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Thanks for pushing me as well.

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Not sure I agree with your 3 post-9/11 comments, they sound very Paul Wolfowitz to me. I will admit I am biased because of which of those stereotypes I felt I was part of in those days. But I do get the extension of the point. No question that hypocrisy bordering on schizophrenia leads to the clamping down on shareholders directing what shareholders direct ('just to get customers to buy their stuff'.....um, yeh, that's what they do) we have seen from those who grew from protecting 'private industry.'

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OK, I thought about it overnight, in light of the bias I admitted. I was scarred for life by the example of 'military smarter than intel' being GEN Wesley Clark, and the 'Politicians being smarter than the military' being the Clintons, and the business leader examples being......Bill Gates/Steve Jobs/Larry Ellison? Harry Stonecipher/Jim McNerney? I am sure you will concede those are pretty extreme examples.... but the reaction to say; 'if the next level up refuses to be what they need to be, then the next level down has to be' then leads to the 'you don't wanna' live there' examples you gave. The burden on your position, which is your entire book, is that society has to produce those leaders to staff the ideal hierarchy you suggest. It's track record over the last ~25 years is...... questionable. Thank you for making me think.

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