My dad told me stories of his service in the First World War in France, and my hometown of New Concord, Ohio, resembled something like the one in the famed Broadway hit The Music Man. There was not a better place to grow up in America. Because of my father, the warmth and purpose of the people of New Concord, and a great high school civics teacher, the desire to serve my country found its way into my heart early and burns as brightly today as it ever did. When we founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at the Ohio State University in 1998, our vision was to create a place where young people could be inspired to public service the way I was years ago. After a life in the military, NASA, and the United States Senate, I knew that there was still much work to be done. Who would be our next generation of leaders? Who would train and inspire them? How would they know that public service is not only an honor but a great joy? I wanted to build a place that grappled with these questions and was prepared to develop innovative responses to them. I am proud to say that in the years since founding the institute, we have made great strides down this road—though a long way is left to travel. When Sander and Jonathon asked me to talk to them about this book, I told them that I don’t know any more about leadership than anyone else. I know there are shelves full of books on the subject—I read many of them starting from the time I was in the Marine Corps—but still, the subject feels like a great mystery to me. I was relieved to hear that it was a mystery to Sander and Jonathon too, because sometimes struggling with our questions is more important than trying to present neatly packaged answers. As this father and son team persisted, I decided to get involved for two reasons.

The second reason, and probably the most compelling one, is that this book is written by a father and son of very different generations and points of view. The book models its own message that leaders from the next generation must step up and take an active role. I make no bones about the fact that I want to inspire young people to get involved in public service leadership positions. I want them to understand the joys, duties, and rewards of such an endeavor. This book speaks to young people. It invites them to develop their own leadership practice. It is a call to action for them without being a diatribe. This book illustrates what I aim to do with young people every day—to hold a dialogue. The book puts the older generation and younger generation in discussion together for the purpose of discovering what qualities make someone a good leader.

We need to ask these questions together. We need to make a space for every age and generation to lead together, and understand each other, so we can fulfill missions that are bigger than ourselves.

When I orbited the earth that first time, I was struck by how fragile the atmosphere is—how precious the whole earthly experience is for us. The feeling of that orbit has never left me. Our responsibility to serve and lead is awesome. If this next generation is not inspired and prepared, we are in big trouble. May this book serve as a guidepost to a life of leadership in which the mission is always about something bigger—something further out there beyond the horizon.

John Glenn