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I was pretty thrilled when the announcement came out that President Obama would be the keynote speaker at South by Southwest Interactive. Over the moon in fact.

I couldn’t believe my luck that as a SXSW attendee, I was getting this amazing opportunity. Plus, I was pretty impressed SXSW was able to secure not only the POTUS, but also the First Lady to do a keynote during SXSW Music.

How many times in your business life do you get an opportunity to hear someone like a sitting U.S. President speak? Eagerly, I submitted my online application to attend. Clearly there was going to be more demand than seats for this presentation, but I never contemplated not getting a seat. (Have you seen my LinkedIn profile picture?). Until the cold, harsh email arrived midnight Thursday to advise me I had not been selected. This email was right to the point. It was sharper than an RFP-loss notification. No “Dear Vendor” salutation in this baby. No, the subject line actually advised me I had lost. Boom. Already mildly aggravated about being stuck in the Houston airport at midnight due to travel delays out of the 416, this wasn’t improving my mood. But the next day I trucked over to the event venue two hours before the scheduled speech and put my faith in the Standby Line. My faith, and overcoming my usual repulsion to lining up for anything, was rewarded as I managed to get in to see the President’s speech. Despite literally being in the last row of the theatre, I was able to not only hear him speak, but to hear his message.

Indeed, I heard his message. Let me share it with you.

Obama’s message clarified why he was making this appearance at SXSW. It was both brilliantly obvious and complexly nuanced at the same time.

On the surface, Obama is the Digital President. His campaigns were the first to truly utilize the power of digital and social to propel a grassroots political movement. He very publicly refused to give up his BlackBerrry when elected to the Oval Office. He famously brought in a SWAT team of digital gurus to save the day when his ObamaCare website ingloriously crashed. He has launched the U.S. Digital Service. He has called upon American tech leaders to help fight global terrorism. It all adds up. Of course being at the event that annually redefines the bleeding edge makes a ton of sense. What better place to recruit new talent for the USDS?

But there’s more.

Obama, albeit in the swan song of his tenure, has learned much about the reality of trying to achieve progress through the political and bureaucratic machinations of government. He’s learned that a simple idea can be killed by the machine. He’s learned that a big idea, like ObamaCare, can be killed by a purchasing apparatus that is more accustomed to buying pencils or army boots than sophisticated IT infrastructure. He’s also learned that people love to hate on government. A two-hour wait for a drivers licence renewal will regularly, and justifiably, ignite a social media tirade that can wilt a 50-foot tree. Yet, a pleasant ride down a national highway, during a family vacation, will generate nary a honk of the family’s minivan horn. It’s not news that consumers complain when things go wrong. Each of us face that daily in our professional lives. But for a federal government that complexity is much deeper.

This is where Obama really started to make me think.

His stated pitch was he wants help with the problems that government faces. His appeal was timeless. He was adamant that regardless of his leaving office in a year, helping the U.S. be the best country it can be would still be his personal mission. But his real pitch was for people, business, critics, and media to develop a deeper and more robust understanding of the problems government faces. Armed with that new level of empathy, perhaps the desire and interest to be a part of the solution would be intensified.

Explained the way the President did, I think he may be right. It made me realize how easy it is to be a critic.

Obama’s thesis was simple. All governments are burdened with the most challenging problems in society. People may hate government, but let’s compare the problems they face with what government faces. Business may hate government, but let’s compare the problems they face with what government faces.

For example, a company may be concerned with delivering the perfect latté to their consumer. The individual may concerned about their latté having just the right amount of foam. Government is worried about ensuring children eat before school. Another example. A company may be concerned with providing the best flights and service for tourists heading to Cancun. The individual may concerned about getting the lowest price on their flight to Cancun. Government is worried about helping veterans recover from combat trauma and not putting an end to their own lives. A company may be worried about their marketing campaign. An individual may be worried about a meeting with their boss. Government is worried about stopping terrorists from blowing up the very building that we were sitting in for the opening of SXSW.

Reflecting on the President’s comments two days later reminded me of JFK’s famous line to America. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country.” Though not as inspirationally charged as 35, 44 was saying the same thing to the tech community. I heard him. It may have taken a couple of days, but I heard him.

It’s a message that translates to Canada as well. It’s a message that translates to each of our businesses. Political affiliations aside, our new Prime Minister is hell-bent on selling our country to the world. Do I agree with every policy decision he is making. Do you? That’s not the point. The point is we have a responsibility as leaders to help make Canada the best place in the world to live. Businesses. Marketers. Not for profits. Agencies. Researchers. We have enormous influence. We wield that influence through our employment of millions, our control of product availability and distribution of goods, services and information; the purchasing power of our supply chains and the exponential impact in their employment, investment, and re-distribution of wealth; our control over media, messaging, conversation, and bar stool dialogue.

Profits are important. Essential. Obviously pretty nice. But unless we have a safe, sustainable, and successful country to operate in, they are not legally and morally achievable. Ironically, I went to South by Southwest to see the latest and greatest innovations. To bring the newest ideas back to my clients. To support my colleague Graham Lee during his presentation. I’m sure I will fulfil all that. But thanks to the POTUS, I’ve been reminded that all of us in marketing have a greater societal role than just selling stuff.