Quote of the Day
Left unsung, the noblest deed will die.
— General Mattis, quoting the Greek poet Pindar. He was explaining how embedded journalists could help the US Marines tell their story.
Figure 1: General Mattis. (Source).
I have been reading an article about our new Secretary of Defense James Mattis, a US Marine general who is well known for his thoughtful insights on the world situation. He is also viewed as a superb manager, which means I want to learn as much from his experience as possible. In the article, Mattis has listed some of his management credos. I thought I would look at coming up with corresponding credos for managing a civilian engineering team (Table 1).
| General Mattis' View of a Marine | My View of an Engineer |
|---|---|
| All of us are MAGTF (Marine Air Ground Task Force) leaders. | All engineers are leaders. |
| Attitude is a weapon. | Attitude is often your most powerful tool. |
| Everyone fills sandbags in this outfit. | No one is above any job. |
| If a Marine or a unit is screwing up, hug them a little more. | If someone is screwing up, for gosh sake help – unless it’s a competitor, where we just get out of their way. |
| There are only two types of people on the battlefield: hunters and the hunted. | There are only two types of engineers: those that make things happen, and those who have things happen to them. |
| He encouraged simplicity in planning, and speed, surprise, and security in execution. | He encouraged simplicity in planning, and speed, surprise, and security in execution. |
| The two qualities I look for most in my Marines are initiative and aggressiveness. | The two qualities I look for most in my engineers are initiative and a can-do attitude. |
| Remember, Orville Wright flew an airplane without a pilot’s license. | Remember, Orville Wright flew an airplane without a pilot’s license. |
| No better friend, no worse enemy. | No better partner, no more fierce competitor. |
| Treat every day as if it were your last day of peace. | Treat everyday as an opportunity to improve our competitive position. |
| This is not some JV, bush-league outfit. We’re the Marines. | This is not some JV, bush-league outfit. We are industry-leaders and we need to act like it. |
| I have been accused of making my subordinates my equals, and I happily stand guilty. | I have been accused of making my subordinates my equals, and I happily stand guilty. |
| I don’t want us to put someone in front of the the media that is going to have their second childhood. I only want tough Marines in front of the camera. | Customer relations are for Sales and Marketing folks – customers might overdose on reality if they dealt directly with development engineers. |
| Engage your brain before you engage your trigger. | Engage your brain before you engage your mouth – if I were King of the World, I would make this happen. |
| The number-one authority you have as a leader is your moral authority and your number one power is expectation. | The number-one authority you have as a leader is your moral authority and your number one power is expectation. |