GRANT
NELSON
BOYD
BOSSIDY
GRANT
Grant
from the “seminal” biography by:
Jean Edward Smith
“A generation of American officers had been schooled to believe the
art of generalship required rigid adherence to certain textbook
theorems.”/151 “The nature of Grant’s greatness has been a riddle
to many observers. … did not hedge his bets … disregarded explicit
instructions … nothing to fall back on … violating every maxim held
dear by the military profession … new dimension: ability to learn
from the battlefield … finished near the bottom of his [West Point]
class in tactics … carried the fight to the enemy … maintain the
momentum of the attack … military greatness is the ability to
recognize and respond to opportunities presented.”/152-3 “Grant
had an aversion to digging in.”/153 “Grant had an intangible
advantage. He knew what he wanted.”/153 “Grant’s seven-mile dash
changed the course of the war.”/157 “The one who attacks first will
be victorious.”/158 “dogged”/159 “unconditional surrender”/162
“simplicity and determination”/166 “quickness of mind that allowed
him to make on the spot adjustments … [his] battles were not
elegant set-piece operations”/166 “[other Union general] preferred
preparation to execution … became a friend of detail … suffered
from ‘the slows’ …”/170 Message to Halleck from McClellan: “Do not
hesitate to arrest him” [following great victory]/172 … “learned how
to withstand attacks from the rear” [Army politics]/179
“He never credited the enemy with the capacity to take the
offensive.”/185 “tenacity [like Wellington]”/187 “I haven’t despaired
of whipping them yet” [at a very low point]/195 “Both sides seemed
defeated and whoever assumed the offensive was sure to win.”/200
… “inchoate bond [between Grant and soldiers]”/201 … “The genius
of Grant’s command style lay in its simplicity. Grant never burdened
his division commanders with excessive detail. … no elaborate staff
conferences, no written orders prescribing deployment. … Grant
recognized the battlefield was in flux. By not specifying movements
in detail, he left his subordinate commanders free to exploit
whatever opportunities developed.”/202 “If anyone other than
Grant had been in command, the Union army certainly would have
retreated.”/204 Lincoln (urged to fire Grant): “I can’t spare this
man; he fights.”/205 “Grant turned defeat into Union victory.”/206
“moved on intuition, which he often could not explain or
justify.”/208 “instinctive recognition that victory lay in relentlessly
hounding a defeated army into surrender.”/213 Nathan Bedford
Forrest, successful Confederate commander: “amenable to no
known rules of procedure, was a law unto himself for all military
acts, and was constantly doing the unexpected at all times
and places.”/213
“The commanding general would be in the field”/228 Lincoln:
“What I want, and what the people want, is generals who will fight
battles and win victories. Grant has done this and I propose to stand
by him.”/231 “retains his hold upon the affections of his men”/232
“Grant’s moral courage—his willingness to choose a path from
which there could be no return—set him apart from most
commanders … were [Grant and Lee] were uniquely willing to take
full responsibility for their actions.”/233 “ … modest … honest …
nothing could perturb … never faltered …”/233 “plan was
breathtakingly simple but fraught with peril”/235 “demonstrating
the flexibility that had become his hallmark”/238 “But like any West
Point trained general, he had difficulty comprehending what Grant
was up to …”/240 “recognized the value of momentum … throw off
balance … blitzkrieg … traveling light … headquarters in the
saddle”/243 “acted as quartermaster”/243 [rushed away so that he
couldn’t receive Halleck’s order] … “like Lord Nelson … telescope to
his blind eye” … “pressing ahead on his own”/245 “focus on the
enemy’s weakness rather than his own”/250
"The art of war is simple
enough. Find out where
your enemy is. Get at him
as soon as you can. Strike
at him as hard as you can
and as often as you can,
and keep moving on." —Grant,
courtesy Richard Cauley at tompeters.com
(original source unknown)
“The art of war does not
require complicated
maneuvers; the simplest are
the best, and common sense
is fundamental. From which
one might wonder how it is
generals make blunders; it is
because they try to be
clever.” —Napoleon on Simplicity, from
Napoleon on Project Management by Jerry Manas.
