Lincoln on Leadership
Executives Strategies for Tough Times
By Donald T. Phillips
Part 1
A. People
1. Get of the Office and Circulate
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Explain yourself in writing and offer advice
It is ____________ that people know you come among them without ______.
Seek casual contact with _________________.
Remember, everyone likes a ____________________.
Set a good example.
2. Build Strong Alliances
a. Wage only one war at a time.
b. Etiquette and personal dignity are sometimes wisely set aside.
c. Invest time and money in better _______________ the ins and outs of human
nature.
d. Remember, human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature
cannot be changed.
e. Showing your _______________ and _____________ nature will aid you in
forging successful relationships.
f. When you __________________ hope, you _______________ desperation.
3. Persuade Rather Than Coerce
a. Discourage formal grievances.
b. Use force only as a last ____________.
c. If you would win a subordinate to your cause, first convince him that you are
his sincere friend.
d. Delegate ___________________ and ______________ by _______________
people to act on their own.
e. On issues that affect your entire ________________, conduct full and
frequent ____________________ with department heads.
ANAM – Branson, MO
April 15, 2014
Dr. Michael Jones
B. Character
1. Honestly and Integrity Are The Best Policies
a. Give everyone a fair chance with equal freedom and opportunity for success.
b. When you make it to the top, turn and reach down for the person behind you.
c. You must set, and respond to, ________________ goals and _________ that
move your followers.
d. You must be ________________ fair and decent, in both the business and
personal side of life.
f. Stand with anybody who stands right. Stand with him while he is right and
part with him when he goes wrong.
g. Never add the weight of your character to a charge against a person without
knowing it to be true.
h. It is your duty to advance the aims of the organization and also to help those
who serve it.
i. If you once forfeit the ______________ of your fellow citizens, you can never
___________ their ____________ and ___________.
2. Never Act out of Vengeance or Spite
a. No purpose is served by ____________ merely for the _______________
sake.
b. Always keep in mind that once a ________________ is destroyed he
ceases to ________________ to the organization.
c. People will be more willing to seek an audience with you if you have a
good reputation.
d. It would not hurt you much if, once in a while, you could manage to let
things slip, unbeknownst-like.
e. Remember: Your organization will take on the personality of its top
leader.
f. You should be very unwilling for young people to be ruined for slight
causes.
g. Have _____________ toward none and _____________ for all.
h. Touch people with the better angels of your nature.
ANAM – Branson, MO
April 15, 2014
Dr. Michael Jones
3. Have the Courage to Handle Unjust Criticism
a. Refrain from reading ____________ upon yourself so you won’t be provoked.
b. Don’t be terrified by an excited populace and hindered from speaking your
honest sentiments.
c. It’s not entirely ________ to allow a ________________ to go uncontradicted.
d. Remember that truth is generally the best _________________ against slander.
e. Do the very best you know how – the very best you can – and keep doing so
until the end.
f. If you yield to even one ________ charge, you may open yourself up to other
____________ attacks.
g. If both factions or neither shall harass you, you will probably be about right.
h. Beware of being assailed by one and praised by the other.
i. The probability that you may fall in the struggle ought not to deter you from the
support of a cause you believe to be just.
4. Be a Master of Paradox
a. Make _______________ one of the main cogs in the machinery of your
corporation.
b. Remember that it is not best to swap horses when crossing streams.
c. Don’t surrender the game leaving any ______________ cards ___________.
d. Do less whenever you believe what you are doing hurts the cause, and do
more whenever you believe doing more will help the cause. Try to correct
errors when they are shown to be errors; and adopt new views so fast as they
appear to be true views.
e. You must come to grips with the paradox of providing employee security
while also encouraging an environment for risk-taking.
f. When you are in deep distress and cannot ___________ some expression of it,
sit down and write out a ___________ letter venting your anger. But don’t
_________ it.
g. Make no explanation to your enemies. While they want a squabble and a fuss;
and that they can have if you explain, and they can not have if you don’t.
h. Avoid major conflict in the form of quarrels and arguments. You simply don’t
have time for it.
ANAM – Branson, MO
April 15, 2014
Dr. Michael Jones