Business Lessons From History

Harry Truman stated, "The only new thing in the worldis, Lincoln realizes, what did the other person hear?"
is the history that you don't know."
Lincoln is generally thought of as a politician, which he
Truman spent many years studying the history ofwas, but his vocation was the law. He served about
those who preceded him. His study paid off. Truman1500 days as President and 23 years as a lawyer.
today is regarded as one of America's greatestDuring that time he tried approximately 5000 cases, an
Presidents.average of about 200 a year. In the huge Eight Judicial
Circuit of Central Illinois, Lincoln had the largest single
The reason history is important is because we live in acaseload. During his career, Lincoln was involved in 15
cause-and-effect universe. Similar choices producemurder cases. Of those, four men were found not
similar results at the individual (micro) level and at theguilty (one by reason of insanity), two were indicted but
national (macro) level. History is the story of choicesnot prosecuted, one escaped during trial, six were
made, and the results of those choices.convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter, and
only two were found guilty and sentenced to hang.
LESSON ONE: Look For What Worked And What(Lincoln Legal Briefs, July-September 1996, No. 39)A
Didn't Work, And Whyquaint note has survived from one of Lincoln's civil
cases in the 1850s. "If you settle I will charge nothing
You can use history like a case study in businessfor what I have done, and thank you to boot. By
school. Example: Mark Twain became a partner in asettling you will likely get your money sooner, and with
publishing company, Webster & Co., which publishedmuch less trouble and expense." (Journal of the
the " Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant." Twain alsoAbraham Lincoln Assn., Vol 16, No. 2, pp. 4, 5)
obtained the rights to Pope Leo III's authorized
biography. The first book became a best seller. TheLincoln understood that compromise is necessary in
second sold poorly.everyday life. "Persuade your neighbors to
compromise whenever you can," he wrote in a lecture
Both publications seemed like good ideas. Twainfor lawyers. "Point out to them how the nominal winner
assumed that purchasing the Pope's biography wouldis often a real loser--in fees, and expenses, and waste
be required reading for American Catholics. It wasn't.of time."
At that time many working-class Irish and German
Catholics couldn't read and those who could had littleLearn about how Lincoln communicated from the
discretionary income for purchasing books.recently released DVD "Lincoln On Communication." It
is widely used as an instructional manual in leadership
Grant's memoirs became a literary and financialand communication programs, but it also is valuable for
triumph because it was written by a popular Presidentself-study. It comes with an instructor's guide. For
who had just died, it provided an insider's account ofinformation about obtaining this valuable resource, go to
the Civil War, which was a fascinating topic for millions,
and it was beautifully written. (See Fred Kaplan, "The
Singular Mark Twain." NY: 2003, Doubleday, pp. 422,Another Lincoln resource is the book "The Words
423)Lincoln Lived By." For information go to
LESSON TWO: There Is Magic In Thinking BigThe book is available as a spoken-word
audiocassette. For information, to Quantity prices are
Ted Turner is the biggest-thinking individual I have everavailable. One of our readers ordered 200 copies to
known personally. He literally changed the world withgive to customers and prospects.
CNN. Changing the world is exactly what he intended
to do. I was an on-air host and producer at TBS when
CNN was being planned. But I had no idea how big
Ted was thinking.This article is excerpts from The Achievement Digest
a complimentary subscription, go to and follow the
And where did Ted Turner get his inspiration? Fromprompts.)
history. One of Turner's favorite characters as a youth
was Alexander the Great, who is reported to have
wept because there were no more worlds left for him
to conquer.Gene Griessman, Ph.D. Editor and Publisher
An in-depth study of history can raise your aspirations.
When you discover what others have been able toGene Griessman, Ph.D. is editor-in-chief of The
accomplish under adverse conditions and often withAchievement Digest-- is an executive coach and a
few advantages, you may hear a voice inside thatmuch-sought after public speaker for conventions,
says to you, "I can do something significant too."conferences, and retreats. He has interviewed some
of the most famous people in the world asking the
"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men'squestion: "What makes people great?"His list includes
blood." The quote is from Daniel H. Burnham. Here's aRonald Reagan, Ray Charles, David Rockefeller,
thumbnail sketch of the man behind the quote.Sandra Day O'Connor, Jack Nicklaus, Hank Aaron, Ted
Turner, Julie Andrews, Aaron Copland, Jack Lemmon,
Burnham, who's the subject of Erik Larson's beautifullyBilly Joel, and Tennessee Williams and many
written new book "The Devil In The White City," wasothers.Griessman often appears on television and
the man who made the Chicago World's Fair happen.radio, and his award-winning programs have aired on
He was Director of Works, World's ColumbianWCNN and TBS. For years he was host of "Up
Exposition, 1893. Burnham and his partner JohnClose" on TBS, the SuperStation founded by Ted
Wellborn Root designed some of Chicago's earliestTurner.He has written and co-authored seven books,
skyscrapers. His plan for Chicago was used for manyplus a one-man play on Abraham Lincoln. He has
years, and is considered a classic example of cityperformed twice at historic Ford's Theatre and at the
planning.Lincoln Memorial.His book "Time Tactics of Very
Successful People" was featured in Reader's Digest
The book "Time Tactics of Very Successful People"and is now in its 24th printing. He is also author of "The
contains an entire section on how high achievers makeWords Lincoln Lived By" and "The Inspirational Words
plans. For information about obtaining this book, go toof Abraham Lincoln." His latest CD is entitled "99 Ways
to Get More Out Of Every Day" and his latest DVD is
LINCOLN'S LOG"Abraham Lincoln on Communication."He has taught at
the College of William and Mary, North Carolina State
Lincoln still influences decisions. Christie Hefner,University, Auburn University, and Georgia Tech. He
chairman and chief executive, Playboy Enterprises,has served as a Fulbright professor at the national
recently told a New York Times writer that she hadgraduate university of Pakistan and as a visiting
learned an invaluable leadership lesson from Lincoln.researcher at the National Agrarian University of Peru
and the University of New South Wales in
Here is a quote from that interview: "In leadership, it isn'tAustralia.He's a voting member of the Television
about what you say; it's about what the other personAcademy. For years he has been listed in Who's Who
hears. If you articulate well, like Lincoln, you have ain America and Who's Who in the World.
tendency to think: 'I've made myself clear.' But the point