In the throes of civil war when pundits and politicians, scared of the body bags stacking up under Grant’s command begged Lincoln to fire U.S. Grant, Lincoln’s answer was “I cannot spare this man. He fights!” In the end, Lincoln and Grant split the credit when they won the war, neither of them having likely seen the white of an enemy’s eyes in battle. To say Grant “fought” was to say that men fought for him, men that knew full well the costs that might be incurred, who knew well the general’s penchant for creating bloodbaths in battle. Still, they fought. They fought, not for th
History books are filled with the stories of brave men who fought for the inspired leaders that sent them charging valiantly and willingly to their deaths for a cause bigger than themselves. Leadership and the army go hand in hand, for men will neither fight nor die for men who simply command them. They fight and they die for those who lead them. Leadership is about serving. It’s about giving away all of the credit and shouldering all of the blame. It’s about making tough choices, but with the understanding that the leader is only as strong as those who follow.
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