Jack,

The one thing this article doesn't take into account is that the American people have had a non-communicative president that made decisions in a vacuum with his brain trust and move forward with these decisions with utter arrogance and disregard for how the public viewed them.

We as citizens have elected the current administration and with that tacitly acknowledged that we want to be communicated to, that we want a voice in the decision making process and that we want transparency into how those decisions are ultimately made.

Most Americans also realize that times are different, that there are no silver bullets and that the present administration has its hands full trying to fix 8-years of mismanagement, bad decisions and general ineptitude. For them to communicate anything less than a sense of uncertainty would be disingenuous.

We now live in a world that is moving towards openess and transparency. Where the old, "here's how we're going to do it" approach is no longer the norm and where the average person is intelligent and informed enough to see through bold statements and proclamations.

I like the approach. Give it to me straight, don't overpromise and underdeliver and let me do my part and I'm happy.

Old School rubbish, Mr Welch used to be my hero in the 1980's; must be getting old.

Obama is busy making excuses to the public to protect himself from blame in case his plans don't work. "Yes we can" of the campaign has morphed into "Don't expect too much of me."

"Choose hope over fear" has morphed into "We're in a terrible crisis! Catastrophe threatens."

This is leadership?

First they say it's politics as usual, then they say that Obama is talking about the reality of our terrible economy. Shame on him for telling us the truth and not misleading us like his predecessor(though I agree Biden is a doofus). Obama should just sit back like the Republicans are telling us to do, cut taxes, and wait for the business leaders to dig us out of the hole they got us into. That's business as usual unless you weren't paying attention the last 8 years.

Mr. Welch - Give it up. When the Beast posted the article about Obama's first press conference, I suggested that he needed to learn the basic leadership principle (that any Marine would know) that you establish a realistic assessment of the situation and then get your "troops" fired up to overcome any obstacle in order to accomplish the mission. You know, optimism, positive reinforcement, a "can do" attitude, confidence in your success, etc. etc. I was lambasted by every euphoric Obama supporter on the board as they actually tried to say that he is the most brilliant leader in history because he "tells it like it is" and isn't a "cheerleader". The problem is, basic leadership principles dictate that you follow up your gloomy outlook with the "ok, here is how we are going to defeat this problem, and it's going to work!"

This is the problem with choosing our leaders from the realm of academia or the legal world (both conservative and liberal). Yes, they may speak well and be smart, but they have to learn how to actually lead people. Talk about a poor venue for on-the-job leadership training.

I would like to think that the present global economic crisis would be leading us to see that we need new styles of leadership and leaders who will ask new questions and so get new and different answers. I believe we have a leader like that here in Australia in Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the USA has also in President Obama someone with a new vision and direction for America and the world. Last week here in Australia I took part in an interview on Engaging Employees in Turbulent Times (http://www.peopleempowered.com.au/employee-engagement-turbulent-times) where we were calling for CEOs to handle the crisis in a new way. We were suggesting that instead of doing what Jack Welch says above and acting out of a very hierarchical leadership model, that instead they engage their employees in meeting their new agenda. Instead of immediately resorting to downsizing their organizations, to instead invite their people to work WITH them, not just FOR them through this turbulent time. Instead of a them/us organization and leadership style, to create a much more collaborative model. CEOs could draw up a new psychological contract with their employees - we will look after you in these tough times, if you look after our organisation. CEOs who are able to meet their people at this level are not,as Jack Welch fears, going to be seen as not measuring up, as lacking in leadership. Quite the contrary, they may well be seen as great leaders and their people may well respond with greatness and their organizations may not only survive but thrive..

Yes, that's exactly what Obama needs is a management seminar spewing lofty platitudes about leadership and solutions. What exactly is the solution to a global economy in collapse due to incalculable trillions of dollars of debt? Or should I say the value-added solution? Just a tad superficial and trite.