George Bush won the election because he was finally able to 
break out of the presidential bubble and give “leadership talks” 
on a consistent basis. 

But to do it, he had to face the dark night of his leadership 
soul.  And this is a lesson for ALL leaders.

The presidential bubble is that physical and psychological 
insulation that descends upon the president of the United States 
the moment he’s sworn in. 

Inside the bubble, people continually agree with him.  Inside the
bubble, he can give canned speeches in front of canned audiences 
– all to his heart’s content -- and think he’s doing a great job 
as a communicator.  But the bubble ultimately is a blight, and 
it almost destroyed the Bush presidency mainly because it kept 
him from giving what I call leadership talks.

Presentations and speeches primarily communicate information, 
but leadership talks are a much more effective leadership 
communication tool.  They establish a deep, human emotional 
connection with people.

It’s taken me 20 years of working with thousands of leaders 
around the world to identify what leadership talks are and to 
show how they should be given.  However, leadership talks have 
been around since the dawn of history.  In all cultures and 
countries, whenever a people had to do great things, one thing 
had to take place, a leader had to gather those people together 
and speak from the heart.

That heartfelt speech to win the hearts of key segments of 
voters was what George Bush was lacking in the campaign, 
especially throughout the debates in which he was beaten 
badly by John Kerry. 

After those debates, George Bush faced the dark night of his 
leadership soul.  It happens to many leaders when they realize 
that in order to succeed they have to abandon what worked before 
for them and jump off a cliff and make their wings on the way 
down. 

FDR faced it when he got polio and responded by seeking to 
continue in political life with wisdom and persistence and 
compassion.  Winston Churchill faced it at Dunkirk.  Harry 
Truman faced it in 1948 when it looked as if he would be 
defeated by Tom Dewey, and he made his now famous whistle 
stop campaigning that enabled him to come from behind and win.  
Ronald Reagan faced it when he decided that he would run for 
president at 68 years old. 

George Bush faced it after the debates.  He could have remained 
in the presidential bubble and given his canned speeches in 
front of canned audiences.  But instead, he decided to go out 
there and be himself and lay it all on the line.  During the 
last weeks of the campaign, he pretty much dispensed with the 
canned and just stood up there and spoke from the heart to 
voters in the battleground states.  For the first time in the 
campaign, he was out of the bubble giving leadership talks.  
And it made all the difference in the world.

Leaders take note. When you face the dark night of your 
leadership soul and must take new action to get new results, 
break out of whatever bubble you might be in and start giving 
leadership talks. 


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2004 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc.   All rights reserved.
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The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE 
LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO 
GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS.  He is founder and president of The 
Filson Leadership Group, Inc. – and has worked with thousands of 
leaders worldwide during the past 20 years helping them achieve 
sizable increases in hard, measured results.  Sign up for his 
free leadership ezine and get a free guide, “49 Ways To Turn 
Action Into Results,” at http://www.actionleadership.com