Lessons My Father Taught Me

by Michael Reagan

  My father and Mikhail Gorbachev met in October 1986 for the Reykjavík arms limitation summit. They made excellent progress until they got to the Strategic Defense Initiative. Gorbachev insisted that the U.S. limit SDI to laboratory tests for ten years. My father knew that only field testing could determine whether SDI was feasible.

  Dad’s advisers pressed him to give in on SDI. Not one adviser agreed with the president. Yet my father stuck to his decision despite all voices to the contrary. As Dad told Fortune, “I don’t take a vote. I make the decision.” And history proved that Dad’s decision at Reykjavík was the right one. A year later, at the Washington Summit, Gorbachev accepted Dad’s conditions on SDI, and together they signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

  The Reagan Rules of Engagement

  Dad understood that leadership involves communicating big ideas in simple terms so that people can understand and embrace those ideas. Yet he also had a deep and detailed grasp of all the major issues of the day. Go to YouTube and watch video of his televised press conferences, his appearances on Meet the Press, or his part in the presidential debates. You’ll be impressed with the breadth and depth of his knowledge on a wide range of policy issues. He could discuss any issue with other leaders, with reporters, or with the man in the street, knowledgeably and persuasively.

  A president must understand all the problems and challenges we face as a nation. When you sit behind the Oval Office desk, you cannot simply be “the immigration president” or “the education president” or “the wartime president.” You have to be the president of all the issues and all the people. My father was that kind of president.

  At the same time Dad was facing down the Soviet Union, rebuilding our military, and restoring our economy, he also had to deal with various brushfires in different parts of the world. One of those brushfires was whipped up by a tinhorn dictator in Libya by the name of Gaddafi.

  Years before my father came into office, Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi had drawn an imaginary line in the sea that he called “The Line of Death.” In violation of maritime law, he claimed the entire Gulf of Sidra as Libya’s territorial waters and he warned that any foreign warships or planes that crossed the line would be destroyed.

  President Carter obeyed Gaddafi’s warnings, and he ordered the U.S. Navy to steer clear of the Gulf of Sidra. Nevertheless, Gaddafi’s warplanes continually harassed American ships and fighters over the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Libyan planes frequently fired on American planes, and the American pilots had to radio for permission before returning fire. By the time the pilot received permission, the Libyan attacker had turned tail and headed for home. So American planes over international waters would get shot at but could not shoot back.

  When my father became president in 1981, he immediately canceled the Carter rules of engagement. He told our forces, “U.S. pilots and sailors have orders not to fire at anything but practice targets—unless fired upon.” No longer would an American pilot have to wait for permission to return fire. American airmen cheered the new rules and dubbed them “Reagan ROE” (Reagan Rules of Engagement).

  Next, my father sent the a naval force, led by the carriers USS Forrestal and USS Nimitz, steaming across The Line of Death. The ships conducted Freedom of Navigation (FON) operations in the Gulf of Sidra. Again and again, American reconnaissance patrols made contact with Libyan Mirages, Sukhois, and MiG-23s, but the Libyans held their fire.

  It was against a backdrop of tension in the Gulf of Sidra that my wife Colleen and I became witnesses to history. On the evening of Tuesday, August 18, Colleen and I had dinner with Dad and Nancy in the Presidential Suite at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. We enjoyed a relaxed evening meal and pleasant conversation. Colleen and I were getting ready to leave when the phone rang. Dad took the call. It was Ed Meese, counselor to the president for policy, calling from the White House.

  “Mr. President,” Meese said, “Libyan aircraft are locking onto our planes over the Gulf of Sidra. What should our pilots do if fired upon?”

  Dad said, “They are to shoot back.”

  “And if the Libyans turn and run?”

  “They are to chase them—if necessary, back to their hangers. But they will shoot them down.”

  “If that happens, Mr. President, should I wake you?”

  “No, Ed. Only call me if our boys are shot down.”

  Dad made each decision without hesitation. Afterward, Colleen and I went home, and Dad and Nancy went to bed. My father didn’t call the United Nations and ask permission to be president of the United States. He made the decisions.

  Later that night over the Gulf of Sidra, a pair of Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighters fired on two American F-14 Tomcats from the carrier Nimitz. The American planes gave chase, and both Libyan fighters were destroyed.

  My father had served notice on Colonel Gaddafi: the Reagan Rules of Engagement were now in effect.

  A Leader of Common Sense and Optimism

  Dad was a man of common sense. Unfortunately, common sense is an uncommon quality in today’s leaders. How else do you explain the fact that our leaders are systematically bankrupting the country and that legislators in both parties annually vote for bigger and bigger deficits? I guarantee my father, were he president today, would wage all-out war against this fiscal madness.

  My father was a fiscal conservative from Day One of his political career. In 1967, when he became governor of California, he discovered that the outgoing administration of Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown had left behind reams and reams of official stationery with Brown’s name on it. Dad hated to see all that paper go to waste, so he asked his secretary, “Couldn’t we just X out his name?”

