THE ACHIEVEMENT DIGEST "TAD" Issue No. 47
A Unique Publication for Leaders     Gene Griessman, Ph.D. Editor
404-256-5927 www.achievementdigest.com  
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WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE?
QUOTABLE QUOTES
LEADERSHIP LESSONS
LINCOLN'S LOG  Lincoln Didn’t Say It
FEEDBACK
TRAVEL NOTES FROM A ROAD WARRIOR  
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH

QUOTABLE QUOTES
***History
“One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.”     Will Durant (Historian 1885 – 1981)

“When great changes occur in history, when great principles are involved, as a rule the majority are wrong.”   Eugene V. Debs (Labor Leader 1855 –1926)

***Decision-making
“All men who decide on difficult issues ought to free themselves from the influence of hatred, friendship, anger and pity.  For when these intervene the mind cannot readily judge the truth, and no one has ever served his emotions and his best interests simultaneously.   When you set your mind to a task, it prevails; if passion holds sway, it consumes you, and the mind can do nothing.”   Julius Caesar

***Rashness
“To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years.    To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day.”   Winston Churchill

***Habit
"The chains of habit are too light to feel until they are too heavy to break."   Recently quoted by Warren Buffett.  Some people have incorrectly attributed the quotation to Lincoln.  The true author of the quote is unknown but it has been attributed to Voltaire, Samuel Johnson, and Bertrand Russell.

***Travel
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”   Attributed to St. Augustine

***Religion
“It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read.”  From the introduction to “The Jefferson Bible”, compiled by Thomas Jefferson

***Our Calling
“If you who are organized by Divine Providence for spiritual communion refuse, and bury your talent in the earth, even if you should want natural bread, sorrow and desperation will pursue you through life, and after death shame and confusion of face to eternity.”  --from a letter written by the poet, painter, and printmaker William Blake in 1802.   (In my TV special with Kris Kristofferson for TBS several years ago, Kristofferson told me that this statement from Blake perfectly expressed his own attitude about life and work.   Kristofferson then quoted Blake from memory verbatim. Kristofferson resigned his commission in the military and moved to Nashville so that he could concentrate on his songwriting.    He told me, “I want to be a creative person as long as I live.”)

***Pigs
“I like pigs.   Dogs look up to us.  Cats look down on us.  Pigs treat us as equals.”     Attributed to Winston Churchill

LEADERSHIP LESSONS
What Leaders Want From Their Lieutenants

A participant in my executive coaching program—a CEO himself—told me recently.   “I want my assistant to be pro-active. I want him to be more than just my hands—somebody who does what I tell him to do.  I want him to be my brain, too.  I like it when he just comes up with ideas and runs them by me.”

How To Make A Recommendation Or Suggestion To Someone You Report To

If you are going to be not just the hands but the brain of someone you report to, here are several guidelines: 

One. As a general rule, make your recommendations in private.  A recommendation in private or through a confidential note or email provides an opportunity for your leader to ask probing questions, push back, and possibly save face.  The last thing you want to do is to look like a show-off, as someone who seems to think that he/she knows more than anyone else.  Perhaps you do, but there are good and bad ways to get your good ideas heard.

Two.  Do your homework before you make a recommendation.  If you don’t, you will waste your leader’s time, look silly, and lose credibility.  Your idea may already have been tried—and failed.  

Three.  Don’t pout or complain to associates if your great idea is not acted on immediately.  The person you report to may know more about the overall situation than you do and want to wait for a good time to make the move. Or he/she may be consumed with other activities.  Besides, complaining to others that your leader doesn’t listen to your ideas advertises your own lack of influence, which is not smart politically. 

Four.  Pick a good time to make your recommendation/s.  Do it ASAP if your recommendation involves an urgent and highly important matter. But if the matter can wait, present your idea when your leader is not distracted by other concerns and is in a receptive mood.    If you are fortunate enough to have a leader who regularly asks for your input, wait until you are asked. 

Five.   Match the communication style of your leader.   If your leader likes crisp, concise, short reports, that’s what you want to provide.  If your leader likes extended analyses with lots of back-and-forth, be prepared to communicate that way.    

Six.  Present your thoughts not as ultimatums, but as suggestions to be considered. 
Benjamin Franklin offered this advice on the subject:  “I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiment of others, and all positive assertion of my own.   I even forbade myself the use of every word or expression …that imported a fix’d opinion, such as ‘certainly,’ ‘undoubtedly,’ etc. and I adopted, instead of them, ‘I conceive,’ …or ‘I imagine’ a thing to be so and so.’   When another asserted something that I thought an error, I deny’d myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly…and in answering I began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion would be right, but in the present case there appear’d or seem’d to me some difference, etc.”

