Lost in the Crowd: What a Botched VP Reveal Teaches Us About Leadership

It was a busy day in New Orleans.

After all, the Republican presidential candidate was announcing his running mate in the city’s Spanish Plaza.

Thousands surrounded the podium.

You could hardly squeeze another soul into the crowd.

Excitement was in the air—along with the signature humidity the city is so famously known for.

There was a problem.

A major problem.

No one knew where the Vice Presidential candidate was.

Bush had just decided to name Quayle as his running mate.

Quayle and his family were on their way to the announcement.

They were in the crowd.

Yes, the Vice Presidential candidate of the United States was struggling to get through the thick throng of people surrounding the stage.

Many of the Secret Service agents had no clue what Quayle looked like. They couldn’t help locate him.

Everyone on the platform was scanning the crowd.

The problem? The Quayles were young and blended in.

It was Strom Thurmond, the elderly senator from South Carolina, who finally spotted Quayle in the sea of faces. He guided him to the stage—where Quayle was met with roaring applause.

The Bush campaign should have assigned someone to shepherd him through the chaos. But that minor detail slipped through the cracks.

Bush and Quayle went on to win the general election in 1988.

That should give you hope as a leader.

You're going to miss obvious details.

Your team will too.

But you can still win.

Your ability to scramble and bounce back is everything.

So—you’ve missed something.

Learn from it.

Talk with your team about how to improve.

But most of all… don’t let a misstep define you, your leadership, your team, or your organization.

Perfection doesn’t exist—not in business, not in campaigns.

Even on the most important days, when you think every detail has been covered, you’ll discover a major step was skipped.

The Bush/Quayle campaign didn’t let that bumpy start define them.

They rolled on to victory.

Get up.
Get better.
Get the win.

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Intersecting Life, Leadership, and Luxury,
Chris Adams

Source: “First in Line” by Kate Andersen Brower, pp. 40–41.

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