LIFE’S LESSONS
By Henrylito D. Tacio
“A work that is good-it may not be eternal, but the thought expressed in it is, and the work itself will certainly remain in existence for a long, long time; and if afterwards others arise, they can do no better than follow in the footsteps of such predecessors and do their work in the same way.” – Vincent van Gogh
As a footnote to Deuteronomy 34:9, someone wrote: “Moses trained Joshua to take his place, so that Moses might become dispensable. So did Jesus train His disciples before His ascension. So should all leaders train others to take their place. Success without a successor is failure.”
In their book, Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus found over 850 different definitions of leadership. “Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth,” asserts book author James MacGregor Burns.
“Leadership is the process of persuasion or example by which an individual (or leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by a leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers,” writes John W. Gardner, author of On Leadership. “Leadership is influence, the ability of one person to influence others,” Oswald Sanders, another book author.
“One of the most common failures of leaders is that they spend little time or effort preparing their organization for their departure,” noted Henry and Richard Blackaby in their book, Spiritual Leadership. “Many leaders work extremely hard at their jobs and they may enjoy remarkable success during their term as leader. But one test of great leaders is how well their organizations do after they leave.”
When Franklin Roosevelt won his fourth term as American president in 1944, many suspected he would not live to finish his term and that the presidency would inevitably fall to the vice president, Harry S Truman. Many thought he would brief Truman.
But he did not. In fact, Roosevelt met briefly with Truman only twice during the 86 days of his vice presidency. So, when Roosevelt died, the unprepared Truman became the president. One commentator said, “Roosevelt failed to develop his successor and, in this respect, he failed as a leader.”
It has been said that Napoleon Bonaparte’s greatest failure at the Battle of Waterloo was not having trained his generals to think independently of him. When victory hung in the balance and Napoleon was counting on General Grouchy, with 34,000 men and 108 guns, to engage the enemy. Grouchy remained immobilized.
“Lacking initiative, authority and energy,” wrote Felix Markham, Napoleon’s biographer, “ Grouchy took refuge in a literal obedience to orders. But the orders he received from Napoleon were lacking in precision and too late.” Markham suggested, “Napoleon frequently criticized his Generals’ mistakes, but he never made any systematic attempt to teach them his methods. He relied entirely on himself.”
From the Bible, Samuel’s life comes to mind. He was one of the most godly leaders Israel ever had. At the time of his “retirement,” no one with whom he had worked could find any fault with him (I Samuel 12:1-5). Nevertheless, he ultimately failed as a leader, for he did not prepare a successor.
A Chinese proverb says, “If you are planning for one year, grow rice. If you are planning for twenty years, grow trees. If you are planning for centuries, grow men.” Or women.
In one of her best-selling books, author Laurie Beth Jones shared this story: “Florence Littauer is an amazing woman who has written over thirteen books, one of which, Personality Plus, has sold over 300,000 copies. I attended one of her seminars and was surprised when she came on stage with about twenty-six other authors – each of whom she had helped to write their own books.
“She stood there with all those authors and said, ‘If you think I am the proudest of my books, you are wrong. I am most proud of the people I have helped to become writers themselves.’ She didn’t define her success in terms of her products, but in terms of the people she had trained. Had she been an insecure author, she might have tried to lessen the competition. But in fact, she was busy training her replacements.”
Speaking of writing and training, I was reminded of an essay written by Howard Hendricks with Chip MacGregor. It goes this way:
In 1919, a man recovering from injuries suffered in the Great War in Europe rented a small apartment in Chicago. He chose the location for its proximity to the home of the famous author Sherwood Anderson (of Winesburg, Ohio distinction).
The two men became fast friends and spent nearly every day together for two years. They shared meals, took long walks, and discussed the craft of writing late into the night. The younger man often brought samples of his work to Anderson, and the veteran author responded by giving brutally honest critiques. Yet the younger writer was never deterred.
Each time, he would listen, take careful notes, and then return to his typewriter to improve his material. He didn’t try to defend himself, for, as he put it later, “I didn’t know how to write until I met Sherwood Anderson.”
One of the most helpful things Anderson did for his young protégé was to introduce him to his network of associates in the publishing world. Soon, the younger man was writing on his own. In 1926, he published his first novel, which met with critical acclaim. Its title was The Sun Also Rises, and the author’s name was Ernest Hemingway.
However, the story doesn’t end there. After Hemingway left Chicago, Anderson moved to New Orleans. There, he met another young wordsmith, a poet with an insatiable drive to improve his skills. Anderson put him through the same paces he had put Hemingway – writing, critiquing, discussing, encouraging – and always more writing.
A year later, Anderson helped this man publish his first novel, Soldier Pay. Three years later, this bright new talent, William Faulkner, produced The Sound and the Fury, and it quickly became an American masterpiece.
When Anderson went to California, he spent several years working with playwright Thomas Wolfe and a young man named John Steinbeck, among others. All told, three of Anderson’s protégés earned Nobel Prizes and four Pulitzer Prizes for literature. The famous literary critic Malcolm Cowley said that Anderson was “the only writer of his generation to leave his mark on the style and vision of the next generation.”
Now, the question is: Have you ever trained someone to follow in your footsteps? – ###