  Dad was the epitome of common sense government. In a speech to Republicans in Atlanta on December 7, 1973, he said, “I’ve always believed that government could and should be run with the same common sense rules that apply to business or even budgeting a household. But when you start talking about common sense in connection with government, you cause some traumatic shocks.”

  He maintained that common-sense philosophy of government throughout his political career—and he attributed his successes as president to common-sense leadership. In his farewell address from the Oval Office at the end of his presidency, Dad said, “Common sense told us that when you put a big tax on something, the people will produce less of it. So we cut the people’s tax rates, and the people produced more than ever before.”

  Another trait that has served my father well as a leader is his optimism. In fact, I think optimism is too weak a word to describe Dad’s outlook on life. Enthusiasm might be a better word. He always approached every day with a great enthusiasm for living, for learning, for engaging with people, and for making a positive difference in the world. The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words, en (meaning “in”) and theos (meaning God). To have enthusiasm is to be divinely inspired and possessed by God. That’s the kind of enthusiasm Dad always exhibited—a godly joy, an inspired expectation of a brighter tomorrow.

  When Dad gave the dedication speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, November 4, 1991, he talked about the enthusiastic optimism that had characterized his life and his leadership career:

  I, too, have been described as an undying optimist, always seeing a glass half full when some see it as half empty. And, yes, it’s true, I always see the sunny side of life. And that’s not just because I’ve been blessed by achieving so many of my dreams. My optimism comes not just from my strong faith in God, but from my strong and enduring faith in man.

  In my eighty years (I prefer to call that the forty-first anniversary of my thirty-ninth birthday), I’ve seen what men can do for each other and do to each other. I’ve seen war and peace, feast and famine, depression and prosperity, sickness and health. I’ve seen the depth of suffering and the peaks of triumph.

  I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, an
d there is purpose and worth to each and every life.

  That last line, of course, was used as the inscription on the wall at my father’s gravesite at the Reagan Library. His hopeful outlook on life served to energize and motivate him throughout his leadership career.

  My father’s enthusiasm for the future provided a vivid contrast to the grim pessimism of Jimmy Carter and was a key factor in Dad’s election in 1980. In the Reagan–Carter debate on October 28, 1980, Dad said, “For two-hundred years, we’ve lived in the future, believing that tomorrow would be better than today, and today would be better than yesterday. I still believe that.”

  Dad communicated hope and optimism during economic hard times. It took a couple of years for his fiscal program to gain traction and revive the economy, yet even before the economy turned around, people felt good about America because Ronald Reagan was president. In the wake of Vietnam, Watergate, the energy crisis, and runaway inflation, changing the mood of America was an enormous achievement. Just as Dad used to lift me up and carry me on his shoulders, he lifted the whole country on his shoulders with his infectious enthusiasm.

  After leaving office, Dad reflected on the past and looked hopefully to the future in his speech to the Republican National Convention in Houston on August 17, 1992:

  Here’s the remarkable thing about being born in 1911. In my life’s journey over these past eight decades, I have seen the human race go through a period of unparalleled tumult and triumph. I have seen the birth of Communism and the death of Communism. I have witnessed the bloody futility of two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. I have seen Germany united, divided, and united again. I have seen television grow from a parlor novelty to become the most powerful vehicle of communication in history. As a boy, I saw streets filled with Model Ts. As a man, I have met men who walked on the moon.

  I have not only seen, but lived the marvels of what historians have called “The American Century.” Yet, tonight is not a time to look backward. For while I take inspiration from the past, like most Americans, I live for the future.

  When my father spoke about America, we could all see our land through his eyes. He was like a child on Christmas morning—that’s how he felt about his country. And Dad never tired of telling people how wonderful America is.

  When you are full of hope and optimism, when you believe anything is possible in America, there’s truly no limit to what you can achieve. My father proved the power of optimism throughout his acting career and his political career, and he worked hard to teach the power of optimism and enthusiasm to his children.

  Leaders who envision a bright future and communicate that vision to their followers have a way of making their vision come true. That’s how my father achieved so much in such a short span of time. That’s how we can restore America again today.

  If there’s one subject Ronald Reagan could speak on with authority, it’s leadership. In a speech before the Cambridge Union Society in England on December 5, 1990, Dad talked about the courage and confidence a leader must have in order to turn a vision into a reality: “A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough.”

  Speaking at a Republican National Committee Gala honoring him on his eighty-third birthday, Dad said:

  I have witnessed five major wars in my lifetime, and I know how swiftly storm clouds can gather on a peaceful horizon. The next time a Saddam Hussein takes over a Kuwait, or North Korea brandishes a nuclear weapon, will we be ready to respond?

  In the end, it all comes down to leadership. That is what this country is looking for now. It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile because they might just wind up lowering our flag.

