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Proceedings / July
Ah, sir, about that message to Garcia . . .
Do you want people who can carry a message to Garcia? Do you want to be the sort whom others entrust with such a message?
Back in my days in the Naval Academy, a prime example of “followership” was Elbert Hubbard's essay entitled “A Message to Garcia,” published in 1899 shortly after the Spanish- American War. The Garcia of the title was Calixto Garcia, leader of the guerrilla forces in Cuba’s Santiago Province. President McKinley gave a letter to "a fellow by the name of Rowan” to carry to Garcia, located “somewhere” in Cuba. What impressed Hubbard was not that Rowan was somehow able to find Garcia and deliver the letter, but that Rowan took the letter and did not ask, “Where is he at?”
By the Eternal! There is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing—“Carry a message to Garcia.”
Needless to say, rhetoric such as this has the effect of a stiff breeze on young minds already caught up in the romance of a naval career. As Academy plebes, we were asked again and again if we were ready to “carry a message to Garcia,” and my classmates and I always were. When we became upperclassmen, we exhorted our own plebes to stand ready to carry the message. 1 resolved to become that quintessential warrior whom Hubbard celebrated, for “Anything such a man asks shall be granted. He is wanted in every city, town and village—in every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such ...”
1 also thought how I would cherish
98 having such persons under me. What marvels of naval professionalism we could accomplish together! How much easier my job would be!
A few years and a bit more practical experience later, I can say that if I had a division of Garcia messengers under my command, I would gladly shoot the lot of them.
What? Are you aghast? Is your mind racing to all the back, talk you get from subordinates? How every order you give provokes a lengthy discussion? Would you happily contribute some major body part to get someone who would just do something when you asked him or her to do it?
Well, let us suppose you are a department head and have such an individual in your charge. You call in your paragon of obedience and fidelity, give him a folder, and tell him, “Deliver this to Garcia.” Without a word—but with that look of steely determination that gives you a warm feeling near your heart—he turns and disappears.
A week later he returns, mission accomplished. He also has a travel voucher for one week’s temporary additional duty on Diego Garcia, where he handed the folder to the startled commanding officer, saluted, and walked out briskly. You, meanwhile, have spent the last few days fending off the growing irritation of Lieutenant Garcia, the new supply officer, who wants those departmental financial records and wants them now. I don’t know precisely what you will say to your model sailor when he returns, confidently expecting your praise for a difficult task superbly executed, but I suspect it will be something along the lines of, “If you didn't know exactly what I meant, why didn't you say something?”
Another example: Assume you are an ensign reporting on board your first ship. You are put in charge of a division in engineering. On your first full day as division officer, the engineer tells you to make sure some particular task is accomplished. You say, “Aye aye, sir” in your best “Message to Garcia” manner, and stride aft in search of your chief. You inform him, in a voice that advises you will tolerate no nonsense, that he will immediately accomplish the aforementioned task. looks you in the eye (perhaps after heaving a small sigh), and says, “No- sir, I don’t think we want to do that.
Well! Do you (a) inform the chief that you may be only an ensign but you are an officer, and when you give an order you expect it to be obeyed; °r (b) ask, in a voice that says you may be only an ensign, but you can understand the obvious when it is explained to you slowly, “Why not?”
Option (a), as anyone who has exercised it can tell you, is a wonderful way to ensure that you will step into a very deep mess very soon. If you're lucky, the chief will go to the engineer and inform him, in so many words, that he has a ninny working for him- b the chief is feeling reckless and angry, however, he may just carry out your order, and explain to the engineer later that “I tried to tell the ensign we shouldn’t do that, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Option (b) will give the chief the opportunity to fill you in on how the equipment for which you are now responsible works, and to explain how doing the task the engineer gave you will conflict nastily with something the engineer told them to do two days ag°- You shuffle back with the news to the engineer, who says, “Darn! You’re right, I forgot about that. Good call.’
I know this will offend those who have always held up Hubbard’s essay as a faultless model, but “A Message to Garcia” is junk. It tells people to be good little robots, and to demand that those working for them be good little robots. Hubbard talks about “heart.” about being “loyal,” about “the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it”—nowhere does he mention whether his paragon of \oT
aty, obedience, and fortitude should also have enough brains to come in out lhe rain, or enough courage to tell the °ss when the boss makes a mistake. Hubbard’s ideal follower would have to a mind reader, someone who instantly understands that you mean Lieu- l?nant Garcia, not Diego Garcia. But a etter follower than Garcia ever envisioned can be had; the catch is, you nave to develop him.
