LINCOLN’S LOG: HOW TO THINK LIKE LINCOLN

We as Americans emphasize action—on getting out and doing something.  Thus it’s easy to lose sight of the supreme importance of thinking.   We need reminders that the hardest but most productive work we can ever do is thinking.

Think through, then follow through is good advice.  If you do heavy lifting with your mind, physical lifting can be efficient, productive, and pleasant.

How did Lincoln think?   Fortunately we have commentary by keen observers who had access to the President, one of them his private secretary, John G. Nicolay.  Here is Nicolay’s careful, exact observation.

“…Mr. Lincoln often resorted to the process of cumulative thought, and his constant tendency to, and great success in axiomatic definition resulted in a large measure from a habit he had acquired of reducing a forcible idea or an epigrammatic sentence or phrase to writing, and keeping it until further reason enabled him to add other sentences or additional phrases to complete or supplement the first—to elaborate or to conclude his point or argument.   There were many of these scraps among his papers, seldom in the shape of mere rough notes, but almost always in the form of a finished proposition or statement—a habit showing great prudence and deliberation of thought, and evincing a corresponding strength and solidity of opinion and argument.” 
(Michael Burlingame, editor, An Oral History of Abraham Lincoln: John G. Nicolay’s Intervays and Essays. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1996, p. 107)

You can use this Lincoln technique yourself.  Here’s how.

First, write it down.  Over five centuries ago Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Writing maketh an exact man.” 

If you’re expanding your business or creating one, worrying about an issue, planning a presentation, or making a hard decision, get the basic idea down on paper.  Authors call it a rough draft.  Marketers call it a story board.  Programmers call it a decision tree.

In my executive coaching program, I insist that participants write down all the alternatives and the possible consequences before arriving at any important executive decision.

Getting it down on paper makes it easier to refine your thinking, spot logical fallacies and emotional distortions, and clear away the distractions that can cloud the thought processes.   

Second, oversimplify.  My writing teachers and editors taught me to state any article or book I was writing as one concise sentence.  You may not be able to see the tree because of the forest. 

You can make bad decisions if you allow yourself to be distracted by too much information.  Push out of your mind any detail or argument that is not absolutely relevant to the problem at hand.  You must be able to focus in on the specific detail and understand it completely.  To use a mathematical analogy, you must reduce the situation to its least common denominator. 

The first time I interviewed John Portman--who created Embarcadero Center in San Francisco and the Marriott Marquis on Times Square, among other famous buildings—Portman told me that in designing a building, he relentlessly reduced the concept to its core elements. At the time I barely understood what Portman was talking about—it sounded like jargon--but gradually I discovered that this is a characteristic of the way all great thinkers think.

Three, connect the dots.  Link logical thoughts together.  This is what Nicolay meant by “cumulative thought.”  Lincoln had self-taught himself the first six books of Euclid, so he knew how to construct a mathematical argument. 

This is the way great buildings, business enterprises, sciences, and nations are constructed.  In Lincoln’s case, he began with the core proposition—“All men are created equal—and developed his concept of a nation as a government of the people, by the people, for the people by adding the essential ideas that are congruent with the basic, core idea.

LEADERSHIP: MYSTERY SHOPPING

I once worked as a mystery shopper, visiting restaurants to observe customer service (or lack thereof) and writing up the quality of the experience.  Owners were often surprised to learn what their customers experienced on a regular basis.  

Which brings me to the question, Do you really know what your customers/clients experience when they deal with you or your organization? 

I’m sure you’ve had a bad experience as a customer or prospect, and wondered if management really knew what was happening. For example I’ve tried to get customer service on the phone, and gone through a series of prompts, one of which eventually disconnected me.  Whenever that has happened, I know that the people in that organization have not taken the time to find out what their customers/clients and prospects are experiencing.

One way to find out about your organization is to do mystery shopping.  You can become the mystery shopper yourself, and go through the process that your customers/clients and prospects go through. 

