Meditations On Leadership
These are my thoughts on leadership related topics and ideas. It is meant to be a sort of journal for me and if you find it useful than I am happy to have helped.
"What would you want if you could have any wish?" asked the photojournalist of the haggard, bloodied Marine before him. The Marine gaped at his interviewer. The photographer snapped his picture, which became the iconic Korean War image featured on this book's jacket. "Give me tomorrow," he said at last. -Patrick K. O'Donnell, Give Me Tomorrow I read Give Me Tomorrow by Patrick K. O'Donnell at a time when people were very angry in our nation and some people were calling for violence. All I could think about when I heard of people calling for violence was a short story that Patrick relates about a Korean father who rushes to the marines carrying his infant daughter in his arms and begging them to save her. I will spare you the details of that incident and the many other stories that are in this book because I don't think that they are for everyone. But anyone who calls for violence should seriously consider what it is they are asking for and the only way to know what they are asking for is to either have lived it or to have studied the history of violence. Not just the tactical or glorified history that you get in text books but the personal accounts of people who lived it. I do not wish anyone to have to live through that kind of violence. Why do I suggest this book to leaders? It is a great lesson about the consequences of your decisions. There were good decisions and bad decisions made in the Korean War and the results of those decisions were life altering and often life ending. Although you may not be making life or death decisions for your people you are probably making important decisions that affect people's lives in very profound ways. Learn from the lessons of history rather than repeat them. Leadership LessonDo not call for things you don't understand. Don't call for violence, down sizing, firing someone, etc. without understanding what you are calling for. Do not make decisions when you are ignoring half or more of the facts, you will get it wrong. Learn how to make good decisions and, more importantly, how to avoid making bad decisions.
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AuthorJ. LaVarr Roberts Archives
April 2021
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