Impatience Is a Virtue (A Life Where the Buck Stops)

Shortly after he was named president of Purdue University, Mitch Daniels was asked by the journalist Jonathan Alter if it bothered him that he could have been President of the United States instead. It bothered those who thought then and still do today that Indiana’s chief executive should have been America’s. Daniels, though, was off to the next chapter in one of America’s most remarkable lives.

From the White House to the C-suite at Eli Lilly and Company to Indiana’s Governor’s Office to the presidency of Purdue, Daniels has brought transformative change to America’s public, private and non-profit sectors. In Impatience Is a Virtue, he shares how. Along the way, Daniels reflects on an incredible American story, how the Harley-Davidson riding grandson of a Syrian immigrant became one of the nation’s most admired leaders. It is also a vivid first-hand account of the last half-century of the nation, from the Reagan Revolution to 9/11, to the political upheavals of the 2010s, to the COVID pandemic to the fight for free expression and thought across our college campuses.

Impatience Is a Virtue is the story of Daniels' many lives, told with humility and humor. For the first time, he shares the lessons that led to success in every part of the American economy. At a moment when citizens’ faith in institutions declines and cynicism about their leaders grows, Mitch Daniels’ example matters more than ever.