Alice O'Neill, author of the syndicated column Hollywood Behind-The-Scenes and an editorial adviser for TAD, once told me that she uses this process when she’s entertaining.  I asked her to describe for TAD exactly how she does it.  Here’s her response:

 “Before guests arrive I always go outside, ring the bell, and walk in, using my "observer" senses: Cooking odors still in the air? Squirt some air freshener. Something out of place? Correct it. Walk into the reception room and sit on a chair the guest will use. How does it feel? Same with a guest bedroom. I have made it a practice to sleep in that bed, use the bathroom and generally experience what the guest will experience before the day the guest arrives.”    She told me that hostesses have been using this technique since home-entertaining began. 

As a public speaker, I always go to the hall or auditorium where I will be presenting, take my seat in various parts of the room to see what I will look like to the attendee.   I pay particular attention to lighting and the sound system because I want to know what the attendee will experience. 

Another way to do mystery shopping is to hire a mystery shopper.  There are several good companies that do this.  Austin McGonigle, who knows this industry and is an editorial advisor to TAD, recommended A Closer Look: www.a-closer-look.com.

Whether you do the mystery shopping yourself or hire somebody to do it for you, either way, you need to know.

“O would some Power the gift to give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion….”      Robert Burns

QUOTABLE QUOTES
***Communication
“I determined to be so clear that no honest man could misunderstand me, and no dishonest one could successfully misrepresent me.”  --Abraham Lincoln

***Competence
Q. “Why do you write?”
A. “Because I’m good at it.” 
--Flannery O’Connor (American author 1925-1964. Editor’s note: Her book—Wise Blood—was made into a movie by John Huston.  I interviewed Huston for “Up Close.”  Huston told me that he was a great admirer of O’Connor’s writing, and decided to direct the movie even though it had limited commercial appeal because of the novel’s grotesque characters and mockery of established religion.)

***Leadership
He who knows not and knows not he knows not, is a fool.  Shun him.
He who knows not and knows he knows not, is simple.   Teach him.
He who knows and knows not he knows, is asleep.  Awaken him.
He who knows and knows he knows,  is a leader.   Follow him.”  
--Lady Isabel Arundel Burton, English author, 1831-1896, who described this as an Arabian proverb

***Privacy And The Pursuit of Happiness
 “The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness…They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let alone -- the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by civilized men. To protect that right, every unjustifiable intrusion by the Government upon the privacy of the individual, whatever the means employed, must be deemed a violation of the Fourth Amendment.”  –Louis Brandeis, 1856-1941, U.S. Supreme Court Justice in “Olmstead v. United States” 1928. 
  (Editor’s note: In that particular case the Court reviewed whether the use of wiretapped private telephone conversations of alleged bootleggers, obtained by federal agents without judicial approval and subsequently used evidence, constituted a violation of the defendant’s rights provided by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that neither the Fourth Amendment nor the Fifth Amendment rights of the defendant were violated. This decision was reversed by Katz v. United States in 1967.)

***Making an Impact
“In order for a book to affect history, it must generally appear at a time when people are eager to act but do not quite know how to focus and justify their urge.  The great book informs, justifies, and usually prescribes.” 
--Charles L. Mee, Jr.  (American author and playwright, 1938--     Editor’s note: Examples of books that affected history:  Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe—slavery; The Jungle by Upton Sinclair—the meat-packing industry; The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan—the women’s movement; Silent Spring by Rachel Carson—the environmental movement)

***Science and Art
 “Anything if done repeatedly can be turned into a science, and if done imaginatively into art”  
--Gene Griessman   (Editor’s note:  Science:  Systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, and experimentation carried on in order to determine the nature or principles of what is being studied.”   Art: “Making or doing of things that have form and beauty.”

“If you do heavy lifting with your mind, physical lifting can become efficient, productive, and pleasant.  –Gene Griessman   (Editor’s note:   See “Lincoln’s Log” in this issue.)  

