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.