In this article by William Hitchcock, author of the age of Eisenhower, explains how Eisenhower led the country during the second world war.
A Summary
When the second world war started in 1939 he was just a Lieutenant Colonel but he was a five-star general when the war ended in 1945 and made the announcement "The mission of this allied force fulfilled".
He successfully balanced the interest and egos of a galaxy of generals and political leaders.
He became the president in 1953, America was in the middle of the Korean War, USSR had expansionist plans across western Europe, the Great Depression was still on everyone's mind. But when he stepped down in 1960 America was prosperous with good jobs, prosperous suburbia and happy days. he achieved a nearly balanced budget every year despite spending a record 10% on Defense.
the key to his identity was the ethic of service and sacrifice. Everyone agreed to his view - good times may come but they could go also. When times were good you sored up for when times were not going well. Everyone anticipated that there could be problems ahead. He successfully conveyed the message that Americans could deal with any crisis in the world provided they supported the country in times of need. Individualism would be welcomed up to a point and to find the right balance between individualism and community. Encourage self-reliance, but not selfishness. Maintain the strength o the community so that in times of trouble the community would be resilient.
He believed that the process of innovation, improvement, applying reason, science, and rational judgement to the challenge of making people more comfortable, healthier, and more prosperous—was in every respect emblematic of the American way. He felt corporation were at their best when they worked in the public interest.
What set him apart was the way he approached uncertainty. He was a world-class poker player and naturally a world-class bridge player. The key thing in these games is that you should know how to read your opponent and more importantly know yourself.
He believed in the adage "Plans are worthless, planning is everything"
If you plan all the way along, you have a sense of how to reason through a crisis, especially when time is of the essence.
Normally we think of crisis as anomalies, they happen occasionally.
However, Eisenhower felt crisis happen all the time and prepared for the hidden crisis just around the corner. This put him in a strong position when the crisis did occur.
Important attributes would be the power to focus, disciplined mind, work through the hierarchy and establish priorities, what is most important etc.,
Manage teams - discipline, organisation and clarity of who is responsible for what and perseverance.
When he got stuck as a Major in the army for 12 years, he didn't let that become his problem. He made himself indispensable, for everyone he worked for, a go-to man for every one of his superiors. His constant refrain was “How do I take the job that I’m doing, and do it extremely well so that my boss will know that I’m his best asset?” He was incredibly disciplined in taking his emotions and trying to leave them to one side and simply working on the problem. Avoid emotion, and make decisions based on the cold-blooded question of whether something was in the best interests of the organisation.
Mckinsey Quarterly 2020 May - Dwight Eisenhower: Lessons from the ‘balancer in chief’
Comments
Post a Comment