Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Closes 2012 Southeastern University Forum

LAKELAND, Fla., March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rarely do citizens have the opportunity to interact with some of the most influential and knowledgeable world leaders of the past half-century.

But those who attended Southeastern University's National Leadership Forum got their chance Friday, as former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on campus as the final speaker of the servant leadership focused event.

Gates, who served under eight U.S. Presidents and also was director of the Central Intelligence Agency, first addressed The Forum audience about his keys to effective leadership. His listed nine qualities, including vision, transparency, integrity, courage, and self-confidence. He also emphasized the importance of leaders encouraging candor and honesty from those they are leading, saying that it was one of the hardest things for him to draw out of his workers at the Department of Defense.

"I'd rather be warned about a land mine than step on it," he said.

While entertaining those in attendance with stories from his time in government service and even some lighthearted jokes directed at Washington, Gates also took time to answer questions from Southeastern President Dr. Kent Ingle and the audience.

On the Middle East, Gates said the decision on what to do about preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons is "the toughest foreign policy problem I've encountered since I started in public service." He warned against intervention in conflicts such as the civil unrest in Syria by reminding the crowd of the sober reality that military interventions put American lives at risk, and that a decision to go down that road should primarily come when direct American interests are at risk.

"We use our military when our own vital national interests are at stake," he said.

Gates referred to foreign policy decisions throughout American history as a "constant blending of realism and idealism." He also looked back on his days as a CIA professional and his time as the agency's director, saying that most of the work of the CIA is much less dangerous than movies portray.

"It is hours and days of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror," he said.

Day Two of The Forum began with renowned speaker and author Mark Sanborn, who spent his session fleshing out the principles from his book The Fred Factor. He told the story of how his postman Fred in Denver went the extra mile in customer service from the first day Sanborn moved to the city and how Fred's attitude can be applied by leaders in dealing with their workers or customers.

"(Fred) said he worries about one thing at the end of the day," Sanborn said. "Did I waste any of the day I just finished?"

Sanborn gave four-and-a-half principles that can help leaders to take advantage of the Fred Factor, including four ways for an organization to increase its number of "Freds:" Find them, Reward them, Educate them, Demonstrate his attitude yourself. He closed by encouraging leaders to love what they do, who they do it with, and for whom they do it.

"Love is a commitment to treat people with dignity and respect, regardless of how you feel about them or how they make you feel," he said.

Filmmaker, producer, speaker, and write Phil Cooke followed Sanborn, calling on his experience to advise leaders how best to communicate their message and control the public's perception of their organization. Cooke emphasized originality, visibility, the power of a name, and simplicity during his session, while giving real-world examples of organizations that didn't follow those principles.

He also encouraged leaders to make sure they know their own story first before trying to share it with others.

"Nobody is listening to you because you don't know your story," he said. "Define your story, and it will change the way you are perceived."

Erwin McManus, principle visionary and primary communicator of Mosaic in Los Angeles, challenged the audience to see the way they live their lives as the greatest creative act they have before them. McManus pointed out God's intent in His design of creation, and that we should bring the same intention to the way we live.

"One of the features of a life well-lived is intention in our actions and our choices," he said. "We must ask ourselves, 'Why am I doing this?'"

Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines, pulled from his experience in turning around that company to gives insight into how leaders can shepherd transformation during turbulence. He said those who succeed do so by making turbulence work for them.

"Turbulence is inevitable, but misery is optional," he said.

About Southeastern University

Founded in 1935, Southeastern is a dynamic, Christ-centered university that works to integrate personal faith and higher learning. We are accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and affiliated with the Assemblies of God. Our breathtaking campus is located in sunny Lakeland, Florida, within 30 minutes of Tampa and the Disney area of Orlando.

You can visit Southeastern University online at www.SEU.edu.

SOURCE Southeastern University