Careful What You Say

The following story is an excerpt from Bob Stone's book Ostentatious Time-Wasting: Tales from the White House, Pentagon, and City Hall and is posted here with the author's kind permission.

Army General Art Brown told a story to installations commanders at a conference that my office sponsored.

"I played halfback on my high school football team," he started.

"It was in the fourth quarter of our big game, and the score was tied. I got the ball on a sweep, and I had just one defender to beat to score the go-ahead touchdown, but I couldn't escape him. The play went nowhere, and we had to punt. I grumbled to Coach as I ran off the field, 'If everybody makes their block, that play goes for a touchdown.'

"'Son,' Coach replied, 'If everybody makes their block, every play goes for a touchdown.'"

At this point, I was thinking perhaps I had invited the wrong person to address the commanders, who, after all, were my customers.

"I never forgot that," the general continued, "and occasionally used that story to illustrate the power of teamwork.

"Years later Coach retired, and I went to the shindig a grateful community gave him. I waited in line to speak to him, and when I reached him, I told him that story and what an effect it had on me.

"To my shock, Coach had no memory of his inspiring-to-me comment.

"Now you commanders are probably wondering what's the point of this dumb story. Well, here's the point: You all are leaders, and your people look up to you, like I looked up to Coach. They'll remember things you say all their lives — even things that you won't remember after a few minutes. So, whatever you say to them, be careful, because they may never forget it."

Bob Stone practices revolution by storytelling. An MIT-educated engineer, he spent twelve years at the Pentagon strengthening bureaucracy, and then twelve years dismantling it. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Installations, he radically decentralized authority, cut regulations, and started a quality revolution. He then spent six years at the White House leading the effort to reinvent government, the most successful federal government reform effort ever. He's lectured at dozens of universities, and advised or taught mid-career government executives all over the US and in Europe and the Middle East.