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As far as leadership is concerned, there is a case to made for personal charisma or even the ability to inspire those around you, but true leadership, the kind that rallies nations, is a refined, learned skill. Military intuitions, like West Point, have long believed that leaders are trained, not born. Leading men and women into battle or into the boardroom, the skills are essentially the same. How does one explain the disproportionate amount of military-trained individuals in leadership positions in the corporate sphere?

Ah, the life of an executive. On the go, an early morning jog before the sun rises, a protein shake for breakfast, $400 suits, Italian loafers, Armani ties. A London Fog overcoat to wrap around yourself as you slide into your high-performance German sports car — the kind that starts itself with the push of a button. Voice command telephone connects you to your secretary; the gleam of the wood paneling reminds you you’re not just some upper management hack. You’re an executive and you’ve earned it.

Face it: holding on to any kind of market share today is a heroic feat. With the virtual economic free-fall the world markets are experiencing, to establish or even maintain any kind of share is a major challenge. Even when we take the massive proliferation of new products on the market, it is feat well nigh on magical to get the public to buy. And why should they? With the collapse (for lack of a better word) of the credit markets, consumers have less expendable income and even less inclination to spend what little they do have.

It was Thomas Sowell who said, “The first lesson of economics is: there is never enough of anything to satisfy everyone who wants it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” The aim of any good leader, therefore, is to instill hope. We can qualify “good” and perhaps we should. Indeed, there is not enough of everything to satisfy everyone, but we are creatures of hope. We are tied to aspiration and wired for problem solving. We need to feel as if we can accomplish anything. We need to feel as if we can get anything. The operative word: feel.

Odd as it may seem, Im always being asked: “What is the Women’s Leadership Program all about?” Seriously. Though I have no idea why people ask me, as I am a male college dropout, I am nonetheless flattered. I know a few things, a few things I had to rummage around the Internet to find. But my answer is this: the WLP is a year-long program dedicated to helping women develop leadership skills. Simple enough, but the spectrum of fields includes social, political, artistic and technological fields. They cover all the bases at GWU.

Let’s put down our Mont Blanc fountain pens and reflect on an issue that seldom gets the time it deserves: strategic alliances. “That’s all very well and good,” you say, “but I don’t enjoy playing Risk.” Indeed, this is no board game (and I prefer Axis and Allies, by the by), it’s the current corporate and business buzzword. With the fragile markets, lack of credit, and doom slinging, the corporations and affiliated executives that will survive will be the ones that can ally themselves.