06 Jun Leaders Who Don’t Play By The Book!
Successful leaders don’t always follow the book!
Sometimes they act decisively without permission because they know it’s the right thing to do.
Exactly 80 years ago, this is what happened at Midway, in the Pacific.
For many, the battle of Midway is the turning point of the Pacific War in WWII. At 10:25 am on June 4, 1942, the Japanese were winning the Pacific War. 5 minutes later, the pendulum had shifted completely. Why?
Some say it’s luck. The Americans found the 4 Japanese carriers and sank them.
Wait! The Japanese had found the 3 American carriers well before. Why hadn’t they sunk them?
Maybe because Admiral Nagumo played by and stuck to the book this day. By doing so, he wasted 2 critical hours that cost him his 4 carriers.
What is the leadership lesson here?
The lesson is luck does not happen out of nowhere. More often than not, luck is created through your actions.
In the battle of Midway, “luck” for the Americans was created by one bomber pilot not following the book and refusing to turn back to the carrier although he was low on fuel. A mere minutes after his decision, US bombers found the Japanese carriers.
Leaders create “luck” for themselves:
– By not always following the book
– By trying new things, even without permission
– By staying flexible and adapt to ever changing conditions (especially important skill in a VUCA world)
What are you learning from the battle of Midway? How do you create “luck” for yourself? Tell me in the comments.
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