In U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s acceptance speech he recognized his campaign manager, David Plouffe, as being “…the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best — the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.” Obama’s campaign was imaculately put together, defied Presidential campaigns of the past, and ultimately paved his road to the White House. There are important business and life lessons we can learn from his campaign:

Execution is key. Obama’s campaign had a clear strategy planned out from the beginning. His campaign team carefully implemented the strategy without any major mistakes. On my latest business we made some significant mistakes with execution but when you’re running for President you can’t afford any major errors.

Look to the future. Obama’s campaign strategy was fresh and unconventional. His fresh and clear message is what ultimately attracted millions of people to him. Not following Presidential campaigns of the past gave him a competitive edge over his opponents.

Utilize the latest technology. Obama used Web 2.0 sites like facebook, twitter, myspace, and mashable to build a solid base of followers. You can use all of these sites to communicate with your customers and fans too. I have only recently started learning about the importance of twitter but I find it to be pretty fascinating!

Put people first. Obama is now the President-elect because of millions of Americans who supported him and he knows it. Behind every successful person or business are staunch supporters that sometimes don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Stay true to yourself. While opponents sometimes resorted to name slinging, Obama refused to play that game. It reminds me of the quote, “build a foundation with the bricks thrown at you.”