THE TOURNAMENT TO LEADERS - The Volunteered

With (all) that being said, we culminate with the release of the list of the 60 Volunteered individuals. These men and women (hypothetically) were selected by The Council for their character and the traits that classify them as potential leaders. Many have exposed their own humanity while trying to better the humanity we share. Many have special interests or passions, causes near and dear to their hearts, or a fire that allows them the energy to seek success in any arena of life. Some have a long track record of accomplishment, while some simply caught this lone “Council” member's attention at a given moment in time.

As disclaimed, my research on some of these individuals was only the starting point to my understanding of their character, both professionally and personally. There was no extraneous attempt to balance numbers by “qualifiers” of candidates. Much was driven simply by a quick internet search. 

In the end, however, this list of 60 was placed within the single-elimination tournament bracket. (Thank you random number generator). Seedings and regions were all randomized, but would be the responsibility of The Council under “normal conditions”, whatever that means for a hypothetical exercise. 

Following are the individuals in no particular order.

The Volunteered

Dwayne Johnson Lynsi Snyder Sonia Sotomayor RuPaul Andre Charles Malcolm Jenkins

Joe Rogan Mitch Albom Daron Acemoglu Anant Agarwal Indra Nooyi

Mary Barra Malcolm Gladwell Will Smith Carmen Reinhart Sebastian Thurn

Hakeem Jeffries Stephen Colbert Mike Tomlin Ursula Burns Maya Moore

Bill Simmons Jeff Bezos Elon Musk Salman Khan Michelle Obama

Manny Maceda Andrew Yang Chael Sonnen Rhonda Crichlow

Kimberly Harris (ANY) JJ Watt Sundar Pichai Pete Buttigieg

Freddie Rodriguez Rose Namajunas Leonardo DiCaprio Doc Rivers

Alicia Silverstone Tony Robbins Mark Cuban Geoffrey Canada

Dave Chappelle Randi Weingarten Steve Kerr Howard Schultz

Keanu Reeves Alyssa Milano Jo Jorgensen

Jeffrey Sachs Guy Fieri Jack Balkin Angelina Jolie John Kasich

Kirsten Gillibrand Wayne Messam Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Jim Carrey Cami Anderson LeBron James Wendy Kopp

THE TOURNAMENT TO LEADERS - The Council of Elders

I know I have been consciously shortening the name to The Council to avoid any claims of ageism, but The Council of Elders just sounds so much cooler. Below is the list of individuals I envisioned being the nucleus of the group in charge of selecting the 60 Volunteered. For convenience sake, I took over that responsibility for them in The Volunteered post and Bracket creation. 

These individuals embody something special; they are as wise as their years. They are strong, and many have that “I’m old enough to not care about your feelings” about them, especially when it comes to important issues. Their collective knowledge, experience, and humility would be responsible for at least setting the stage and potential for national leadership, and I would feel very safe in their collective hands. They would also have the opportunity to participate in consulting with the newly elected leadership team, so their investment in the 60 individuals chosen continues beyond construction of The Bracket. 

(Remember, these 24 individuals would also have the option of including their significant other and/or a +1 in the process, so this number is a baseline). 

The Council of Elders

Responsible for the Tournament to Leaders Bracket

Gregg Popovich Tony Dungy C Vivian Stringer Geno Auriemma

Denzel Washington Oprah Winfrey Tom Hanks Martha Stewart

Warren Buffet Steve Ballmer Russel Simmons Sheila Johnson

Barack Obama Elizabeth Warren Michael Bloomberg Maxine Waters

Jerry Springer Eric Holder Diane Ravitch     Freeman Hrabowski III
Bill Nye Claudia Goldin Morgan Freeman   Ruth Bader Ginsburg

THE TOURNAMENT TO LEADERS - Bracket Release Disclaimer

Bracket Release Disclaimer

I’ll save you all the italics for this Disclaimer considering the whole post in just that. Well, from now on…

As the rabid fan of March Madness that I have been for as long as I can remember, literally ANY bracket-format tournament and the release of the seedings is exciting for me. So, even as I haphazardly listed the 60 candidates that I found and used an online resource for a randomized list of numbers with which to fill in the bracket, I was having an incredible time. I giggled, often, and immediately saw some of the pros and cons of this format. But, I never lost touch of the entertainment value in this exercise, and I hope the same can be true for you. Regardless of your preferences, affiliations, and opinions, this was meant for fun and I hope that you can have a moment to sit back, laugh a little, and lose yourself in productive fantasizing. 

In the case of both The Council and The Volunteered I did my best to be all-inclusive. This was ultimately, and admittedly, hindered by my limited societal scope. I’m not proud of it, but I’m also not embarrassed by it. At this moment in my life, I have certain areas prioritized and certain protections in place - not safety protections but ones for sanity, positivity, etc. I can be a simple person, I can have simple tastes, I can have simple focus. In many instances, the “experts” that I chose for The Council and The Volunteered were the direct results of blatant and explicit Google searches. “Humanitarian celebrities” or “major influencers in education” were not uncommon starting points to seek diversity among the individuals selected. My “research” of a lot of these candidates was equally as topical. If their picture and name was accompanied by a short bio or description, I read that, but that was where most of it ended. I do, however, have quite the list of individuals that I am going to dive more deeply into learning about once this is all done and I have a little more free time. There are an awful lot of really good people out there. That was refreshing. 

There weren’t really restrictions entertained for individuals selected other than age and/or me not wanting to torture them by putting them into political office. There were a lot that I left off. There are some that may make absolutely NO sense other than there is something about them that struck me as a quality I would love to see in the leader of our country...or at least on a team of leaders. 

The seedings of the candidates should also be undeniable proof that I used a randomized sequence. No offense meant to those candidates who did receive higher seeds, but...well you’ll see. Though I may not know much about politics, I definitely know seeding and in this completely fabricated case, The Council, (in this case played solely by me and an online number generator), missed on a few occasions. 

I will say, however, that the resulting Tournament to Leaders would be very entertaining and, by the end, could easily boil down to a group of four individuals who would bring open minds, caring hearts, and good intentions that, with support, could get a whole lot of good done in just a year at the helm. 

I wish the best to all of you this 4th of July. It has been a rough year. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay sharp. I hope this release of The Tournament to Leaders sparks some imbibed debate, some patriotic banter, and some restored faith and pride in what we can, and will, become as we start using our hearts, our minds, and our voices together to redefine tradition for our society in our generation. 

Own Your I, 

Ben