Courage Under Fire

I am flanked on both sides and surrounded by a superior force. Situation excellent. I will attack at once!

-- French Field Marshall Fochs

History is filled with people who had the courage to stay, when all signs pointed toward bugging-out. Decisive military battles were won by people who saw through overwhelming odds, and found a way to defeat a superior opponent. Time has faded the memory of the Battle of Midway. It was without doubt, America's most decisive Naval victory. Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance was a pinch-hitter for the ailing Bill Halsey, and had never in his career commanded a carrier force. Just the same, he was Admiral Nimitz' clear choice to command the carrier task force at Midway. Against advice from his staff, he waited until the precise moment to launch his fleet's counterattack that sank four Japanese heavy carriers in 20 minutes and sent Japan retreating on the defensive for the balance of the war in the Pacific theater. Spruance' courage under fire is chronicled as the most impactful victory in the history of modern fleet warfare.

Two days before Chuck Yeager was scheduled to fly into history, aiming for supersonic speed in the Bell X- 5, he fell from his horse, breaking two ribs on his right side. Broken ribs meant excruciating pain, but Yeager could ill-afford to tell his flight surgeon, much less take pain killers. Instead, he asked his veterinarian to tape his ribs (pledged to secrecy) and then asked his crew chief to cut off the end of a broom handle, so as to reach across his damaged rib cage and properly close the cockpit door with his left arm. When asked about this incredible triumph over failure, Yeager said, "I never thought about the next day, or what might happen, when things went wrong. I put all of my focus on solving the crisis of the moment."

Leadership needs more examples like Chuck Yeager and Ray Spruance. We think we know pressure in our business, and it's fair to say we have an adequate supply. All too often we can see the remnants of chaos under fire played out by people who gave up on a plan or bugged out of a strategic commitment too soon, only to see their objective go glimmering, lost in the graveyard of woulda-shoulda-coulda.

Now more than ever, leadership demands courage under fire; people who won't give in to second guessing and self doubt. You can expect:

1. Things will go wrong.
2. Your best plan won't survive first-contact with the enemy.
3. The objectives from corporate may not link up with your current threats or today's crisis.
4. You will be required to ultimately decide when to stay and when to go, as you follow the planning and research you've developed with your strategic resources.
5. There is no short way.

You have to ask yourself why you're committed to a plan, why it was a good idea when you drew it, why it seems viable even in the face of some adversity, and the consequences of backing away or staying the course. Leadership is, if nothing else, a long series of commitments and consequences.