The medal is not awarded by the military brass but rather by fellow soldiers for one's act of bravery in battle and after due vetting and recommendation of Congress, is presented in a ceremony by the President.
In March 1968, in spite of his face being seriously injured, and losing vision temporarily in one eye, First lieutenant Jack Jacob braved serious enemy fire to rescue a total of 13 soldiers one after the other in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam war. It is riveting listening to him recount this story.
Upon returning to civilian life he founded and sold a financing business. He was a global managing director at Bankers Trust on Wall Street. He then became a professor at West Point. Then a military analyst on NBC news. He has authored two books one if which is titled, 'if not now, when?' He is currently Vice Chair of the Medal of Honor foundation, and has developed a 'character development' program aimed at middle school children, offered for free to any school that wants to take it up.
There were a number of things that were insightful in what he said, but one that stood out for me was, when he was asked if he was afraid during the March 1968 incident.
He replied, 'of course I was afraid. One would have to be either psychotic not to be afraid, or lying! It is not that you are afraid, but what you do to overcome that fear....'
When asked about key attributes of leadership, he shared these following five characteristics:
- The ability to surround oneself with strong people (rather than yes-men or weaklings)
- Being oneself (anyone can spot a fake)
- Knowing how to distinguish between a crisis and a non-crisis (not everything is a crisis)
- A propensity for action (his motto quoting a first century philosopher - if not you, who? If not now, when?)
- The insight that one cannot find out anything in a meeting (he is opposed to meetings)
I was lucky to ruminate about this with my Dad the next morning, since the meeting was in his neighboring town. We discussed four attributes of success that can be the measure of a man (gender neutral).
Professional Success:
The ability to continually set a stretch goal for oneself and giving the best effort to reach it. Failure is not the inability to reach that stretch goal, but lack of trying.
Stark failure is blowing chances one is handed (Jesse Jackson Jr comes to mind)
Success in Family Life:
The willingness to be counted and help when needed. Not that one wants to promote a sense of dependence. But when a family member is trying to stand up on their feet and need help - the willingness to give it without expecting something in return. Of course this is a given with one's children (one hopes!), but does this willingness extend beyond?
Stark failure is running away from responsibility when one is required to step up (we noted personal examples here of those who stood up and manned the fort and those that abandoned it at the hour of dire family need).
Success with Community:
The attitude that one gives back to the community as one takes. If the attitude is that one pays taxes or dues and thus obligations are met, would be failure. Does one voluntarily give back, to the extent one can - time, money or resources to the local community or far away communities, is a key determinant of success in this regard.
Stark failure here would be those who avoid paying taxes or dues and don't offer anything back voluntarily to communities (we noted how those with access to power can bend the rules for themselves through tax loopholes and subsidies).
A successful human being:
This is the person able to think and feel beyond job, family and community. Is the person able to transcend daily struggles and contend with the larger questions of life and one's place in it. Success is not finding an answer, rather the willingness to ask large questions from deep within. Failure is not asking the question.
Stark failure is when daily struggles are not 24X7 overwhelming, not knowing to ask such questions.
Can one be successful on all four fronts? Many spiritual greats have given up the first three to focus on the fourth. Many social greats have focused on the third at the expense of the other three. Many professional greats have put their eggs in the first basket at the expense of others.
How does one find balance?
The meeting yesterday did put this in stark relief. Acts of valor such as Captain Jack Jacob's are inspirational, but what he has done after that is even more so. Such is the measure of the man.
4 comments:
The acts of Mr. Jacob have to be commended not just for what he has done ( which in itself is extraordinary), but the courage and presence of mind amidst such desperate situation. Most of the ordinary people will simply give up. It is said in boxing, failure is not falling down but not trying to get up ! It is very fortunate that you have met this great man.
Our conversation on success was very interesting. I have been thinking more about it. There is one more dimension which we have not discussed. We simply said sucess and different aspects of it. We have not included the time line. What I mean by this is that success at different stages of life are different. For example, in younger days, success in study and achieving good degrees is a goal. Later in life, success in profession will be the goal. When you retire, you have different goals. So, one has to ask all the questions again in terms of each stage of one's life!
Have seen him on TV a few times, glad that you met him and have shared your thoughts.
One of my all-time favorite HBO mini-series is about another medal of honor John Basilone. Highly recommend that 5 part series “Pacific” if you have not watched.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Basilone
I’d seen him on TV as a military analyst a number of times and was always impressed. Pretty cool to have actually spent time with him.
And the rest of your post is worthy of a medal too.
Nice subject..
Post a Comment