Here’s what happened after Franklin adopted this approach:  “And to this habit, I think it principally owing that I had earned so much weight with my fellow citizens when I proposed new institutions or alterations in the old…for I was but a bad speaker, never eloquent, subject to much hesitation in my choice of words, hardly correct in language, and yet I generally carried my points.” 

In today’s world, just as in Franklin’s, if you are the leader and want your lieutenants to provide you with extra brainpower, do what the president whom I coached did, “My assistant gave me two or three ideas last month.  Right away I sent him an email thanking him for his ideas. I told him I liked it when he gave me ideas and urged him to send me more.”     That CEO was following a fundamental principle that I learned from psychologist B.F. Skinner:   If you want to get more of a particular behavior, reinforce it when it happens.   If you reward that behavior in memorable and pleasant ways, you are likely to get it again.   

LINCOLN'S LOG  
Lincoln Did NOT Say

"Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

There is no record that Lincoln ever made this statement.  He suffered from severe depression himself and no doubt understood that this illness requires more than just thinking happy thoughts.  Today we know that professional care and medical treatment are often required.  

"Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged."

This quote is the creation of J. Michael Waller for an article that he wrote for Insight magazine (Dec. 23, 2003) and was repeated by Diana Irey in her unsuccessful campaign against Rep. John Murtha, a critic of the Iraq War.  The "Lincoln quote" was picked up by the media and repeated thousands of times on the Internet.   Waller, in a response to factcheck.org, claimed that he did not intend it to be a quote, but a copy editor mistakenly put quotations around it.  The quote does not even have face validity; Lincoln vigorously opposed the Mexican War when he was a U.S. Congressman.
 
Lincoln On Communication
February is the month of Lincoln.  We have had a tremendous number of orders of the DVD/training film “Lincoln On Communication.”  We have decided to extend our special offer for TAD readers—through February—a complimentary copy of the DVD “Lincoln Live: An Evening With Abraham Lincoln.”   You also will receive a CD of the sound track, a trainer’s guide, and a set of MemCards.  Use our shopping cart.  Don’t worry if this special does not appear on your order.   We will automatically include the complimentary items with your order.  http://www.achievementdigest.com/lincoln%20on%20communication.html

FEEDBACK
***“Thank you for including me in your circle of wiser people.   Thank you for sharing your stories and the stories of A. Lincoln as told by Gene Griessman.  Speaking of stories, perhaps it would be helpful for President Bush and Congress people (Hillary Clinton included) to learn more about Lincoln’s boar story (told in TAD, Issue No. 46).  Gene, you through Abe Lincoln, may have the answer as to when and how to bring the Iraq conflict to a successful close.  I believe our country needs help!   Regards, A. Dwight Hawksworth, President, SCG, Inc., A.D.& A. Executive Search, Inc. 

“I really enjoy getting your emails.   They really put a perspective on things.   Or maybe the word should be using common sense.   Anyway, they are great.  I hope to see you perform again somewhere. We have a conference each year.   I have suggested that in the future we should try to work out something with you as guest speaker.  ”  Butch Colby, Senior Marketing Manager, L-3 Communications MAPPs Inc.

***”I’ve been receiving your newsletter for quite a while and I just wanted to thank you.   I do enjoy reading it…especially the quotes.   You’ll notice I’ve already applied one to my email signature.  Keep creating great things and thanks for keeping me in the loop.”   Troy Stende  (Troy Stende was named “Best Campus Speaker” for 2002, 2004, and 2005 by APCA.   http://www.stendeinspirations.com/)

“I enjoy your newsletter very much and appreciate the wisdom that you impart.  I do have a thought about the quote you shared from Hubert Humphrey:  “The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.”  I would argue that although we have a right to speak and have freedom of speech, we have no right to be heard.   Although as professional speakers, we certainly wouldn’t mind an amendment to the Constitution requiring such!   Dave Kelly  www.gonzospeaks.com  (Dave Kelley is a professional speaker, humorist, and trainer.)

TRAVEL NOTES FROM A ROAD WARRIOR
Saratoga Springs, NY 
I like Saratoga Springs, NY, and own property there.  In addition to its race track, where Seabiscuit raced, this lovely town has mineral springs, spas, and literally hundreds of beautifully preserved historic houses.  It is the summer home of the NY City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Vaddo, the writer’s colony where Flannery O’Connor and other noted writers worked at their craft, is there.   And so is the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

I was surprised to learn that Red Pollard, the jockey played by Tobey Maguire in the movie, is not in the Hall of Fame.  But his red-and-white silks are, his jockey whip, and the leather leg support that he wore after his leg was crushed in a riding accident are on display.

