A few days ago, I wrote about my feelings regarding the inauguration of President Obama. I was feeling really good that day, and for the next couple of days I felt pretty good also.

Then certain things started happening that made me take pause, get upset, then have to come to some realities. Not everyone is happy that Barack Obama is president, and they're not staying silent about it either. Some of the concerns are genuine, and I'll admit that. Some are the stupidest things in the world, paranoia infused, and something that I really don't want to even read about, let alone deal with.

Frankly, I'm not sure why I was caught off guard by it all, being me. After all, even though history was made back in November, when we look at the final figures Obama only won by 7.2% of the actual vote, even though the electoral vote was more than a 2-1 margin, at 365 votes to 173 votes. This means that almost half the populace didn't want Obama as their president, even though almost 1.5 million people went to Washington D.C. to be at the inauguration. That's more than 99.5% of the cities in the world; that's just phenomenal.

Still, it should teach us all a lesson about the reality of leadership. Not everyone likes what we have to say or do, and not everyone will go along with it without reservation. Even in President Obama's case, the leaders of both houses of Congress came out days later saying that just because they supported him didn't mean that they would agree with everything he said, and that they didn't report to him. Interesting how quickly the euphoria of only two days earlier was quashed.

Not that I believe President Obama isn't going to get most of what he's asking for, but that's not really the point here. Sometimes people will come along begrudgingly because they know that something has to be done, even if they don't agree with the method. But they will have their say, and make sure others hear it, so just in case things fail, they can dislodge themselves from the errors, and if they succeed they can say they had a hand in making it all work.

Frankly, I don't like that kind of thing, but when I was a working manager I did just that type of thing on a daily basis. Some of the employees who reported to me didn't like my style of management, and I knew that, but I wasn't going to change the essence of who I was for the minority. Yet, I always tried to consider the point of view of the minority before I made any crucial decisions that would affect them because, in the end, they were as critical to the overall success of the department and the organization as everyone else. I wasn't the type of person who would terminate someone just because they didn't agree with me on all things. Without hearing from the other side at times, you may end up with a lot of people who agree with you just because you're the leader, and that doesn't make anything go better.

Still, one hopes that everything is done with some spirit of cooperation and a little less hate and a little less posturing. I know the world of politics is like no other, but the world of politics sometimes sets the tone for business, as people tend to mimic what they see, even as adults. If politicians can't show dignity towards each other, then why would anyone expect that every manager or leader in business would show it?

My dad used to say that, in his mind, one should view every person they work with as "a needed enemy", because, in the long run, most people are out for themselves. That's kind of a military view, one that I didn't quite share. I have always said that one should view everyone as an individual, with their own motives for doing whatever it is they do, and to always keep that in mind when you make any decision, or say anything to anyone, whether you're talking business or personal issues. Leaders do set the tone, but they need to never forget about the other side. Because, the other side is always there, whether we want to believe it or not.