THINKER'S ALMANAC - January 5

How did a failed Antarctic expedition become a model for successful leadership? 

Subject:  Leadership - The Shackleton Expedition 

Event:  Ernest Shackleton dies, 1922

Success or failure is caused more by mental attitude than by mental capacity. -Walter Scott

In 1914, the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton set off for Antarctica with a crew of 28 men.  Their goal was to be the first to walk across the continent.  The men of the expedition not only failed in reaching their goal, they never even set foot on Antarctica.  And yet the story of the Shackleton Expedition lives on as one of the most successful failures in history.

                                                       Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay 

Shackleton and his crew set off for Antarctica in their ship, the Endurance, in August 1914.  In January 1915, they came into sight of Antarctica's coast, but because their ship became trapped in the ice, they were unable to reach shore.  The only option was to remain immobilized in the ice until the summer thaw.  To combat the fear and disappointment of the unfortunate circumstances, Shackleton kept his men busy, establishing a strict daily schedule that included gathering scientific specimens from the ice, hunting for seals and penguins, and socializing after dinner. 

After spending months on the ice, the crew’s hopes were further frustrated in October 1915 when the ice began to weaken the hull of their ship, causing water to pour in.  Shackleton knew at this point that there was no hope for the Endurance nor was there hope for accomplishing his original mission.  His new mission was to survive.

After recovering what they could from the ship, including three lifeboats, the crew established a camp on the ice. 

In April 1916, the ice broke up enough so that the crew could attempt to reach dry land in their lifeboats.  Finally, after a week at sea, the crew arrived at uninhabited Elephant Island.  Still a long way from civilization and safety, Shackleton put together a plan to reach South Georgia Island, the location of the whaling settlement where the crew had begun its expedition.  Using one of the lifeboats -- the James Caird -- Shackleton and a small crew set out for South Georgia.

After more than two weeks at sea in stormy and icy conditions, the lifeboat finally arrived at South Georgia.  Although they had reached shore, the men landed on the opposite side of the island from the whaling station.  The next desperate step was to trudge on foot over mountainous terrain to reach the whaling station.  Finally, after 36 hours of arduous hiking, Shackleton and his two companions reached civilization.

Next, Shackleton’s task was to rescue the rest of the castaways on Elephant Island.  After failing in two attempts to reach the island through icy seas, he finally succeeded on August 30, 1916. One hundred and twenty-eight days after leaving for South Georgia in the James Caird, the entire crew was reunited without the loss of a single man.

Today the Shackleton Expedition is viewed as a case study in leadership.  No leader is perfect, but Shackleton’s perseverance in the face of repeated setbacks, his ability to adapt, and his unwavering determination and commitment to save his crew serve as a model for modern leaders.

In 1921, Shackleton planned another expedition to Antarctica where this time his plan was to circumnavigate -- rather than trek across -- the continent.  Unfortunately, he never completed the expedition. On January 5, 1922, he had a heart attack while preparing to begin the expedition at South Georgia Island, the same place where he had begun his expedition 1n 1914 (1).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: How did Ernest Shackleton transform failure into success?

Challenge - Failure Before Success:  So often we view success as the opposite of failure rather than realizing how failure and the lessons gained from it can create a path for future success.  Research some quotations that deal with the relationship between failure and success.  Pick one that you like, and write an explanation of why you think the quotation conveys necessary wisdom for life.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

January 5, 1889:  On this day, human flight was declared impossible by the Detroit Free Press: “The smallest possible weight of a flying machine, with the necessary fuel and engineer, could not be less than 300 or 400 pounds . . .  but there is a low limit of weight, certainly not much beyond fifty pounds, beyond which it is impossible for an animal to fly.  Nature has reached this limit, and with her utmost effort has failed to pass it.”  On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers achieved the impossible in a flyer weighing 605 pounds (2).

January 5, 1895:  After he was falsely convicted of treason, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was publicly stripped of his rank insignia and his sword was broken in two.  Five thousand French troops watched the ceremony, which would become known as “The Degradation of Dreyfus.”

Sources:  

1- “Leadership Lessons from the Shackleton Expedition” New York Times 25 December 2011.

2. Housel, Mogan.  The Psychology of Money.  Great Britain:  Harriman House, 2020: 184.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - January 4

How did a boy who lost his sight at age three invent something that helped generations of blind people to see?

Subject:  Invention and Adaptation - Braille Alphabet

Event: Birthday of Louis Braille, 1809

Today is the birthday of Louis Braille (1809-1852), a blind man who invented a system that brought literacy to the blind and visually impaired. 

