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I've written hundreds of memos and speeches for senior military leaders (Mattis, Petraeus, Panetta).
This week I’ve been thinking about what senior military leaders should have said to the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt.
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This week I’ve been thinking about what senior military leaders should have said to the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt.
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The point of a speech is to inspire action. To leave an audience with an unmistakable single headline or message.
As Secretary Mattis once put it to me, “Comms at this level are critical to reach people I can never give a Christmas bonus to – to put their lives on the line.”
As Secretary Mattis once put it to me, “Comms at this level are critical to reach people I can never give a Christmas bonus to – to put their lives on the line.”
On the eve of the Iraq invasion, Mattis didn’t give a speech to the 1st Marine Division. He sent a one page note. That was enough to convey his persona. The note spoke louder than any word he could have said.
Sometimes the right way to express yourself is to express yourself in writing.
Sometimes the best way to send a message is … to send a message.
Sometimes the best way to send a message is … to send a message.
Cardinal rule #1: Speak only when you have something to say.
Cardinal rule #2: Speak such that you cannot be misunderstood.
Cardinal rule #2: Speak such that you cannot be misunderstood.
“I think about the audience: where they are … and where I want to take them. You want to hit their head in an understandable way and their heart in an emotional way.”
-Secretary Mattis
-Secretary Mattis
Civilian and military leaders failed the Theodore Roosevelt crew. The message to the crew should have resonated like sound from a tuning fork: pure, unmistakable, and irresistible. WE WILL SUPPRESS COVID-19 ON TR. This would have taken one paragraph from the Secretary of Defense.
Captain Crozier needed to convey an urgent problem. The Navy needed to solve it without creating another, larger problem.
A two-way failure of communication broke bonds of trust that hold units together. Accountability for these failures is the hallmark of the Naval Service.
A two-way failure of communication broke bonds of trust that hold units together. Accountability for these failures is the hallmark of the Naval Service.
Leaders need three types of information:Â
Housekeeping Information
Decision-making information
Alarms
Housekeeping InformationDecision-making informationAlarms
During his military career, General Mattis said three questions should listed next to every phone in every operations and intelligence center:
1.     “What do I know?”Â
2.     “Who needs to know?”Â
3.     “Have I told them?”
1.     “What do I know?”Â
2.     “Who needs to know?”Â
3.     “Have I told them?”
Captain Crozier sent an alarm — a golden opportunity for senior civilian and military leaders to impose their thumbprint on the situation. Step 1: define the specific problem to be solved. Step 2: solve it.
Messages senior civilian and military leaders could have sent to the crew of TR:
PERSON X is Acting CO of TR
We are sending all resources to suppress COVID-19
We need every one of you at the top of your game
PERSON X is Acting CO of TRWe are sending all resources to suppress COVID-19We need every one of you at the top of your game
Messages senior civilian leaders could have sent to other senior civilian and military leaders:
We need your sense of urgency transmitted to the fleet, to the airfield, to the battlefield.
Make sure deployed troops are at the top of their game and have what they need.
We need your sense of urgency transmitted to the fleet, to the airfield, to the battlefield.Make sure deployed troops are at the top of their game and have what they need.
