thinkers means to ask ourselves a lot of questions. A good presidential thinker is measured in his or her actions, but he or she will always have a strategic multidimensional integral holistic plan with its contingencies and will take the time to educate and explain carefully. At least the following aspects must be known:
- How to deploy a long-term security strategy through law enforcement.
- What they will do and the priorities of the government plan in each area: Judicial system, Security, Health, Education, Agriculture, Industries, Defense, Economy, Public Infrastructure, Environment & Natural Resources, Transportation, International Affairs, Tourism, Employment, Pension Funds, Human Rights, Law Prosecution system, Legislation, etc.
- How to implement the government plan. The future president must inform us how will be the execution of the strategy.
- From where and how they will get the resources to execute. There are three main sources of funds for any government (taxes, international aid, debt).
- Who will be the main beneficiaries of this plan, in what areas?
- How to establish anti-corruption measures and transparency.
- How to include the protect/promote/prevent restoration model for all projects and vulnerable communities?
- An impeccable, unimpeachable reputation as a good thinker and performer during all his or her professional life.
A president integral agenda will fit every single generation wants and needs, and won’t deploy risky industry disruptions, without testing several pilot projects. A good thinker will be fair, fair for everyone. And he will reflect in his or her actions an adaptive mental frame. The preconceived initial solutions which don´t work will be replaced by much better solutions, which will be supported by his most fierce opponents.
Finally, presidential thinkers are able to deploy at least 70% of the 20 mental frames listed previously in my last publications.
This is all, we will continue tomorrow with the last topic of this saga.
Thank you.
Disclaimer: All the presentation slides shown on this blog are prepared by Eleonora Escalante MBA-MEng. Nevertheless, all the pictures or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.
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