As of mid-February, the Democratic Presidential candidates have extremely close delegate counts. According to the Associated Press, Hillary Clinton has 1095 delegates to Barack Obama's 1070. CNN has Clinton ahead with 1100 to Obama's 1039.
It is important to realize that many elections are decided by just a handful of voters. For instance:
• In the 2000 Presidential Election, President Bush’s margin of victory over Al Gore was 154 votes in Florida, which enabled the former to edge out the latter with four electoral votes. In the waning months of 2000, the fate of the nation, if not the world, literally hung on a few dangling chads.
• One vote elected Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency in 1876, and the man in the Electoral College who cast that vote was an Indiana Congressman who himself was elected by one vote.
• There was extensive debate about impeaching President Andrew Johnson in the Senate during ten weeks, from March 5 to May 16, 1868. In the end, President escaped conviction by a lone vote.
• One electoral vote kept Aaron Burr from becoming President. That one vote elected Thomas Jefferson in 1800.
These are some of the kinds of episodes that are discussed in our new book, The Power of Incremental Advantage: How Incremental Improvements Produce Dramatically Disproportionate Results.
The Power of Incremental Advantage documents how one bullet, one vote, one second, one word, and one inch have shaped history and changed the world.
The Power of Incremental Advantage is replete with strategies, tactics and practical leadership lessons to help you stay one step ahead of your closest competitors. These leadership lessons are supported by well-researched historical examples.
