Michael P. Maslanka is the managing partner of the Dallas office of Constangy, Brooks & Smith. He is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His podcasts and "Work Matters" blog can be found at texaslawyer.com. His email address is mmaslanka@constangy.com.
Many predicted that the film Lincoln would sweep the Oscars. That didn't happen, but Daniel Day-Lewis did win the best actor Academy Award for his portrayal of America's greatest president.
Hollywood may have gone for Argo on Oscar night, but Lincoln is more likely to stand the test of time. Here are six lessons general counsel can learn from the 16th president.
No. 1: Mission over ego
Necessity, not vanity, drove Lincoln's decision-making during the Civil War. Check out this dramatic passage from David Von Drehle's book, Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America's Most Perilous Year. General George B. McClellan commanded the Union's Army of the Potomac. He was young, arrogant and disrespectful to the president. Once, he even insulted Lincoln and an aide by leaving them, unacknowledged, in his living room, while striding past them to his upstairs bedroom for the night.
"The unpardonable arrogance of the epaulets," fumed the assistant. Lincoln quietly replied, "This is not the time to be making points of etiquette and personal dignity."
Simply put, Lincoln needed McClellan to organize an army that was, in Lincoln's view "utterly demoralized." Von Drehle writes of Lincoln's shrewd assessment: "McClellan has the army with him . . . [and] we must use the tools we have; he excels in making others ready to fight."
Remember, when in doubt, dial back ego.
No. 2: Salvage if possible; fire when necessary
McClellan invaded Virginia in a brilliant amphibious landing, just like Gen. Douglas MacArthur at Inchon, South Korea, but without any follow-up. McClellan implored Lincoln for unneeded reinforcements. While frustrated, Lincoln understood this: Firing someone is easy, but replacing him is harder.
Lincoln wrote to McClellan on April 9, 1862. Von Drehle quotes the letter: "It is the precise time to strike a blow. … I beg to assure you that I have never written you, or spoken to you, in greater kindness. But you must act." Von Drehle writes that this was Lincoln at his best, "combining force with sympathy."
It is a template of an effective memo to a subordinate or an outside firm: Question assumptions. Provide rationales. Explain the peril. Show empathy. End with direction. Once Lincoln had a more powerful political footing, he cashiered McClellan. But he tried.
No. 3: Acknowledge mistakes
Want the respect of subordinates? Seneca called loyalty, not obedience, "the holiest virtue in the human heart." Lincoln illuminates the way. There is no better example than that laid out by the great historian James M. McPherson in Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief.