Born in Coupvray, France, in 1809, Braille lost his sight at a young age.  Playing in his father's workshop, he accidentally punctured his eye with a sharp awl.  Tragically, an infection developed in the punctured eye and spread to the other eye, leaving Louis totally blind.  Despite his blindness, Louis attended school in his village, and at age 10, he won a scholarship to the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris.

At the Royal Institute, Braille learned night writing, a system of raised dots and dashes that allowed soldiers to read messages in the dark.  Adapting and simplifying night writing, Braille developed his own system in 1824, when he was only fifteen years old.  Unfortunately, Braille’s genius was not fully recognized during his lifetime (he died of consumption in 1852); however, his alphabet eventually became the standard for schools for the blind internationally (1).

                                                            Image by Daniel Roberts from Pixabay 

Braille’s hunger for knowledge drove him to create a coding system that brought literacy to millions of visually impaired people.  His refusal to live in darkness made him a tenacious seeker of the light of knowledge.  His tragedy became his springboard for triumph.

Braille’s story has a couple of lessons for us about creative thinking.  First, creativity is a great way to reframe a setback or failure.  Instead of looking back with regret, we can look ahead for an opportunity for turning the negative into something positive.  Braille clearly was a learner. His growth mindset allowed no obstacle to stop him from getting an education and contributing something to humanity.  Second, creativity isn’t always about producing something from nothing; instead, it more often than not is about adapting something that exists for a new application.  Braille’s adaptation of night writing took an idea that applied narrowly to a military context and expanded and simplified it to help bring literacy to the blind.  Certainly other people knew about night writing, but ironically, it took a blind man to see how its use might be adapted.  Perhaps no 

man in history better exemplified Einstein’s proclamation:  “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: How did Braille’s life exemplify the growth mindset?

Challenge - Tragedy as a Springboard for Triumph:  Who is another person who typifies Braille’s growth mindset, another person who turned a life-tragedy into an opportunity or who used failure as a springboard for future success?  Research the life of a person like Braille, and write a summary that presents the highlights of how this person went from tragedy to triumph.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

-January 4, 1642:  Today is the birthday of Isaac Newton, who was born the same year that Galileo died.  There’s an old story that Newton’s great discovery was inspired one day when he was sitting under an apple tree.  When a single apple fell and hit him on the head, he suddenly had an epiphany about the forces of gravity.  As in most cases, the legend is a bit juicier than the reality.  Although his ideas may have been inspired by observing apples dropping from trees, he did not need to sustain personal injury in order to have his “aha moment.”  It’s hard to think of any single person who had more original ideas in science spanning such a range of subjects:  optics, mechanics, mathematics, physics, and philosophy.  His Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy published on July 5, 1687 is recognized by many as the single most influential book in the history of science.

-January 4, 1785:  Today is the birthday of Jacob Grimm, who was born in Hanau, Germany.  Along with his brother Wilhel, Jacob authored one of the best-known works of German literature, Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  The book of over 200 stories has been published in more than 100 languages and has influenced countless adaptations, most notably those by Walt Disney.  Disney’s adaptation of Snow White became the first full length animated film in 1937.

-January 4, 1956:  On this day a newspaper, The Swedish Daily News, reported an anecdote about magical thinking and the Nobel Prize winning physicist Niel Bohr.  Bohr reportedly had a horseshoe nailed above his door.  A visitor to his office asked him about the horseshoe, saying, “You don’t really believe in that superstitious mumbo jumbo do you, Professor Bohr?”  Bohr responded saying, “Of course not!  But I’m told that it brings good luck whether or not you believe in it” (2).

Sources:  

1-Sloane, Paul.  Think Like an Innovator:  76 Inspiring Business Lessons from the World’s Greatest Thinkers and Innovators.  UK:  FT Press, 2016.

2-Quote Investigator. “I Understand It Brings You Luck, Whether You Believe in It or Not.”  9 Oct. 2013.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - January 3

What important reminder was whispered into the ears of victorious generals in ancient Rome, and how can this reminder help us all live more fulfilling lives?

Subject:  Mortality  - Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address

Event:  Memento Mori, January 3

Memento mori - remember death! These are important words. If we kept in mind that we will soon inevitably die, our lives would be completely different. If a person knows that he will die in a half hour, he certainly will not bother doing trivial, stupid, or, especially, bad things during this half hour. Perhaps you have half a century before you die-what makes this any different from a half hour? -Leo Tolstoy

Today is Memento Mori, a day to remember our mortality.  In Latin, memento mori translates, “Remember that you must die.” The Latin phrase was put to use in ancient Rome to prevent leaders from falling prey to hubris.  When a Roman general paraded through the streets after a victorious battle, a slave was strategically placed behind the general in his chariot.  As the general basked in the cheers of the crowd, the slave’s job was to whisper in the general’s ear:  “Memento mori” or “Someday you will die” (1).