. You have to think ahead before giv- lng an order, to make sure there are no °bvious ambiguities that might trip someone up. You have to be encouraging when someone asks questions about |dden ambiguities. You have to apolo- 8'ze when someone misunderstands an «*r. Chewing him up one side and °wn the other for something that was y°ur fault—and yes, when you give an ambiguous order, it is your fault—is <>nly going to turn the target of your Wrath into someone who cannot be pasted to do anything, because he will e afraid to ask questions and afraid to Hake decisions.
You have to be ready to listen when Someone questions an order of yours.
a's is never easy, because despite any Polite and respectful phrases a subordinate may use, questioning a personal
order always comes out sounding like, “That’s a dumb order.” You have to be ready to say, “You know what? That was a dumb order. I’m glad you pointed that out to me. Good thing I have people like you working for me; I’d never be able to do this job without you.” Because, in the course of a career, you will give some very dumb orders, and Lord help you if the people who work for you simply nod and obey.
Hubbard seemed to believe that the world was full of hopeless jackasses, with only a few stout-hearted thoroughbreds about to carry a message to Garcia. In my experience, few people are born jackasses; most try to be Garcia messengers, but quickly tire of working for someone who demands an omniscient mind reader. If you can catch that “jackass” before he’s given up all hope of finding a decent leader, you can be the one to turn him into a sailor you would happily entrust to carry a message to anyone, anywhere.
I have had true Garcia messengers working for me. I would much rather have a born jackass. A genuine jackass, someone who cannot be trusted with anything no matter how hard you work with him, is like a broken pistol—it may not be good for much.
but at least it won’t harm anyone unintentionally. Someone infected with the spirit of “A Message to Garcia” is like a pistol with a curved bore—you can shoot it, but only by luck can you hit what you want. Best of all, I prefer ordinary guns with smart bullets— people who will ask intelligent questions, tell me when I’m wrong, and work with me, not just for me.
On to the second question I asked:
Do you want to be the sort of person who would, without question or hesitation, carry a message to Garcia?
I have worked for bosses I disliked:
I can think of none for whom 1 had such dislike that I would give them nothing but blind obedience. If the boss gives me a dumb order, I owe it to the boss, to myself, and to the mission to question that order. I owe it to the boss because I have always worked for human beings, not demigods, who make mistakes and usually appreciate it when 1 politely point them out. 1 owe it to myself because that dumb order may be pretty damn smart, and finding out how it is smart may turn out to be useful for me later. I owe it to the mission because—whether the order is dumb or I am—I have helped to make the team a little more efficient.
ARTFIGH KIRI
1 Essays must be received on or before 1 December 1987 at the U.S. Naval Institute.
- The name of the author shall not appear on the essay. Each author shall assign a motto in addition to a title to the essay. This motto shall appear (a) on the title page of the essay, with the title, in lieu of the author's name, and (b) by itself on the outside of an accompanying sealed envelope containing the name and address of the essayist, the title of the essay, and the motto. This envelope will not be opened until the Editorial Board has made its selections.
- The awards will be presented to the winning essayist at the 114th Annual Meeting of the membership of the Naval Institute. Letters notifying the award winners will be mailed on or about 1 February 1988, and the unsuccessful essays will be returned to their authors on that date.
- All essays must be typewritten, double-spaced, on paper approximately 8'A" x 11”. Submit two complete copies.
- The winning and honorable mention essays will be published in the Proceedings. Essays not awarded a pria may be selected for publication in the Proceedings. The writers of such essays will be compensated at the rate established for purchase of articles.
1 An essay entered in this contest should be analytical and/or interpretive, not merely an exposition, a personal narrative, or a report.
Caution: Do not exceed 4,000 words! Deadline: 1 December 1987
The U.S. Naval Institute is proud to announce its fourth annual Arleigh Burke Essay Contest, which replaces the former annual General Prize Essay Contest.
Three essays will be selected for prizes.
Anyone is eligible to enter and win. First prize earns $2,000, a Gold Medal and a Life Membership in the Naval Institute. First Honorable Mention wins $1,000 and a Silver Medal. Second Honorable Mention wins $750 and a Bronze Medal.
The topic of the essay must relate to the objective of the U.S. Naval Institute: 'The advancement of professional, literary, and scientific knowledge in the naval and maritime services, and the advancement of the knowledge of sea power."
Essays will be judged by the Editorial Board of the U.S. Naval Institute.
Entry Rules
- Essays must be original, must not exceed 4,000 words, and must not have been previously published. An exact word count must appear on the title page.
- All entries should be directed to: Publisher, U.S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, MD 21402.
UNITED STATES NAVAL INSTITUTE
WIN $2,000
I'
r°oeedings / July 1987
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