Greatest Leaders from the past 100 years
June 24th, 2008 in Uncategorized. 21 Comments
Ran across an interesting list from Time (from 8 years ago) on who they ranked as the greatest 100 leaders of the last century (the list came out in 2000). So thought I would attempt to put together my own top ten greatest leaders list from the last 100 years. Here you go:
1. Martin Luther King
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Winston Churchill
4. Mother Teresa
5. Billy Graham
6. Franklin Roosevelt
7. Nelson Mandela
8. Walt Disney
9. Gandhi
10. Oprah Winfrey
Do you agree? Who would you add or take off?
21 Comments
Ben Arment
June 24, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Love him or leave him, I’d put Jerry Falwell on the religious list.
Travis Thompson
June 24, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I can’t argue with your list; I’d like to see Jackie Robinson on it, though . . .
Jayson Teagle
June 24, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Maxwell must be in the top 3.
Tony
June 24, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Michael Jordan… first person to transcend sport and use it for world domination
Danny
June 24, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I’d take Oprah off and put on on General Patton.
sabrinajoseph
June 25, 2008 at 2:39 am
Pastor Lomenick in the Top 5…Him and Mother Theresa are neck and neck
gail
June 25, 2008 at 7:06 pm
are these people great leaders or just popular?
bradlomenick
June 26, 2008 at 1:40 am
wow, we have quite a range of responses here.
Gail- good question. i think some are/were popular and great leaders as well. Oprah is probably the most glaring example of someone who is wildly popular, but not sure what kind of leader she is. But if one defines leadership as influence, then she definitely has reason to be on the list.
gail
June 26, 2008 at 2:02 pm
i def think some are great as well as popular (not saying you can’t/shouldn’t be both).
as for oprah (love her magazine), i’m still thinking about her endorsement of barak. did anyone actually vote for him because of her? did she help? did she lead anyone into his camp? was she influencial in this regard? i mean with one of her endorsements eye cream will go flying off the shelf but what about things that actually matter (not saying eye cream doesn’t matter, i use target brand). anyway, it would be interesting to have a conversation about cross over leadership…
bradlomenick
June 27, 2008 at 4:19 pm
good thoughts Gail. I am not sure her political endorsements are influencing tons of folks, just because the context of her recommendations are not necessarily around issues of leadership, but more books and products.
Adam Lomenick
July 1, 2008 at 10:37 pm
I think more of the people on the bottom should be on the top Oprah, Walt Disney, should be top 5 but on the other hand I’m only 13 HI BRAD!!!!!!!
Adam Lomenick
July 1, 2008 at 10:41 pm
What about the people these days that are leaders I don’t know about half these people. More this age Brad!
Adam Lomenick
July 1, 2008 at 10:44 pm
I agree with Travis, Jackie Robinson should be on the list.
austin
November 9, 2008 at 3:38 pm
i think Jesus Christ should be there don’t you…………
Alberto Conde
January 2, 2009 at 7:22 am
I would take Oprah off & Put on Reinhard Bonnke
brittany
January 25, 2010 at 3:59 pm
love them both… but oprah and walt disney need to come off that list.
oprah may of help a few but i don’t believe she belongs in the top 10.
and walt disney… he made disney world but that really hasn’t helped anyone. he’s just a great creator of making lots of money.
Spencer
June 24, 2010 at 12:21 pm
i think for the most part it’s a solid list. my first thought was similar to gail’s – is this about real leadership or influence. if it’s the former, than perhaps oprah, walt disney and even mother teresa would have to come off the list. if it’s the latter, then there’s probably a sports figure or entertainer that could crack that list over someone like churchill.
i guess the question is, how closely do we define leadership & influence?
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