I recently wrote an
article on LinkedIn about this!
A Message to Garcia - A note about ownership.
Recently I was reading an excellent article on why American businesses should hire Green Berets. Deep in the article, there was an excerpt from an interview stating, “All I want is someone who can just get the Message to Garcia.” I was immediately taken back in time about 20 years to when my old Team Sergeant (Boss) gave me a very small, hard backed book that fit in the palm of my hand – A Message to Garcia.
A Message to Garcia is an essay written in 1899 about an incident during the Spanish-American War. It tells a story about a very capable young American military officer tasked to deliver a message to General Calixto Garcia, a Cuban revolutionary fighting against the Spanish. The gist of the story is that this young officer, Lieutenant Andrew Rowan, was given a seemingly impossible task and, without question, accepted and completed the task. He delivered the message to Garcia.
It’s nice to think that there are people out there in our lives and in our workplaces who will step up to challenging tasks and simply execute them. Most bosses want a workforce full of Rowans who will accept all challenges without hesitation. But the moral of the story might be hiding the more important subtext. When Rowan took the mission, he was not given a laundry list of constraints, meeting appointments, conflicting agendas, a schedule of due-outs, or reporting requirements. It was very simple… “Get the message to Garcia.” Lieutenant Rowan had one mission…one objective…one priority.
When my old boss gave me the book, it had an impact on me, and I strove to be Rowan throughout my military career. That was what I thought the Army wanted. However, as the years wore on, I realized that there was some duplicity in my superiors. They wanted me to salute, say “yes sir,” and execute; but, they were quick to lay constraint upon constraint upon constraint. I had to get permission for every move, submit proposals about how I intended to deliver my message, report my progress on a rigid schedule (to support their briefing calendars), submit risk assessments and contingency plans for every step, coordinate with 6 different organizations who might have a stake in the message, and…well, you see where I am going here.
Executives and senior officers often say things like, “All I want is someone who can just get the Message to Garcia,” but in reality most do not trust the Lieutenant Rowans of the world to carry that message. Trust is risky! Business and operational decisions once made by junior managers have been elevated to the top. Front line supervisors are so busy reporting to middle managers that they are unable to do their jobs for the reporting requirements. Employees who are the primary interface with the customer are not permitted to make decisions. When Rowan took the mission, it was his…he owned it...and he would report back when complete. Of course, he didn’t have a cell phone, laptop, wi-fi, blackberry, or other modern tether.
General George Patton once said, “If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you will be amazed at the results.” If executives really want more Rowans and more messages delivered to the Garcias of the world, than they need to assign the task, expect success, and stay out of the way. If the Rowans want to be left alone to deliver the message, they need to own the task and prove they don’t need to be micromanaged. My new favorite statement on the topic is from Joachim Ahlstrom, “ownership is a prerequisite for using one’s full potential.”
Thanks to my good friend and mentor, Charles (Chuck) Jenkins, for giving me A Message to Garcia so long ago. I encourage everyone to read this essay and take its timeless message to heart.