 “LINCOLN’S WISDOM”   
Would you like to sample some of the tracks of “Lincoln’s Wisdom,” or would you like to do an MP3 download?  You can do both at CD Baby.   The samples are free.  Here’s the link: http://cdbaby.com/found?allsearch=griessman&submit=search

“LINCOLN ON COMMUNICATION”

How would you feel if Abraham Lincoln could speak to your leadership team, your class or seminar, your course on business communication or interpersonal communication?  You'd be thrilled, of course.  Now you can do the next best thing.  By showing "Lincoln on Communication," you will enable those you lead to learn Lincoln's communication secrets, the tactics and strategies that made him effective at interpersonal communication as well as a great writer and speechmaker.

Business leaders, communication experts, and educators alike have acclaimed it.  To order: www.achievementdigest.com/lincoln%20on%20communication.html   
This is a great investment that will pay off again and again.  Your purchase is protected by a lifetime return guarantee.

FEEDBACK
“I’m having a really busy day with lots to do yet…but I still took the time to read your newsletter (No. 57) .   Thank you! 

Wonderful!  I loved the baseball story (very appropriate for my life right now) and the travel/financial tips.  It reminded me to sign up for Marriott Rewards so I can collect on my recent stay—I am now a proud member of their reward program.” 
--Dr. Susan Biali   www.bestlifeprescription.com

“You really did a great job with what can be a very difficult group to reach and engage.   I think the Lincoln character really helps you deliver the message.  I know it is difficult to do two seminars in one day, and I appreciate your working with us on that.”
—Dennis Graul, CEO, Graul’s Market  (Baltimore, Annapolis and the Eastern Shore; www.graulsmarket.com)

From recent feedback forms:  
*** “The best one I personally liked was the ways of dealing with depression.  It is true that depression still has a stigma, and in management positions it may be so looked down on that one’s afraid to discuss it for fear of being labeled, thus making it more shameful, and not getting help.   Great presentation.”  (Lincoln presentation contains a module on ways to deal with depression.)

***”Great stories!  Kept the audience’s attention with this very different way of delivering a very important message on a very important subject.”

***”I really thought I was at Gettysburg.”

***”Absolutely perfect!  I couldn’t recommend anything that could improve this presentation.  Really enjoyed the diversity discussion…so relevant today.”

TRAVEL NOTES FROM A ROAD WARRIOR: San Francisco
The Cliff House.  There’s no shortage of great restraurants in San Francisco, but the Cliff House is a special restaurant in a special place. Perched on a cliff high above huge boulders and cascading waves, it has been deservedly named the "Best Restaurant with a View." 

There’ve actually been three Cliff Houses.  The first one, a modest structure, was constructed in 1863, where three American Presidents and the Who’s Who of California society dined.  It was destroyed by fire in 1893. 

The second Cliff House was anything but modest.  Its owner, Adolph Sutro, who later became mayor of San Francisco, bought most of the western headlands of San Francisco, made his home there, and built three railroads to bring the public in. 

Sutro’s version of the restaurant--a grandiose structure with turrets and observation tower--stood eight stories tall, 200 feet above the sea.  Not content with just a restaurant, he constructed Sutro Baths north of the restaurant with seven swimming pools at various temperatures and an amphitheater that seated 3700 spectators.   The second Cliff House—survived the 1906 earthquake, but burned the following year. 

Today’s Cliff House, which opened in 1909, is more subdued than its second iteration; but it has the feel of a special place.  I felt I had arrived at a depression-era movie set.

But what about the food?   It’s excellent.  I’ve been to quite a few historic restaurants with commanding views, but the food was underwhelming.  That is not the case with the Cliff House.  It received the 2006 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, which is not awarded without cause. 

I recommend the roasted chestnut soup and the swordfish.  415-386-3330  www.cliffhouse.com 

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