As the president remains hospitalized for a Virus that did not- as he promised- "magically disappear"- we will be tweeting @Justicebuilding some of the reflections of Retired General Jim Mattis. His book "Call Sign Chaos" is one of the finest explanations of leadership and reflections on the lessons of war and how organizations should be led. The lessons Mattis discusses easily translate to running a law firm and preparing for trial.
Meanwhile- as one person commented recently on the blog: "We like Presidents who do not get sick" and...."We should all extend to the Trump family the same concern and respect that they did as Senator McCain lay dying."
But of course that would be wrong. It would make us like the president, and that would be a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude.
No one in the White House had the decency and courtesy to notify the Biden campaign once they knew there was a potential issue when Hope Hicks tested positive. Even when Trump tested positive, there was no heads up from the Trump campaign or the White House to the Biden campaign.
An organization takes its cues from its leader.
From Call Sign Chaos:
"In his fast moving campaigns during the Civil War, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman habitually sought to threaten two objectives before he attacked. This forced the Confederate generals to split their forces, giving Sherman a decisive advantage when he made his lunge."
Years ago we observed a legal team that was intimidated to strike at anything, always worried that they would tip their hand. The result was that the prosecution concentrated their forces and attacked and routed the defense.
Mattis emphasizes over and over again the value of reading books on warfare campaign. His tactics in the desert in leading a Marine Battalion in the campaign to liberate Kuwait were influenced by the great British General William Slim and his classic "Defeat into Victory" - an account of the British Army recovering and regrouping in Burma and India and defeating the Japanese. Mattis carried Slim's book with him into battle in Kuwait.