1776: Celebrating Independence Day by Remembering our Past

As we celebrate this historic day here in the United States of America I would like to recommend a great book that details the story of the sacrifices that were made so that we can enjoy our freedoms today. David McCullough’s book 1776 is a tremendous treatment of the military perspective of this pivotal year in our country’s birth.

There are many leadership lessons to glean as you work your way through the detailed accounts of the ravages of war. The troops who laid their lives on the line fought not only the opposing troops, but weather, sickness, hunger and other great challenges.

As you read this you get a glimpse into how turbulent and confusing this year must have been for those involved. You get insight into the American and British political climate that failed to reach a compromise solution making war between the two inevitable.

Shawn Carkonen provides the following insights into this book:

“McCullough writes vividly about the dismal conditions that troops on both sides had to endure, including an unusually harsh winter, and the role that luck and the whims of the weather played in helping the colonial forces hold off the world’s greatest army. He also effectively explores the importance of motivation and troop morale–a tie was as good as a win to the Americans, while anything short of overwhelming victory was disheartening to the British, who expected a swift end to the war. The redcoat retreat from Boston, for example, was particularly humiliating for the British, while the minor American victory at Trenton was magnified despite its limited strategic importance.”

You will also see the contrasting leadership styles of the two George’s and how these two men were so critical to the outcome in both negative and positive ways.

King George III displayed an arrogance that caused him to underestimate the capabilities of the Americans. In Jim Collin’s recent book How the Mighty Fall, his first stage for those companies beginning their decline is, hubris (outrageous arrogance) born of success. King George’s hubris was key to the British downfall during 1776. As McCullough walks us through this year we get to see how this condition has been a problem all during history not only for corporations but countries as well.

McCullough’s treatment of George Washington provides some great insights to his amazing leadership abilities that were put to the ultimate test during 1776.

“The great Washington lives up to his considerable reputation in these pages, and McCullough relies on private correspondence to balance the man and the myth, revealing how deeply concerned Washington was about the Americans’ chances for victory, despite his public optimism. Perhaps more than any other man, he realized how fortunate they were to merely survive the year, and he willingly lays the responsibility for their good fortune in the hands of God rather than his own.” Shawn Carkonen

Leadership Lessons