Galactically Stupid
January 9th, 2007I recently shared that sometimes delivering feedback was difficult for me, despite being quite well known for using it frequently. Just like you, I’m a manager, and sometimes I’m not as good at it as I’d like. For those of you who appreciate obscure literary references, I, too, at times, “straggle after ripe blackberries” rather than doing the most effective thing.
And to prove it, I thought everyone would enjoy reading a story that shows just HOW badly I can do my job.
Last year, I was working with a very sharp client, and we were discussing strategy and motivation over a nice dinner. I wanted to make a point that sometimes, in an effort to reduce risk, a business initiative was planned to death, and over-planned, and turned into three thousand tasks that ended up sucking the life out of what the company was trying to achieve in the marketplace. Sometimes, boldness is called for, and risk is not just acceptable, it’s necessary - as a spark of fear and a tonic for action.
To make my point, I recalled the story of General Patton, during World War II. As he pushed his armored forces forward, he got quite far in front of the other Allied forces. This made him vulnerable to counterattack from the sides. He was asked to slow down by being reminded, “George, aren’t you worried about your flanks?”
His reply is famous, delivered with his customary… ‘flair’.
“My FLANKS? MY FLANKS??!? I’m not worried about my @*$&@#&@ flanks. Let the Germans worry about my flanks! I’m worried about the Germans!!!”
And the punchline? I told this story to a client… a German executive.
I hope you never do something as galactically stupid as that. But if you do, I hope you’ll give yourself some feedback, and remind yourself to breathe, as opposed to holding your breath.
Stumble it!Trackback URL for this post: http://www.manager-tools.com/2007/01/galactically-stupid/trackback/
January 9th, 2007 at 4:04 am
Some days are better than others, Mark. I’m literally finishing up a normal day at 2:30 AM after listening to a day full of mistakes and well-meaninging “quotes” or stories. At the end of the day, the lesson is about how you recognize and react to a situation such as the one you described. My hope is to never make such a mistake, but I will never (I hope) paralyze myself with the fear of making a blunder. I will endeavor to be less GS…
Is it fair to ask how your client reacted? Excellent literary reference by the way…
January 9th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Okay, but how did the dinner turn out? Was it actually a catastrophe?
January 9th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Sometimes I don’t think the mistake is really the mistake; the mistake is not learning from our mistakes.
Recently I lunch with a very wealthy donor. On my way to the meeting I was going through the things you talked about in your podcast on dinner meetings. After we got there and sat down I suddenly became uncomfortably aware of all the things I’d done “wrong” in the first five minutes of our lunch. I sat on the wrong side of the table, etc. The next time we got together I remembered my mistakes and corrected them.
I didn’t actually realize how business-wise GS I was until I started listening to you guys
But seriously, how did the dinner turn out?
January 9th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I certainly didn’t expect 3 people in a row to ask how dinner turned out!
Dinner turned out fine.
Mark
PS: GS? Sweet!
January 9th, 2007 at 10:28 am
FYI, I asked because I have no idea how a German might typically react to a story about WWII on the American side. I was curious about the cultural part.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I had a similar experience, and it also involved a German. I once worked for a four star General (the Commandant of the Marine Corps). One of my subordinates had the mission of finding some new art to adorn the General’s office. She found various original masterpieces of Marine Corps combat art and hung them on the walls. One of these was a somewhat well-known rendition from the Battle of Belleau Wood in 1918. It depicts a Marine standing astride a German soldier, who is lying on his back, with arms upstretched and fingers clawed in terror. The tip of the Marine’s bayonet is poised directly above the German soldier’s chest, and it is evident that it will momentarily be plunged home.
The General walked into his office, looked at the very large, near-Heroic scale painting and calmly and quietly asked me, “Have you reviewed my schedule for today?” I admitted that I had not (it wasn’t really part of my job…somebody else was responsible for shepherding him about). He looked at his watch and said, “In less than I hour, I will be visited in this office by the Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr [the German Armed Forces]. What do you suppose he will think of that painting?”
There was a very large and conspicuous blank space on the General’s wall when his visitor arrived. All subsequent art was chosen largely for its neutrality of message and general propriety.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
ok as a german, i would say the story about patton is funny. the picture in the office….not so much. mostly because it shows direct force against one person.
as a german it would upset me a bit more, but not very much since military is not considered the pride of germany any more (i wonder why
a bundeswehr soldier on the other side…. i think he would be offended.
but if you have it in your room, as a piece of art with other pictures ans are able to tell who the painter is and that it was bought by
January 9th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I am great at putting my foot in my mouth.
But here’s how I look at it. The same quality that leads me to such self-destructive acts is the quality which makes me a risk taker. It’s my risk-tolerance at work. I try to remember it is a gift that my coworkers wish they had.
January 10th, 2007 at 3:35 am
Len-
Great story! Glad the picture was taken down. Virtually every country in our world has been at one time friend, and one time foe, with every one of its neighbors. Even the “special relationship” of Great Britain and America started…differently.
Interesting that the painting is of Belleau Wood, where, in 1914, on Christmas Eve, American and German soldiers spontaneously began singing Christmas Carols across the trenchlines. Exchanges of small gifts were made, fallend soldiers were removed, and hands were shaken. Language and culture and politics and affiliations ceased to be important in the spirit of the season.
Mark
January 10th, 2007 at 3:40 am
US41-
Alas, we are not paid for our qualities, or for the intentions or impetus that leads us to our objectives and results. All of our capabilities that lead to success have a dark or ineffective side. It’s not enough to cite one’s successes as springing from the same well as one’s foibles. Your coworkers probably don’t wish for your gifts - they wish for your gifts to be delivered more judiciously.
I’m told I’m a very outgoing and enthusiastic person. A lot of that comes from wanting to be with other people, and truly enjoying getting to know others, and being teammates. And, that makes me restless sometimes at my desk, and sometimes I have a shorter attention span than I would like.
They spring from the same place, but I wouldn’t blame the latter on the former, nor wish it on anyone else, nor expect it to be forgiven simply because it is fruit of the same tree.
(Sorry for all the analogies!)
Mark
January 10th, 2007 at 7:01 am
As a correction, the unofficial and spontaneous “Christmas Truce” that began on Christmas Eve 1914 was started by the German forces delivering a cake to the British line accompanied by a note that proposed a cease fire so that the Germans could have a concert. The British accepted the proposal and offered some tobacco as their present to the Germans. The good will soon spread along the 27-mile length of the British line. As for the American forces, they didnt join the war till April 1917
January 10th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Dear Mark,
as a German I do not consider it to be galactically stupid to tell the Patton story to a German. We usually can bear with it. WWII is history and the Patton story is not so bad
However, I learned that it would be galactically stupid to tell a similar story to an American. Well there are cultural differences…
Frank
January 12th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
AspiringCeo-
Thanks for the correction! My fault. I meant to write Brit, and just got patriotic.
Many of those units had to be pulled out of the line afterwards, for lack of morale and willingness to fight.
Mark
June 5th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Mark,
The quote appears to be from Stephen Vincent Benet’s “John Brown’s Body”.
http://books.google.com/books?id=jCQkPUfOuN0C&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=blackberries+ripe+straggle&source=web&ots=BaW3bmadFu&sig=b2kKpsqiFJHqNbpc2nIB22fOucY#PPA27,M1
Google Books?? Go figure . . .
Regards,
Steve
June 6th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Steve-
Oh, I knew that! If you’ll check out this post,
http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/04/my-favorite-leadership-quote/
you’ll see that it’s part of my favorite leadership quote ever. Sorry I was a bit clever and obscure.
Mark