The Election and the Leadership Meme – Part 1
In 2007, Scientific Intelligence did a unique and landmark mapping session. One of our clients approached us and asked: “You can map any brand or issue. Can you do a mapping on how to be successful leader in the 21st century?” We replied: “Of course we can.”
Every Structural Mapping Process™ begins with a ‘desired outcome statement’. The map that is revealed is literally the roadmap to that desired outcome statement – the shared emotional drivers that our society deeply feels about that, specific issue. Drivers that are embedded within, and accessible to, each of us – if you know how to get them out.
The desired outcome statement for that mapping was “I am a successful leader in the 21st century.” And what did that map reveal? First of all, that there are 3 archetypes as it relates to successful leadership overall:
The Intuitive Anthropologist – the leader who has a gift for understanding people. Bill Clinton in his first term was renowned for this.
The Child-like Genius – the leader who inspires us with what’s possible and lights up our imagination. Think Steve Jobs, Steven Spielberg, the Google boys, Albert Einstein.
The Nurturer – the leader who demonstrates genuine caring for his/her people. The Dalai Lama, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, to name a few.
This map famously helped us predict the outcome of the U.S. presidential election – 15 months before Election Day. How? Our client compared the themes from the map with the qualities of the candidates, and correctly concluded that young Senator Obama from Illinois fit the model best, hands down.
In the next post, which will appear just before U.S. Election Day, I’ll reveal the themes in the meme from this map. And I’ll invite you to use that information to decide for yourself who will the election.