Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/201186
final word | by Tom Jackson TJackson@randallreilly.com Eight lessons construction company leaders can learn from Eisenhower T here is a lot to be learned from the biographies of great men and women. One of my recent favorites is Eisenhower: In War and Peace, by Jean Edward Smith. So what could this wartime leader and president from a half-century ago have to say to today's construction industry leaders? Plenty. Here are eight key takeaways from Smith's book. 1. Physical fitness is essential. As the military knows well, physical discipline develops mental discipline. Physical rigor brings mental rigor. On the football team, Ike was famous for his one-handed chin-ups and being "the first cadet on the field and the very last to leave." The mental strain of planning for the largest military invasion in history might have crushed a weaker man, but Ike had already honed his spirit on the playing fields of West Point. 2. Don't be a stiff. Bored between two wars, Ike and his buddy George Patton (after getting good and sloshed on homemade hooch) would load up Patton's car with weapons and drive slowly down country roads trolling for criminals and bandits to savage. Back on post, Ike's reputation as a wild man on the dance floor raised more than a few eyebrows. But no matter. Come Monday morning the young captain was sober as a deacon and already two hours ahead of everybody else in his work. 3. Listen, and then decide. Ike surrounded himself with the smartest and most capable men he knew. He convened the discussions, he laid out the problems, and he kept his people focused. He made the decisions, but most of all he listened. His collaborative style was such that when he proposed the Interstate Highway Program in 1956 the proposal sailed through Congress. 4. Cultivate good friends. Ike was one of many capable generals when WWII broke out, but when the question was raised as to who would lead the Allies in 86 November 2013 | EquipmentWorld.com Europe, the choice was unanimous. Ike was the man. Even the British agreed. As he moved into politics, Ike reached out to business leaders for advice and support. He had more business people in his cabinet and a better economic record than any president since. 5. Keep the common touch. Late in the war Ike's son graduated from West Point and was sent to the European Theater. Ike's advice to his son: As soon as you get here, find out what the sergeants and enlisted people are wearing. Then dress like they dress. In other words, if they wear cheap boots, you wear cheap boots. 6. Face difficulties squarely. On the eve of D-Day Ike drove out to where the airborne units were gearing up for their nighttime flight over the channel. He shook hands, he looked them in the eye and wished them well knowing that half of them – some predictions said 70 percent – might never see home again. 7. Take responsibility. After he talked with the airborne troops that night, Ike went back to his quarters and penned a speech that he would give, should the invasion fail, putting full blame for the failure on himself. A speech, thankfully, he never had to give. 8. Smile. During WWII, Ike kept Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, two of the most difficult leaders in history, moving together toward a common goal through the shear force of personality. In the 1950s, Ike used his big grin and sunny disposition to court Russia's leader and for six years had Nikita Khrushchev, our most feared enemy, eating out of his hand. And he won the presidency twice, and almost effortlessly, simply because Americans just liked the man. We are only in just the last few years beginning to appreciate how rare and significant Eisenhower was. Jean Smith's book is a major contribution to history and leadership studies and should be read by everyone who aspires to be a future leader or a better leader. EW