Posted on 03/26/2020 4:30:02 AM PDT by Kaslin
The ancient Greeks believed that true leadership in crisis came down to what they called pronoia -- the Greek word for "strategic foresight."
Some statesmen, such as Pericles and Themistocles, had it. Most others, such as the often brilliant and charismatic but impulsive Alcibiades, usually did not.
"Foresight" in crisis means sizing up a nation's assets and debits, then maximizing advantages and minimizing liabilities. The leader with foresight, especially in times of irrational despair, then charts a rational pathway to victory.
Such crisis leaders do not fall into panic and depression when the media shouts "Catastrophe!" Nor do they preen when the same chorus screams "Genius!" in times of success.
The English poet Rudyard Kipling would have defined such a gift as, "If you can keep your head when all about you/Are losing theirs and blaming it on you," or, "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same."
Some American military leaders -- such as Gens. George Patton, William Tecumseh Sherman and Curtis LeMay -- sounded as scary in times of peace as they did in times of war. The traits ensuring that peacetime life stays predictable are not always the same as those required to return it to predictability when times turn utterly terrifying.
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln knew the overwhelming advantages of the Union could eventually defeat the South, but only if he could hold the nation together through disasters such as the battles of Bull Run and Chancellorsville, and only once he found brilliant generals such as Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
Trump is an effective manager of time because his conceptual continuity is so finely tuned. If he’s so “off-script” as they say, we should all be grateful for it.
The article mentions US Grant. Everyone who fought with him stated that his greatest asset is the he always remained cool and composed in battle no matter how rattled everyone around him got. He never panicked. There is a story that one day on the front lines Grant was sitting on a stump writing orders as a large column of Union soldiers marched by. Suddenly a large explosive round of Southern artillery landed and exploded very close by causing the entire column to hit the ground and cover their heads. When they looked over to Gen. Grant he was still sitting there writing orders and hadn’t even flinched. One of the soldiers loudly remarked, “That’s our Ulysses, he don’t scare worth a damn.”
The best thing to say about POTUS is he listens to advice, and recommendations, weighs it against his own outlook, and makes a definitive decision. There is no wishy-washy ambiguity.
How history will reflect on the Trump Presidency, will be defined by this crisis.
This is also a setting up Pence as somebody who looks very presidential. And not just looks Keith acting it as well. I do like seeing him how he at times raises his voice just a little bit to make a point but he does it at the right time.
Yup. Trump is crazy like a fox. The left is befuddled by his Columbo like brilliance. He always wins in the end.
"I am a damned sight smarter man than Grant. I know more about military history, strategy, and grand tactics than he does. I know more about supply, administration, and everything else than he does. I'll tell you where he beats me though and where he beats the world. He doesn't give a damn about what the enemy does out of his sight, but it scares me like hell. … I am more nervous than he is. I am more likely to change my orders or to countermarch my command than he is. He uses such information as he has according to his best judgment; he issues his orders and does his level best to carry them out without much reference to what is going on about him and, so far, experience seems to have fully justified him." -- William Sherman
It would be interesting to see a scenario analysis of how President Hillary would have handled this situation.
Oh yes but he who knows he is smarter than President Trump and wants to be president knows much poor and is profoundly smarter than president Trump. Yes the all-encompassing Uber Bill Gates and his wife Melinda. Here’s what they want to do they want to keep everybody all closed off so they can Implement their Wonderful World plans.
V.D. Hanson calls it foresight. Perhaps, but remember all talent is a gift from God. This country was created with God’s grace and guiding hand on those who humbly sought ‘foresight’ from the Almighty as they wrote the founding documents. Leaders, who came after the Founding Fathers, have also been described as ‘gifted,’ possessing special ‘foresight,’ but few pause to appreciate where that gift comes from. President Trump is just the latest in a list of American leaders who display this uncanny ‘foresight,’ this gift from God. With respect to POTUS no one need look any further than the Corona virus crisis. Anyone watching closely could see the Holy Spirit’s guiding hand on the Maestro as he stood in front of a recent Corona news conference lectern with the whole world watching, staring down the MSM, the Fauci clinicians of the world and delivering his prophetic statement. Essentially, he said I have a ‘good feeling’ (his inner self speaking to him - the Holy Spirit within) about Chloroquine. It could be a game changer. That video segment ought to be worked into a campaign ad.
No wonder he later became President. Leadership.
It is called leadership.
Well, I wasn’t really looking for any quote but Sherman’s quote certainly is consistent with the point I was making. Good quote. And it’s echoed by just about every other General who fought under him.
Trump is rising to the challenge is a great fashion.
Trump is already signaling that he is willing to take risks and criticism to do what he deems best. He has great instincts. And he is decisive.
All good gifts come from God.
Pence won’t fight, certainly not the way Trump will. He’s the old model R that used to work in the 50s
“ Times that try men’s souls” were made for Leaders like Trump..Smart, confident, high energy & tough as hell....US very lucky to have Trump in Charge...Must be Killing FakeNewsMedia who’d rather see US collapse..
> Loss of life must be weighed against the overall objective, i.e.,survival of the country
And overall, it will be less loss of life if we don’t stay so locked down.
The younger people need to be set free. They’re not going to take much more of this anyway.
Around here, young and old both act like they have not a care in the world, at the grocery store. They don’t keep their distance, and hardly a one wears a mask.
Personally, I would like to see President Trump open the briefing, give a short speech, and then turn the meeting over to Pence. He is brilliant, but sometimes his wandering discussions give too much fodder to the hating left.
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