Leadership Lessons from General George C. Marshall

This is a great lead on leadership - innovation - and so many many other areas. Think all will enjoy and learn a few items from it!
"Twenty years later, in the fall of 1938, the threat of war was growing once again in Europe, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt called a White House meeting with key members of his administration. He wanted to discuss his proposed defense plan, which primarily consisted of a rapid and dramatic expansion of American military airpower. Marshall had been the deputy Army Chief of Staff for less than one month and, as a relatively new one-star general, was one of the lowest ranking people in the President’s office that day. During the course of the meeting, President Roosevelt asked each attendee if they agreed with his proposal. All the attendees voiced agreement except Marshall who flatly (but respectfully) disagreed with President Roosevelt’s proposal. The other attendees noted that Marshall’s disagreement caused the President to become visibly startled and after the meeting adjourned, many of those present made it clear that they thought Marshall had effectively ended his career.

Five months later, in a move that completely surprised most of Washington, FDR asked Marshall to be the next Army Chief of Staff. These two episodes say a great deal about Marshall. In wartime, physical courage is the relatively common type of courage that causes many soldiers to risk their personal safety on the battlefield. In contrast, ethical courage is a much rarer type of courage- but this is what Marshall demonstrated when, as a junior officer, he chastised a far superior officer in public, and later in his career disagreed with a U.S. President simply because he cared so passionately about his duty."