  In recent years, we have desperately needed a leader like Ronald Reagan to keep America strong by keeping the government lean and the people free. America is drifting toward military unpreparedness and fiscal insolvency. America is losing respect abroad and becoming dangerously vulnerable to her enemies. It does indeed come down to leadership.

  There will never be another Ronald Reagan, but you and I can learn the leadership lessons he has left for us. I can’t think of a leadership role model more deserving of our study than my father.

  He Set the Leadership Example for Us

  Everyone is a leader in some arena of life. You may never run for president. You may not be a political leader or a business leader. But you can still be a leader in your church, in your classroom, in your family, or among your peers. No matter what our leadership arena may be, there are lessons we can learn from the leadership example of my father.

  Leadership must be bold, not hesitant or faint-hearted. My father established a simple policy: “We win, they lose.” That policy is so bold that it instantly grabs your attention—and so concise that it is unforgettable. It was the theme of my father’s foreign policy throughout the eight years of his presidency. In the end, Dad won—and the Soviets lost.

  Boldness was a key element of my father’s leadership style. He often said that leaders (especially Republican leaders) should wave “a banner of bold, unmistakable colors, with no pale pastel shades.” By this, he meant that leaders should speak in terms that are daring and dynamic, forceful and arresting. Leaders should not appear hesitant, should not mumble uncertainly, and should not use weasel words. Leaders must proclaim, in terms loud and clear, the strong contrasts between themselves and their opponents.

  We often hear people say that there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the two political parties—and it’s becoming increasingly hard to argue with that view. But whenever a leader offers voters a choice between “bold colors” and “pale pastels,” boldness wins every time. Liberal Democrats never shy away from waving their bold liberal colors around. Unfortunately, all too many heirs of the Party of Reagan are wrapping themselves in pale pastels.

  As I have studied Dad’s approach to leadership, I am impressed again and again with his uncompromising boldness. He managed to communicate bold ideas and bold principles in a pleasing way. He mastered the art of being boldly charming, boldly engaging, boldly persuasive, and boldly likable. He made friends of his enemies and got them to buy into his leadership vision.

  To be a leader, you must by definition be bold. There is really no such thing as a “timid leader.” That would be a contradiction in terms. If you are not bold, you are not leading. If you are in a leadership position, but you’re trying to wave a banner of pale pastels, then please get out of the way and let somebody bold take over. Leadership is for the bold.

  Be a good listener—and a firm decision-maker. Great leaders invite information, views, and opinions from all sides. They listen carefully, encourage everyone to speak, weigh everyone’s views—then they decide.

  Leaders sometimes have to go it alone against the advice and opinions of others. They must sometimes buck the consensus in order to do what they believe is right. If a leader fails to exercise authority when authority is required, he or she will appear weak and indecisive. A leader who loses respect loses authority as well.

  Great leaders don’t punt their decision-making responsibility to a committee. A committee is, by nature, incapable of exercising bold leadership. In a committee, responsibility for the decision is distributed among all the participants. The mind-set of a committee tends to be cautious and hesitant. Bold, decisive courage is usually found in a single leader—not in an atmosphere of “groupthink.”

  When my father made the decision to fire the striking PATCO controllers, he made it clear that it was his personal decision, no one else’s. He intuitively knew that it was important to demonstrate bold decisiveness. His decision to stand firm and keep his word got the attention of leaders in all the world’s capitals, including Moscow.

  Dad esta
blished early in his presidency that his adversaries needed to take him seriously. His decisive, uncompromising action at the beginning of his presidency gave him a lot of leverage in dealing with all his other adversaries for the rest of his presidency.

  To be a great leader like Ronald Reagan, be a good listener, be open to new information, be receptive to advice. When the time comes to decide, decide. Then stand by your decision and see it through to a successful conclusion.

  Be a good delegator. Leaders don’t do it all themselves—they recruit excellent people, and they empower those people to carry out the leader’s strategy. Delegating is essential to leadership. If you are not delegating, you are not leading.

  A leader can delegate tasks and responsibilities, but a leader cannot delegate accountability for the results. A leader is accountable for everything the subordinates do. Once we delegate tasks and responsibilities to other people, we have a duty to maintain communication, set standards, evaluate performance, and take the blame when the team fails.

  Leaders who delegate well tend to succeed. A good delegator unleashes the talents, skills, and creativity of his or her people. As my father said, “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere”—that is one of the best prescriptions for great leadership ever spoken.

  Leaders are communicators and leaders are readers. Newt Gingrich once told me a story about my dad’s communication skills. Dad and Newt were both scheduled to speak at a GOP event. As Dad was waiting to be introduced, he reached into the left-hand pocket of his suit coat and took out his index cards for his speech—but he fumbled the cards and they fell on the floor in disarray.

  Newt was worried for my father. The cards were jumbled and out of order. But Dad calmly picked up the cards, flipped through them, then tucked them out of sight. Moments later, he stepped up to the podium and wowed the audience with a brilliant speech.