“Genghis Khan said of one of his officers – ‘No man is more valiant, no man has rarer gifts, but as the longest marches do not tire him, as he feels neither hunger nor thirst, he believes that his soldiers do not suffer from such things. That is why he is not fitted for high… Read More
“‘Men demand a reasonable degree of justice. They expect a leader to be fair and understanding. A single act of glaring injustice will injure his prestige and influence. Men must trust their leader in order to follow him.” “The Human Element in War,” by Major General Charles P. Summerall, Chief of Staff of the US… Read More
“‘He’ll never make a good soldier’ should not be heard from the confident leader. Seemingly incompetent men should be a challenge to one’s ability. They should be studied more closely and the best method of handling them discovered. In every man there is much that may be made useful for military purposes.” “Discipline and Personality,”… Read More
“Are you a good leader? Are you worthy to lead men? Have you considered what war may require of you? Have you confidence in your men? Have your men faith in you?–are some of the questions you must ask yourselves, and until you can answer them in the affirmative you cannot claim to be a… Read More
“Leadership presupposes two things:– A leader, and men capable of being led. A stag cannot lead an army of lions; a lion cannot persuade an army of stags to follow. What then is required? A lion leading lions. In other words, the qualities of leader and led are very similar. The chief of these qualities… Read More
“It was indeed seldom that [Southern] officers were guilty of cowardice upon the field of battle; but they were often in the wrong place, fighting as common soldiers, when they should have been directing others.” Stonewall Jackson (1824 to 1863) Thomas Jonathan Jackson was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and one of… Read More
“How can the ability to lead depend on the ability to follow? You might as well say that the ability to float depends on the ability to sink.” Peter, L.J. and Hull, R. (1949) The Peter Principle.