“Above all the troops appreciated Grant’s unassuming manner. Most
generals went about attended by a retinue of immaculately tailored
staff officers. Grant usually rode alone, except for an orderly or two
to carry messages if the need arose. Another soldier said the
soldiers looked on Grant ‘as a friendly partner, not an arbitrary
commander.’ Instead of cheering as he rode by, they would ‘greet
him as they would address one of their neighbors at home. ‘Good
morning, General,’ ‘Pleasant day, General’ … There was no
nonsense, no sentiment; only a plain businessman of the republic,
there for the one single purpose of getting that command over the
river in the shortest time possible.’” [Grant: 5-feet 8-inches with a
slouch]/232 After the victory at Chattanooga: “The [Union senior]
officers rode past the Confederates smugly without any sign of
recognition except by one. ‘When General Grant reached the line of
ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing prisoners strung out on each side
of the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it over his head until he
passed the last man of that living funeral cortege. He was the only
officer in that whole train who recognized us as being on the face of
the earth.’”/ 281 “Grant was unhappy about going into winter
quarters. He saw no reason to keep the army idle, and the pause
would give the rebels time to reorganize.”/282
“The [Union senior] officers rode past the
Confederates smugly without any sign
of recognition except by one. ‘When
General Grant reached the line of
ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing
prisoners strung out on each side of
the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it
over his head until he passed the last
man of that living funeral cortege. He
was the only officer in that whole train
who recognized us as being on the
face of the earth.’*”
*quote within a quote from diary of a Confederate soldier
From LEE KENNETT’s SHERMAN: “Grant tended to be a simple
listener when these two strategies [for taking Vicksburg] were
being discussed. His own preference may have been impelled as
much by natural inclination as by any arguments he heard. He
wrote afterward: ‘One of my superstitions had always been when I
started to go anywhere or to do anything, not to turn back, or stop,
until the thing intended was accomplished.’”/ 202
“This [adolescent] incident [of getting from point A to point B] is
notable not only because it underlines Grant’s fearless
horsemanship and his determination, but also it is the first known
example of a very important peculiarity of his character:
Grant had an extreme,
almost phobic dislike of
turning back and retracing
his steps. If he set out for somewhere, he would get
there somehow, whatever the difficulties that lay in his way. This
idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one the factors that made him
such a formidable general. Grant would always, always press on—
turning back was not an option for him.”
—Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant
CWVA to MBWA: “In these
days of telegraph and
steam I can command
while traveling and
visiting about.” —U.S. Grant
Managing by wandering
around” —HP circa 1980
Source: Ulysses S. Grant, by Geoffrey Perret
TP’s take: Intuition takes precedence (listen attentively but act on
intuition) … Move today > perfect plan tomorrow [subsequent Patton
line] … Great advantage: When moving, you know what you’re up to
and you’re moving [the one sitting still is, thence, always reactive]
[Boyd: quickest O.O.D.A. loops/Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.
Disorient enemy] … Action! ... Keep moving! … Engage! … Offense!
[weakness-strength: can’t even imagine enemy counter-attacking;
little conception of defense] … Momentum! …. Keep ’em off balance
… … Adjust … Adapt … … Opportunism! … Constantly revise in
accordance with conditions and opportunities in the field [life =
excellence at “Plan B”] … Doggedness … Relentless!! [trait shaped
in early childhood] … Never retreat … Simplicity! … Wide latitude for
division commanders … minimum written orders, conferences, etc
… keep his own council … HQ is Grant & his horse … no retinue! …
commune with soldiers/exude quiet confidence/Approachable …
decent … Self-accountability! … Evade orders (or ignore) … Share
harm & hardship … total victory/ demand “unconditional
surrender”—G’s first claim to fame [Nelson: other Admirals avoid
loss, friend and foe as in Grant’s case vs. Nelson’s seek victory] …
[Life 101: politics between the Generals:
E.g., Grant & Halleck]
Insubordinate (when it comes to
delays)/N
Action-oriented/Offense/
Total victory/N
Relentless
Troop Commander par Excellence/N
Leeway to Commanders/N
“The only way to
whip an army is
to go out and
fight it.” —Grant
Source: John Mosier, Grant
NELSON
plan
executed with vigor right now tops a ‘perfect’ plan executed next week.”)
2. SOARING/BOLD/CLEAR/UNEQUIVOCAL/WORTHY/NOBLE/INSPIRING
“GOAL”/“MISSION”/“PURPOSE”/“QUEST”
3. “Conversation”: Engagement of All Leaders
4. Leeway for Leaders: Select the Best/Dip Deep/Initiative
demanded/Accountability
swift/Micromanagement absent
5. LED BY “LOVE” (Lambert), NOT “AUTHORITY” (Identify with sailors!)
6. Instinct/Seize the Moment/“Impetuosity” (Boyd’s “OODA Loops”: React
more
quickly than opponent, destroy his “world view”)
7. VIGOR! (Zander: leader as “Dispenser of Enthusiasm”)
8. Peerless Basic Skills/Mastery of Craft (Seamanship)
9. Workaholic! (“Duty” first, second, and third)
10. LEAD BY CONFIDENT & DETERMINED & CONTINUOUS & VISIBLE
EXAMPLE (In
Harm’s Way) (Gandhi: “You must be the change you wish to see in the
world”/
Giuliani: Show up!)
