As part of my duties as a Commissioner appointed to serve on the HELP Commission (www.HELPCommission.gov), I met with Colin Powell this past Wednesday morning. I was alongside 11 other Commissioners, and I just was not sure whether to call him General Powell (as in the rare four star variety) or Secretary Powell (as in former Secretary of State). He's had many titles, of course.

National Security Advisor. Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Desert Storm hero. Son of Jamaican immigrants. As he rounded the table toward me, he grabbed my hand and held on while he literally hugged and kissed the Commissioner who was immediately on my left. They were old chums who had not seen each other for a long time. I called him "Sir" when we greeted each other -- and then, as he came to my right, he paused for a reunion with former Congressman Robert Michel. The General called him by one name: "Leader!" It was a term of endearment for a Congressman who served for 38 years in the House of Representatives, 14 of which were as the Republican Leader. You could also tell that there was a sense of military respect between the two. A pair of heroes eye to eye. Bob Michel served in England, France, Belgium, and Germany during World War II, returning as a disabled combat infantry man with two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, and four battle stars. When Colin Powell calls someone "Leader," you cannot help but take note.

Our meeting with General Powell took place at the headquarters of a charity which is led by the retired General's wife and of which the General was the founding Chairman. Called "America's Promise" (http://www.americaspromise.org/), the organization aims to challenge America to make children and youth a national priority in fulfillment of a 1997 event called Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future, which rallied Presidents Clinton, Bush, Carter and Ford, with Nancy Reagan representing President Reagan, around the need to deliver five key promises to children: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others.

After formalities, the fluorescent-lit conference room settled down for business: securing General Powell's perspective on how to improve the effectiveness of foreign assistance. While the General's specific comments about foreign assistance and foreign policy issues were made off-the-record, I can address some principles and concepts that we discussed:

• count the cost before reorganizing anything.
• focus on making something work before you change it radically.
• democracy is far more than just an election; democracy must be a journey that includes the building of free institutions such as a free press and a vigorous civil society.
• Implementation is 70% of leadership.
• Democracy and populism are not the same things.

In addition to the list above of less than specific ideas, we discussed a whole range of ideas that included elections in Nigeria, food aid to Darfur and North Korea, proposals to create a new U.S. cabinet office for international development, opinions about which U.S. agencies are best at implementing foreign assistance, getting budgets approved in Congress, the 2008 U.S. presidential election -- and much, much more. The General had deep knowledge about the foreign assistance -- foreign relations process, and high awareness of its strengths and even its weaknesses. He spoke candidly, with conviction, with humor and with stories. If he did not like someone in the story, you could tell. The opinions were not malicious, but matter-of-fact and even humbly expressed. The focus was doing the right thing in the right way. When asked about a certain expert who was arguing a certain type of approach with foreign policy, the General said, "I've listened to (so and so), and to this point he has not convinced me, but I'm still listening."

We were winding up our hour-long question and answer session with the General, when I noticed that another Commissioner, one with extensive experience in government, had slipped a copy of General Powell's book, entitled "Soldier," in front of him for an autograph. The General kept his attention to the discussion and question while simultaneously scribbling into the book. Quick. Gracious. Efficient. A real soldier.

Walking with leaders,

 

Doing, Loving, Walking / Micah 6:8