Memento Mori is not just for Roman generals.  And although it was just one day on the Roman calendar, there’s an argument to be made that it should be honored every day of the year.

                                                            Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay 

After he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, Apple Founder Steve Jobs gave a moving commencement address at Stanford University, reminding graduates that facing our own mortality is no morbid exercise; instead, it is motivating:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart (2).

The practice of reflecting on our mortality is an ancient one, going as far back as Socrates.  For the Stoic philosophers, memento mori was essential.  Instead of facing death with fear, they sought to reframe death, transforming it from a negative to a positive.  Like Jobs, they viewed death as a tool that helped them stay humble and stay awake to the gift of each new day’s opportunities to live life to its fullest.  As the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius said, “It is not death that a man should fear, but rather he should fear never beginning to live.” 

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: What is memento mori, and how might it help a person live a better life?

Challenge - Skulls for Sale:  Imagine you are marketing a model of the human skull meant for display in classrooms.  You think that this model should be placed in every classroom in America to remind students of memento mori.  Write the text of the catalog description of your skull, making the case for why teachers should need it in their classrooms and why students should be familiar with memento mori.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

January 3, 1889:  On this day, while walking the streets of Turin, Italy, philosopher Frederick Nietzsche suffered a mental breakdown after witnessing a horse being flogged in the public square.  Allegedly, Nietzsche ran to the horse, threw his arms around it, and collapsed to the ground.

January 3, 1792:  On this day, Mary Wollstonecraft finished A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a work where she made her argument for women’s equal rights. She said, “If the abstract rights of man will bear discussion and explanation, those of women, by a parity of reasoning, will not shrink from the same test.”

Sources:  

1-Crosby, Daniel. Memento Mori – The Ancient Roman Cure for Overconfidence.

2-Jobs, Steve.  “Death is Very Likely the Single Best Invention of Life.”  The Guardian. 10 Oct. 2011.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - January 2

How can tapping out the tune to “Happy Birthday” with your pencil help you communicate your ideas more clearly to an audience?

Subject:  The Curse of Knowledge - Tappers and Listeners

Event: The book Made to Stick published, 2007

The better you know something, the less you remember about how hard it was to learn. The curse of knowledge is the single best explanation I know of why good people write bad prose. -Steven Pinker

Whenever you write, there’s a temptation to do more telling than showing.  This is because of a major writing and thinking obstacle called the curse of knowledge -- the principle that says that once we know something, it is hard to remember what it was like when we didn’t know it.  On this day in 2007, authors Chip and Dan Heath published the book Made To Stick:  Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive, which first explained the concept of the curse of knowledge for a wide audience.

                                                                        Image by izoca from Pixabay 

 

The reality of the curse of knowledge was first demonstrated in a 1990 study by Elizabeth Newton, a Stanford University graduate student in psychology.  Newton created a game where the players were given one of two roles:  “tappers” or “listeners.”  The tappers were given a well-known song, such as “Happy Birthday,” and were instructed to tap out the rhythm of the song on a table.  The listeners were then asked to guess the song.

 

When asked to predict how successful the listeners would be in identifying their songs, the tappers predicted 50%.  This prediction wasn’t close.  Of the 120 songs tapped out, the listeners guessed only three, a 2.5% success rate.  The curse of knowledge explains the large disparity between the tappers’ predictions and their actual success rate.  As they tapped out their tunes, they could not avoid hearing the song in their heads; the listeners, however, only heard the taps.  The tappers were “cursed” by their knowledge of the songs’ melodies and were unable to imagine what it was like for the listener to hear only the tapping (1).

To avoid the curse of knowledge, writers must do more than just TELL their point; instead, they must also SHOW it with specific, concrete, and varied evidence.  Furthermore, writers must try to see their writing from the perspective of the “listeners,” -- their audience -- continually asking themselves what they are trying to say, whether or not they are saying it clearly, and whether or not it can be understood by someone who has never encountered the topic before.

As George Orwell wrote in his classic essay “Politics and the English Language” (1946), effective writers are always thinking about their audience and are always interrogating themselves to make sure that they are being clear:

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? (2)

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How did the results of the tappers and listeners study illustrate the problem that the curse of knowledge presents us when we try to communicate?

Challenge - PSA - How to Lift the Curse:  Write a public service announcement for speakers and writers on why understanding the curse of knowledge is essential for effective, clear communication with an audience.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:  

January 2, 1920:  The prolific writer, biochemist, and legend of science fiction, Isaac Asimov was born this day.  As the author of over 500 books, Asimov knew how to overcome the curse of knowledge.  He once said, “In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.”

Sources:  

1-Heath, Chip and Dan Heath.  Made To Stick:  Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive.  New York:  Random House, 2007.

2-Orwell, George.  “Politics and the English Language” (1946).