11. Genius (“Transform the world to conform to their ideas,” “Triumph over
rules”)
(Gandhi, Lee-Singapore) , not Greatness (“Make the most of their world”)
12. Luck! (Right time, right place; survivor) (“Lucky Eagle” vs. “Bold Eagle”)
13. Others principal shortcoming: “ADMIRALS MORE FRIGHTENED OF
Nelson’s Way: A Baker’s Dozen/Short
1. Simple scheme.
2. Noble purpose!
3. Engage others.
4. Find great talent, let it soar!
5. Lead by Love!
6. Trust your gut, not the focus group: Seize the Moment!
7. Vigor!
8. Master your craft.
9. Work harder than the next person.
10. Show the way, walk the talk, exude confidence! Start a Passion
Epidemic!
11. Change the rules: Create your own game!
12. Shake of the pain, get back up off the ground, the timing may
well be
right tomorrow! (E.g., Get lucky!)
13. By hook or by crook, quash your fear of failure, savor your
quirkiness
and participate fully in the fray!
Source: Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia’s God of War
“[other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than
anxious to win”
On NELSON:
“He above all encouraged
(and prepared) his
subordinates to seize the
initiative whenever
necessary, particularly in
the fog of war —and the
men who served under him
knew what he expected.” —Jay
Tolson, on “The Nelson Touch,” The Battle That
Changed The World
… tireless self-promoter, sought hero status, sought
patronage [suck up] … guts, courage, master of his craft …
passion for pleasures of the flesh, driven by duty, obsessed
(no “work-life balance”) … autocratic, dictatorial … team
player, practitioner of participative management 200 years
before it was popularized, loved hanging out with the lads …
man’s man, lady’s man … diligent manager (e.g., logistics),
powerfully inspirational, spiritual, passionate … ambitious,
aggressive, confident, impulsive, rarely cautious or
circumspect, risk-taker … emotional, spiritual, expressed
feelings openly, classless, fair, self-sacrificing, encouraging,
optimistic … unconventional, did not get along well with
superiors … xenophobic, immodest, impatient, intolerant,
imprudent in public and in private … led from the front, zeal
for action, despair over bureaucrats (“I hate the pen and ink
men”), … lucky … —Stephanie Jones & Jonathan Gosling, Nelson’s Way:
Leadership Lessons from the Great Commander
Fisherisms
Do right and damn the odds.
Stagnation is the curse of life.
The best is the cheapest.
Emotion can sway the world.
Mad things come off.
Haste in all things.
Any fool can obey orders.
History is a record of exploded ideas.
Life is phrases.
Source: Jan Morris, Fisher’s Face, Or, Getting to Know the Admiral
“We must have no
tinkering! No
pandering to
sentiment! No regard
for susceptibilities! We
must be ruthless,
relentless, and
remorseless.” —Jan Morris, Fisher’s
Face, Or, Getting to Know the Admiral
“extraordinary
arrogance,
superciliousness,
humor, kindness,
effrontery”
—Jan Morris on Lord
Admiral Jack Fisher, Fisher’s Face, Or, Getting to Know
the Admiral
BOYD
He who has the
quickest
O.O.D.A.
Loops* wins!
*Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. /Col. John
OODA Loop/Boyd Cycle
“Unraveling the competition”/ Quick
Transients/ Quick Tempo (NOT JUST
SPEED!)/ Agility/ “So quick it is
disconcerting” (adversary over-reacts
or under-reacts)/ “Winners used
tactics that caused the enemy to
unravel before the fight” (NEVER
HEAD TO HEAD)
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“Fast Transients”
“Buttonhook turn”
(YF16: “could flick from one
maneuver to another faster
than any aircraft”)
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“Blitzkrieg is far more than lightning
thrusts that most people think of when
they hear the term; rather it was all about
high operational tempo and the rapid
exploitation of opportunity.” —Robert Coram,
Boyd
“Re-arrange the mind of the
enemy” —T.E. Lawrence
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” —Ali
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
F86 vs. MiG/Korea/10:1
Bubble canopy (360 degree view)
Full hydraulic controls (“The F86
driver could go from one
maneuver to another faster than
the MiG driver”)
MiG: “faster in raw acceleration
and turning ability”; F86: “quicker
in changing maneuvers”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert
USMC COL Mike Wyly: “kept
the enemy off-balance;
they knew Delta
Company [RVN] could
show up anywhere,
anytime”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“Maneuverists”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who
Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“The stuff has got to
be implicit. If it is
explicit, you can’t do
it fast enough.”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
Eglin Flag: “100%
AGAINST ZERO
DEFECTS”
“General, if you’re not having
accidents, your training
program is not what it should
be. … You need to kill some
pilots.” —John Boyd
“To Be
somebody or
to Do
something”
John Boyd:
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
“If your boss
demands loyalty, give
him integrity. But if he
demands integrity,
give him loyalty.”
