I am one of those people who can’t stop thinking about work while on vacation. This is bad in one sense, because I sometimes have trouble fully relaxing, but good in another sense because I learned on my recent vacation cruise how much that my observations about Egypt and our current Tompkins Associates initiatives have in common.

Since my last post, my wife and I have added the Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, the Hatshepsut Temple and the Colossi of Memnon to our vacation highlights. Earlier this week, as you may recall, I blogged about the Nile River and gained a newfound respect for water and its role in sustainability.

Today, my mind is tuned in to leadership and how it has timeless significance. I am also focused on planning for The Great Comeback, which you can read more about here and view a video (organizations should be planning for economic recovery instead of holding back and doing nothing to promote growth during the recession. I also recorded a podcast on the subject of economic downturn supply chain strategies).

Leadership is important and always will be – It has been so since the beginning of time and I promise you, it will not change. I thought of this as I observed the quality of life of many of the people of Egypt. Although I did not visit Egypt 5,000 years ago (I am not nearly that old!) I did view with interest the paintings on the walls of the Tombs depicting life in Egypt back then.

I have a great deal of respect for Egypt as one of the world’s oldest civilizations and wondered about the leadership of its kings and pharaohs, along with the leaders in everyday Egyptian life.

Of course there was a lot of farming, fishing and handcrafts. Progress was powered by donkeys, horses, camels and men. Egyptians lived in tents and stone houses without modern conveniences, just as in other areas of that time.

But what came as somewhat of a surprise to me is that this appears to be exactly the same standard of living I witnessed for many in Egypt today. And I am speaking about just the parts of the country that I was able to visit.

I make this observation not in a critical way, but rather, because it is directly tied into another item on my "To Do" list – an updated speech on The Great Comeback. Of course my speech topic is about the recovery from The Great Recession. But here in Egypt, it seems to me that what is needed is a Great Comeback of a different character.

Ramses II was born around 1300 BC, and when he ruled, Egypt was the wealthiest country in the world. Today, however, much of that wealth is gone, and many Egyptian people live with the same standard of living as their ancestors of over 3,000 years ago. I realize that there has been a huge amount of water under the bridge between Ramses and the 21st Century, but wow, talk about the need for a recovery strategy and then a comeback strategy.

It looks like the need for recovery and comeback planning is equally important for the G-20 countries who got hit by the recession as it is for the developing countries that have never had a robust global economy. There is a huge need for a Great Comeback with a true global impact, and it’s something that our leaders would do well to remember as we climb the steep hill to economic recovery.

I would like to know your insight on leadership and global economic recovery. Now back to work, vacation/work is over.

Go!Go!Go!

Jim