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Conversations in Management

General George S. Patton, Jr.

If a man does his best, what else is there?

General Patton was arguably the best field commander of World War II. It wasn’t by chance—Patton spent his entire life preparing for the war and his role in it. His family had deep military roots and his ancestors had fought in the American Revolution, the Mexican War and the Civil War. Young Patton was fascinated with this history and set his heart on becoming a soldier. In 1904 he began studies at the Virginia Military Institute, but after a year, transferred to West Point. It wasn’t a successful move and he was dismissed within a year on academic grounds. Disappointed in his performance, Patton resolved to try again. This time he succeeded and ended up graduating with a prestigious cavalry assignment. During WW I he became an ardent proponent of the tank. He would spend over twenty years promoting the weapon system, developing tactics and improving its lethality. When the Second World War came, he was ready. His successes in North Africa and Sicily turned out to be mere preludes to his extraordinary achievements on the Continent. As commander of the Third Army, he led the breakout from Normandy and dashed 600 miles across Europe before literally running out of gas. He either liberated or conquered over 81,000 square miles of territory. Despite his many victories, Patton’s career had almost derailed a year earlier when he slapped a hospitalized soldier he suspected of cowardice. He thought the soldier hadn’t done his best.

Leaders always have to consider doing your best from two perspectives. The first is doing your personal best. Patton demonstrated this when he flunked out of West Point. Disappointed with his performance and recognizing that he could do substantially better, he regrouped and came back strong. This became a life-long pattern. Like most of us, he enjoyed his fair share of success. But unlike most of us, he was frequently spectacularly successful. That’s why his inevitable setbacks appeared so dramatic. When he stumbled, he did it in a big and public way. Certainly the “slapping” incident was the most notorious example. But even here, Patton regrouped and came back strong. He confronted his failings, marshaled his strengths and then did the best he could. His momentum was always forward and he didn’t waste time with second guessing, doubts or self pity.

Yet, Patton was less successful with the second perspective. Though an inspirational leader, when a soldier’s personal best fell short of Patton’s expectations, he was not particularly tolerant. This, too, was demonstrated in the slapping incident. The hospitalized soldier was suffering from what was then called shell shock or combat fatigue—today known as, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But Patton only understood it as weakness. He didn’t appreciate that that this soldier’s personal best was different from his own. And that’s a challenge a lot of us face. It can be hard to accept that what we consider a disappointing performance on the part of someone else might actually be the best that the other fellow can do. Leaders—as well as parents, friends and spouses—can apply tremendous pressure in a zealous attempt to force better performance out of someone they don’t think is measuring up. Sadly, they’re often disappointed with the results.

Of course, we should never stop doing the absolute best we can. And we should never stop coaching the best from those we influence. But it’s important to remember that everyone arrives with different gifts. Successful leaders will respect those differences and help others develop their own unique strengths. Let’s do our best to make that happen!

—Ebert