—John Boyd
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
BOSSIDY
“I saw that leaders placed too
much emphasis on what some
call high-level strategy, on
intellectualizing and
philosophizing, and not enough
on implementation. People
would agree on a project or
initiative, and then nothing
would come of it.” —Larry Bossidy & Ram
Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Execution is a
systematic process of
rigorously discussing
hows and whats,
tenaciously following
through, and ensuring
accountability.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram
Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram
Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
(“Leaders
‘do’
people.
Period.”
—
The Leader’s Seven Essential
Behaviors
*Know your people and your
business
*Insist on realism
*Set clear goals and priorities
*Follow through
*Reward the doers
*Expand people’s capabilities
*Know yourself
Source: Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things
Action8/VPMR+/Peters on
Bossidy
*Knowledge/External Focus
(Competitors/Customers)
*Realism/Truth-telling
*Vision
*Projects (Must add up to Vision)
*Milestones
*Commitment/Energy
*Rapid Review
*Consequences (+/-)
“Realism is
the heart of
execution.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done
"A business unit strategy
should be less than fifty pages
long and should be easy to
understand. Its essence should
be describable in one page ... If
you can't describe your strategy
in twenty minutes, simply and
in plain language, you haven't
got a plan.” —Larry Bossidy
“robust
dialogue”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Relentless!*
*Churchill, Grant, Patton, Welch, Bossidy, Nardelli (GE
execs), UPS, FedEx, Microsoft/Gates-Ballmer, Eisner,
Weill, eBay, Nixon-Kissinger, Gerstner, Rice, Jordan,
Armstrong
“This [adolescent] incident [of getting from
point A to point B] is notable not only because
it underlines Grant’s fearless horsemanship
and his determination, but also it is the first
known example of a very important peculiarity
of his character: Grant had an extreme,
almost phobic dislike of turning back
and retracing his steps. If he set out for
somewhere, he would get there somehow,
whatever the difficulties that lay in his way. This
idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one the
factors that made him such a formidable
general. Grant would always, always press on—
turning back was not an option for him.” —
Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant
“The person who is a little less
conceptual but is absolutely determined
to succeed will usually find the right
people and get them together to achieve
objectives. I’m not knocking education
or looking for dumb people. But if you
have to choose between someone with a
staggering IQ and an elite education
who’s gliding along, and someone with a
lower IQ but who is absolutely
determined to succeed, you’ll always do
better with the second person.”
—Larry Bossidy (Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done)
Duct Tape Rules!
“Andrew Higgins, who
built landing craft in WWII,
refused to hire graduates of
engineering schools. He believed
that they only teach you what you can’t do
in engineering school. He started off with
20 employees, and by the middle of the
war had 30,000 working for him. He turned
out 20,000 landing craft. D.D. Eisenhower
told me, ‘Andrew Higgins won the war for
us. He did it without engineers.’ ” —Stephen
Ye gads: “Thomas
Stanley has
not only found no
correlation between success
in school and an ability to
accumulate wealth, he’s
actually found a negative
correlation. ‘It seems that school-related
evaluations are poor predictors of economic success,’
Stanley concluded. What did predict success was a
willingness to take risks. Yet the success-failure
standards of most schools penalized risk takers. Most
educational systems reward those who play it safe. As a
result, those who do well in school find it hard to take
risks later on.”
“We have a
‘strategic’
plan. It’s
called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
Napoleon’ “six winning principles”: Exactitude (sweat
the details). Speed. Flexibility. Simplicity. Character.
Moral Force.
Simplicity: “The art of war does not require
complicated maneuvers; the simplest are the best,
and common sense is fundamental. From which one
might wonder how it is generals make blunders; it is
because they try to be clever.”
Character: “A military leader must possess as much
character as intellect. Men who have a great deal of
intelligence and little character are the least suited. …
It is preferable to have much character and little
intellect.”
Source: Jerry Manas, Napoleon on Project
1 of 2,400
6:15A.
M.
A man approached JP Morgan, held up an envelope, and
said, “Sir, in my hand I hold a guaranteed formula for
success, which I will gladly sell you for $25,000.”
“Sir,” JP Morgan replied, “I do not know what is in the
envelope, however if you show me, and I like it, I give you
my word as a gentleman that I will pay you what you
ask.”
The man agreed to the terms, and handed over the
envelope.
JP Morgan opened it, and extracted a single sheet of
paper.
He gave it one look, a mere glance, then handed the
piece of paper back to the gent.
And paid him the
agreed-upon $25,000 …
1. Every morning, write a
list of the things that
need to be done that
day.
2. Do them.
Source: Hugh MacLeod/tompeters.com/NPR