THINKER'S ALMANAC - January 1

How is it possible to make New Year’s resolutions more than once a year?

Subject:  Planning/Resolutions - Fresh Start Effect

Event:  New Year’s Day

Every day is a new opportunity to begin again. Every day is your birthday. -Dalai Lama

Each year on this day, people wake up resolved to start the new year afresh, throwing past bad habits into the dustbin and trying on new good habits like a new suit of clothes.  Unfortunately, for most people, New Year’s resolutions fail.  There is, however, good news from the world of science, informing all of us how we can increase the likelihood of sticking with our resolutions.

                                                                    Image by Dorothe from Pixabay 

Katherine Milkman, Professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions at the Wharton School, published a much-cited study in 2014 about what she calls the fresh start effect. Milkman’s research shows that it’s not just the beginning of a new year that inspires us to establish new, positive habits; instead, any specific date -- such as a birthday, an anniversary, the start of a new school year, or even the beginning of a new week or month -- can provide us with the fresh start we need to take on the challenge of changing our behavior.  Milkman documented the fresh start effect by collecting data on the frequency with which people search for the term “diet” on Google as well as documenting how often and when people visited gyms.  As Milkman’s data shows, a new year is not the only temporal landmark that offers a fresh start; instead, other special occasions or end dates motivate people to take action toward achieving their goals.

Of course, more fresh starts don’t necessarily mean more success, but Milkman also has helpful suggestions on specific things that people can do to increase the likelihood that their new behavior will stick.

First, it is important to record a concrete plan.  In one study, for example, people who physically wrote down their plans to get a flu shot on a specific date and time were 13% more likely to actually follow through and get the shot than those who didn’t write anything down.  Furthermore, people are more likely to follow through with changes if there is money on the line.  For example, you might put money aside and stipulate that if you don’t quit smoking for at least two months, you will forfeit the money.  This is also the principle behind the Ulysses Contract (See THINKER’S ALMANAC - April 3), where a person sets up deliberate, painful consequences for themselves as motivation to reach their goal.  If you were trying to lose weight, for example, you might stipulate that if you don’t lose at least ten pounds at the end of six months, you must contribute $100 to a cause or organization that you loathe.

Milkman also advises to “bundle your temptations” by combining one of your guilty pleasures with something that is necessary but not as much fun.  For example, you might limit yourself to only watching Netflix while riding your stationary bike.  Finally, Milkman advises you to not go it alone when it comes to pursuing your goals; instead, seek out the social support of a mentor.  One study, for example, showed that “patients with poorly controlled diabetes were paired with patients who previously had poorly controlled diabetes but had since achieved mastery over their disease. The improvements in glycemic control achieved by those mentored in this study were larger than those produced by many leading drugs” (1).

January 1 comes just once a year, but the fresh start effect should remind us that there are many more temporal landmarks that provide us the opportunity to start anew.  And by following at least some of Milkman's best practices, we can nudge ourselves towards a higher probability of following through with our goals.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is the fresh start effect, and what is the best way to ensure that you keep your resolutions?

Challenge - New Year, New Start:  Write out a plan employing some of Katherine Milkman’s tips.  What is a resolution or goal that you would like to achieve this week, this month, or this year?  How might you use deliberate planning and sound psychological principles to help you achieve it?

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

-January 1, 1962:  On this day, The Beatles traveled from their homes in Liverpool to London for a New Year’s Day audition with Decca Records, one of the two major record labels in Britain.  They played 15 songs for Dick Rowe, Decca’s talent scout, who later wrote a letter to The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein saying, “We don’t like your boys’ sound.  Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars, particularly, are finished.” 

-January 1, 1972:  Paul Janis’ study on groupthink (Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes) was published on this day.  Janis explored how groups of intelligent people sometimes make bad decisions, such as the Kennedy Administration's failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.  The failure resulted from Kennedy allowing his subordinates to tell him what he wanted to hear rather than encouraging them to question and criticize the invasion plan.  Fortunately, Kennedy learned from this failure and applied lessons learned in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  By encouraging debate and the airing of multiple points of view, Kennedy was successful in getting the Soviets to remove their missiles from Cuba.

-January 1, 1986:  One of the most successful slogans in history premiered on this day.  During the television coverage of the 50th Annual Cotton Bowl Classic football game, a television advertisement ran featuring Stevie Ray Vaughn, singing the “Eyes Of Texas.” The ad ended with the line “Don't Mess With Texas!” (2).

Sources:

1-Milkman, Katherine L. and Kevin G. Volpp.  “How to Keep Your Resolutions.”  The New York Times 3 January 2014.

2-Heath, Chip and Dan Heath.  Made To Stick:  Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive.  New York:  Random House, 2007:  196.