"Thatcher's chief goals in power were to reverse Britain's economic decline and to reduce the range of the state as well as standing taller on the international stage."
The point in looking at Margaret Thatcher as a leader, for the most part, isn't the politics she was involved in, as is mentioned above, rather, it's looking at how she was a leader in reference to her specific goals. In that area, Margaret Thatcher was very successful.
Every one of the areas she had set her eyes on and firmly believed she accomplished; at least in moving the direction of the country the way she believed it needed to go. Nobody can move a country in the relatively short time she was in office, but they can lay the foundation for the future - which she did.
What was important is she had very specific goals, never would move off those goals, and rallied everyone she could to get in line with those goals.
Whether one agrees with her goals or not is irrelevant, as far as a leader goes, she accomplished what she set out to do, and you can't ask any more of a leader than that.
What was amazing about her accomplishments were they cut against the grain of some embedded opposition and patterns that had sprouted over the years. She had to battle deeply ingrained ways of doing things that made the process and opposition harder and longer.
The key thing is she never wavered. She refused to move off what she knew was the right thing to do. Those that lived through those times know the extraordinary pressure upon her to waver and change: she didn't do it.
We need business leaders of this kind that are able to pursue and stick with that which they know is their purpose. We can't waver and shift every time a new thing is introduced by opposition or those with personal agendas.
The business world is going to become increasingly under attack by special interest groups that consider them a personal piggy bank like they do the government. We're going to have to be strong and hold to our values as we move ahead.
These special interest groups are experts and experienced at using the unwitting media to their ends. We need to not only be strong, but have contingency plans in place to combat this powerful force that is already upon us. Margaret Thatcher was a great example of how it needs to be done.
Margaret Thatcher Resources:
The Best Quotes From Margaret Thatcher's 'Statecraft'
Margaret Thatcher & the Revival of the West
Interview with Margaret Thatcher
Magaret Thatcher's Life in the Shadows
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