People First, Mission Always

A Turkish army soldier briefs U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal on the situation at a police check-point in Kabul province. (PO1 Mark O'Donald)

Review by Bill Doughty––

The military adage "mission first, people always" is reversed in real life and on the best teams. It's about people, first and foremost.

"Good people purposely and proactively put people first in their decision making," writes Anthony Tjan in "Good People: The Only Leadership Decision That Really Matters" (Penguin Random House, 2017).

Raising Commitment core value banner at Norco (Greg Votjko)

Missions cannot be planned, trained for, or carried out successfully without good people of good character –– starting  in leadership positions.

Good leaders put good people for their teams. They continually seek to improve themselves; they instill core values; they strive for balance; and, they believe goodness is something that needs to be habitual and practiced even when no one is looking.

They are not in it only for themselves.

Putting goodness into practice means, in part, being a mentor. Tjan challenges readers to strive to provide inspiration and positive influence to at least ten other people. Using an eclectic group of people, he shows how they can share the "North Star" of good character.

He describes how the great Navy veteran jazz artist Clark Terry ("known by his friends as CT"), then in his eighties, mentored a 20-year-old musical prodigy named Justin Kauflin. Terry was losing his eyesight due to diabetes; Kauflin was blind.

CT had mentored Quincy Jones decades earlier; Quincy heard Justin play piano at CT's home and sponsored him. And Jones introduced Justin at the 47th Montreux Jazz Festival. See the video of a performance dedicated to Clark Terry:

The bond between Justin and Clark Terry is chronicled in "Keep on Keepin' On," a documentary, which opens with a letter CT once wrote to young Kauflin, and published in "Good People":

"Dear Justin, challenges are a part of life. As you know, your mind is a powerful asset. Use it for positive thoughts and you'll learn what I learned. I believe in your talents and I believe in you."

Clark Terry and Justin Kauflin provide a good "soundtrack for this book." (By the way, if you like laid-back quiet jazz, check out jazzgroove.org.)

Other folks featured, mentioned or quoted in "Good People" –– in no particular order –– include Tom Brady, Bono, Tippi Hedron, Brené Brown, Dalai Lama, Coach John Wooden, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Chaplin, JFK, Lee Kuan Yew, C. S. Lewis, Alice Waters, Warren Buffet. Trader Joe's Doug Rauch, and Jet Blue's David Neeleman. We get their advice for success in life, business and other fields.

Capt. Dee Mewbourne, left, then-commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and then-Rear Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of Carrier Strike Group 8, speak with and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then-commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, on the bridge of Dwight D. Eisenhower, June 17, 2010. McChrystal was on a battlefield circulation visit to the ship during Operation Enduring Freedom. (PO1 Mark O'Donald)

For example, here's how Gen. Stanley McChrystal puts people first through systemic flattening of the organization and empowerment beyond delegation:

"You might be surprised to learn that for many years, the key military leader in charge of America's war on terror was a strong proponent of open, distributed leadership. When now-retired four-star general Stanley McChrystal took the leadership of the Joint Special Operations Command in 2003, he quickly saw that the military's traditional, hierarchical, highly centralized command-and-control model would fail to defeat al-Qaeda in Iraq. The only way to beat al-Qaeda would be to transform the military into an open, collaborative network that moved power out from the center to enable people in the field to engage in autonomous decision making. So in the midst of the war, McChrystal dismantled existing decision-making structures and implemented a faster, flatter, and more agile organizational model. In McChrystal's 'team of teams' approach, transparent communication of information became more important because each person was empowered to be a potential decision maker. It wasn't delegation –– it was truly equally distributed decision making that required soldiers to open up and trust their colleagues to make the right decision at the right time. No wonder high-ranking military personnel like McChrystal identify 'soft' values –– like humility, empathy, openness, and compassion –– as critical predictors of soldiers' success."

That's the heart of the advice in this book: be good, choose well, and choose "good."

Tjan creates a pyramid, charts and lists to illustrate and inspire. He publishes Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues. At least one –– #4 Resolution –– is a "found haiku:"

Resolve to perform

what you ought; perform without

fail what you resolve

Tjan resolves that "These three cornerstone qualities of goodness are our anchors in the pursuit of goodness:" truth, compassion, fulfillment and gratitude.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, is interviewed by Command Master Chief David Twiford, command master chief of Recruit Training Command (RTC), Great Lakes, Aug. 12, 2019, about her experiences and philosophy. (Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Camilo Fernan)

The emphasis on character is at the heart of Senator Tammy Duckworth's philosophy and "the values we hold dear — respect, compassion, and tolerance." Duckworth served in Iraq as an Army National Guard helicopter pilot. She lost both legs and partial use of her right arm in a rocket-propelled grenade attack. She served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs before her election to the Senate. At the VA she became known for her caring outreach to veterans.

While reading Tjan's book I thought of her and other strong-yet-compassionate leaders –– well-read leaders –– who focused on people of character in order to meet the mission.

General James Mattis, former Secretary of Defense, said, "Reading is an honor and a gift from a warrior or historian who—a decade or a thousand decades ago—set aside time to write." His list of recommended books include titles by Max Boot, Barbara Tuchman, Ulysses S. Grant, Nelson Mandella, George P. Shulz, and Will and Ariel Durant, among others.

Like General James Mattis, Tjan knows good, thoughtful leaders are readers. "Read broadly, read deeply," Than advises. "The more you read, the better you think."

One of the many books he highlights is "Adrift," a memoir by Steven Callahan, who was a naval architect and lifelong seaman.

"The book, originally published in 1986, chronicles Callahan's experience alone and lost at sea for seventy-six days, clinging to a survival raft, and remains among the most amazing stories of grit, resilience, acceptance, and, ultimately, triumph that I've ever read," Tjan says.

Callahan battled sharks, changing weather conditions, and hunger. Because he was well-read on survival at sea he knew how to "create his own ecosystem," distilling water, spearing fish, and fighting off sickness. All the while, he dealt with ever-changing situations with agility, stoicism, and a positive resilience.

Tjan's own book is filled with memorable examples of principled core values, critical thinking, and inspiring servant leadership.

As with a lot of business books, sometimes the advice comes across as simplistic common sense, but the optimism and hopefulness here are timely and appreciated in this summer of 2020: people first, mission always.