Seabiscuit is in the Hall of Fame.  And so is George “The Iceman” Woolf who rode Seabiscuit to victory against the great horse War Admiral. Seabiscuit’s trainer Tom Smith (who was played by Chris Cooper in the movie) is in the Hall of Fame too.  When I asked a historian at the museum why Pollard was not included, he replied, “People bring up his name from time to time, but Pollard was not that good a jockey.  He was a one-trick pony.” 

Really? 

Here’s the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say.  Pollard came back from his injuries to win at Santa Anita on Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit was retired soon afterwards.  

Pollard, who had a gift for working with troubled, erratic horses such as Seabiscuit, never found another horse like that great champion.   He eked out a living riding in the bush leagues and eventually broke his hip in one accident and his back in another.  During his last years Pollard sorted mail at the race track and worked as a valet, cleaning the boots of younger riders.  He died in 1981.  As for The Iceman, winner of perhaps the most famous horse race ever, Woolf was thrown from Please Me at Santa Anita in 1946, hit the ground head-first, and never regained consciousness.

Before visiting Saratoga, I recommend watching or re-watching the movie “Seabiscuit”.  (It is narrated by David McCullough, a national treasure justly famed for writing “1776” and other notable books on American history and for his incomparable voice-overs in Ken Burn’s “The Civil War.”)

As for restaurants in the area, I like Longfellows Inn and Restaurant.  The specialty of the house is a boneless porterhouse steak—presented on a bamboo skewer with roasted red pepper and grilled vegetables.  For those who like veggies, try the oven-roasted vegetable Napoleon—layers of crispy eggplant, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, plum tomatoes and smoked mozzarella with Genoese pesto and red pepper coulis.

It’s a beautiful facility, located in a historic landmark between Lake Lonely and Saratoga Lake.  The land on which the resort is built was once the home of the Mohawk Indians and the great chief Hiawatha.  The facility is named for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who wrote “The Song of Hiawatha.” 

Contact information: 500 Union Ave  Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-6426    (518) 587-0108  http://www.longfellows.com/pdf/rackCardPDFConference-rs.pdf

IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN PLANNING AN UPCOMING MEETING, SALES CONFERENCE, CUSTOMER-APPRECIATION EVENT OR SEMINAR, PLEASE TYPE "YES" BESIDE THE ITEM/S BELOW AND RETURN THIS EMAIL IN ORDER TO RECEIVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS:
___Lincoln-Leadership
___Personal Productivity-Time Management
___Macroforces and Trends in American Society
___Keynote Presentation LESSONS FROM LEGENDS (Powerful stories from interview with famous high achievers)
___Executive Coaching   (For a description of the program, click here.  http://www.theamericans.us/Executive%20Coaching.html
 
YOU MAY ALSO CONTACT US BY CALLING 800-749-4625 OR CLICKING HERE: www.theamericans.us/ContactGene.html
Click here to watch excerpts from the Lincoln presentation in streaming video.
www.presidentlincoln.com/1.html  

VALUABLE RESOURCES 
***THE WORDS LINCOLN LIVED BY www.achievementdigest.com/thewordslincolnlivedby.html
 
***TIME TACTICS OF VERY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE www.achievementdigest.com/timetacticsofverysuccessfulpeople.html
  
***99 WAYS TO GET MORE OUT OF EVERY DAY: www.achievementdigest.com/99waystogetmorecd.html
 
***"AN EVENING WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN" VIDEO www.achievementdigest.com/aneveningwithabraham.html
 
***"LESSONS FROM LEGENDS" CD AUDIOBOOK www.achievementdigest.com/ProductOrderForm.html
 
***"LINCOLN ON COMMUNICATION" DVD-CD  www.achievementdigest.com/lincoln%20on%20communication.html

 “Lessons From Legends”  recently was name “Best Educational Album” in the 2006 JPF Music Awards.   It is a recording before a live audience of several thousand people in which I tell stories from my exclusive interviews with celebrities.  If you’d like to obtain multiple copies of this CD, contact us directly for a quantity price.  The best way to obtain a single copy of the CD is from CD Baby.  You can hear an excerpt on-line before ordering. http://cdbaby.com/found?artist=griessman&soundlike=&album=lessons+from+legends&style=

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THE ACHIEVEMENT DIGEST--TAD, March 2005--A Unique Newsletter For Leaders