Call Sign Chaos
There is much in Patton’s letter to think about. Obviously, some of it pertains only to war, but almost all of it has relevance to what you do if you adopt and adapt it appropriately: praising rather than blaming; getting out and working amid your “troops”; precisely describing what you want done; taking pride in the profession; paying attention to
... See moreCraig Walsh • The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership
How, though, do you “prune” theory? By not asking too much of it, Clausewitz replies. “[I]t would indeed be rash” to deduce, from any particular reality, “universal laws governing every single case, regardless of all haphazard influences.” But those who never rise “above anecdote”—those indefatigable repeaters of pointless stories—are equally usele
... See moreJohn Lewis Gaddis • On Grand Strategy
Presidential advisers found this frustrating, even frivolous, and some historians since have agreed.35 But follow the metaphor more closely: how do you keep one hand from knowing what the other is doing without having a head instruct both? “I may be entirely inconsistent,” FDR went on to explain, “if it will help win the war.”36 Consistency in gran
... See moreJohn Lewis Gaddis • On Grand Strategy
Ben Horowitz on Peacetime vs. Wartime CEOs:
Management literature is almost entirely written for peacetime CEOs. Everything you learn about decision-making and delegation and “don't micromanage”, all these things are very peacetime oriented in the sense that in peacetime, you're much more focused on the development of the people and the organization
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