Decisions: Practical Advice from 23 Men and Women Who Shaped the World

By Robert L. Dilenschneider

Your Future Depends on Your Decisions
 
Sorting out our lives amidst chaos, confusion, and innumerable options is a process we all have in common. The decisions we ultimately make can affect our lives and the lives of others. It’s not always easy. In this empowering guide, an expert in business strategies shares the choices of notable, visionary decision-makers—from Harry Truman and Henry Ford to Marie Curie and Malala Yousafzai—and explains how you can apply their principles to your own personal and professional real-life scenarios.
 
Resolve, patience, and practical thinking—take it from these politicians, scientists, economists, inventors, entrepreneurs, theologians, activists, and commanders of war and peace. Their inspiring counsel will give you the tools you need to help change your life. Both big and small, your choices can shape the minutes, days, weeks, and years ahead. This book is the first motivating step in the right direction.
 
“Upgrade your daily decisions with the wisdom of two dozen renowned influencers who changed history.”
—Mehmet Oz, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of You: The Owner’s Manual
 
“A truly inspiring book about how to become a leader. Highly recommended!!” 
—Douglas Brinkley,New York Times bestselling author of American Moonshot
 
“The best decision you will make today is to read and learn from this array of bold thinkers.”
—Harvey Mackay, New York Times bestselling author of Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive

• Language: English
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Release date: Dec 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780806540535

Book preview

rhyme."

INTRODUCTION

T

HIS BOOK IS INTENDED

to make your life better.

You make hundreds of decisions—some small, some significant—that mark your life. How you make those decisions is critical to your future.

The following pages capture vignettes about twenty-three individuals who made decisions that shaped the world, and whose stories stretch over time, from 218

B.C.

to today.

Each chapter offers practical thinking on how these men and women made decisions. You can use their guidance in your daily life.

You will know these men and women. I selected them because (a) you will recognize them; and (b) they made decisions from which you and I can learn.

Most of you will know well the outcomes of the decisions made by these men and women. This book is intended to punctuate those results and to give you the context in which these actions were taken. Then you can take their lessons and ideas to make your daily life more productive and better.

Your life may become more enjoyable, too. I have noticed that many people dislike making decisions. They dread knowing that there are decisions to be faced. These people either avoid decisions entirely, or they are indecisive. This common behavior leads nowhere.

By reading the profiles in this book and absorbing and practicing the lessons they offer, you will have the tools you need to enjoy the decision-making process. When you enjoy doing something, you want to do it well. You want to keep doing it well and will constantly improve how you do it.

If you can make better decisions, your life will be better. And that is the reason I wrote this book, to offer you new ways to think about what you decide to do.

Every individual profiled sat alone—truly alone—and made their decisions. At the end of the day you are always alone when you make your decision, whether it is going for a job, spending your money, or the many other decisions that will shape your life.

Many of the decisions you take are easy and obvious. But some will not be. Some will change your life. And making the right decision will be of enormous value to you.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both . . .

—Robert Frost

So, like Robert Frost’s narrator, I stood in my own yellow wood as I began writing this book about decisions. What should I do?

In my life (and my career), I have seen the importance of being able to make good, better, and even best decisions. I wanted to share the knowledge I have gained and the courage I have developed along the way, to help you improve your life and encourage others to do the same.

My goal is simple. But what direction should my book take to get there?

There is much to learn about decision-making. From art and literature, certainly. (What decision do you think Rodin’s Thinker was trying to make? And besides Frost’s narrator, what about such famous ditherers as Hamlet and The Graduate’s Benjamin?) Philosophy, psychology, business (decision trees), world religions (the Jesuit method of discernment), academia, and popular culture—all offer valuable perspectives. And if in doubt, there’s always tossing a coin or reading tea leaves.

I have stood in this yellow wood before. I have written many books on business, communications, and careers, including two specifically on decision-making in those settings. Those books all reflected my experiences and my beliefs.

But this book is more personal.

Like you, I love history and try to learn from it. I also see how history is repeating itself in today’s events and that being able to make good decisions is more crucial than ever.

So, because history has so much to teach us—and because history is formed by fellow human beings—I tell the stories of people because their decisions changed the world. These people were as real and as interesting as any of us, and their lives and decisions offer lessons to each one of us.

The book begins with Harry Truman who changed history in a way that shaped the world we live in today, a man I view as the epitome of a decision-maker. Truman was a self-educated, plain-spoken, unassuming man who never expected to get where he got in life but was graceful and grateful when he did. Yet this thirty-third American President made a breathtaking, heart-stopping, audacious decision in 1945 that reverberates worldwide to this day. Did Truman realize what would unfold in the twenty-first century? Probably not.

You and I probably do not realize what life and our lives and the lives of people close to us will be like twenty years from now. That said, we should at least try to think of what lies ahead and the effects that what we do will have on the future.

This book closes with Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani Muslim woman who embodies courage, who points the way to the future. Malala in 2012 literally faced death from the Taliban because of the way she and her family had bravely decided that her life should be lived—going to her local school. Educated at Oxford University and a Nobel Laureate, Malala continues her outspoken activism on behalf of educational and all rights for children. Her impact on the world is already palpable—what will the future bring?

How did Harry and Malala do what they did? What can the rest of us learn from them as we approach our own decisions large and small? What can we learn from the other visionary decision-makers whose stories I tell in this book?

And as you read on, you will meet and take ideas and advice from twenty-one other people, the likes of Pablo Picasso, Elie Wiesel, Mahatma Gandhi, Dag Hammarskjöld, Margaret Thatcher, Joan of Arc, Johann Gutenberg, A. P. Giannini, Henry Ford, Howard Johnson, Alexander Fleming, Louis Pasteur, Ignaz Semmelweis, Marie Curie, Rachel Carson, Hannibal Barca, Julius Caesar, John Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Muhammad Ali, and Martin Luther.

What will their lessons mean for you?

This book is not aimed at telling you all you need to know about these outstanding men and women. It is a book that puts you at their sides as they come to decisions that shaped the future of the world. And it will leave you with specific ways of thinking to make decisions important to you.

Each of us, like Caesar, has a Rubicon to cross. We all have a certain set of decisions to make that might, if properly done, lead to a better life for each of us and indeed a better world.

If you pursue the simple guidelines that are embedded in these stories of real people who made world-changing decisions, the minutes and hours and days—the years—that lie ahead for you will be more positive and exciting.

Believe me, it’s worth the effort.

* * *

Like you, I make decisions all day long. I don’t think about most of these decisions. I just make them. You do too. Reading this book, for example, instead of doing something else.

Many of our decisions are mundane and routine. They interest no one except you and those around you. When to get up, what to wear, what to eat for breakfast and so on. But even these mundane and routine decisions are not random. What to wear, for example, depends on what you will be doing that day.

Often, what I will be doing is working with clients of my communications counseling firm who—having made their own mundane and routine decisions earlier in the day—are now grappling with multi-faceted and compelling questions with very large human, corporate, industry, community, and global implications. These clients have a lot invested in making right and good decisions, and my long career has been devoted to helping this process go smoothly. (And it doesn’t always.)

Of course, I have made plenty of personal decisions. Every one of us has. Some were enormously significant to me at the time and their import has faded, others remain foundational to my life and the people I love. Some decisions have been good; some, mistakes. I like to think that I have gotten better at decision-making as I have gotten older and have amassed more experience.

Along the way, I developed a fascination with decision-making, this very human process of sorting out, often in the midst of chaos and confusion or at least competing viewpoints, what should be done. I am sure that you think about this too, especially when a decision you make has a negative result.

Writing this book has strengthened my decision-making abilities. Considering individuals from as long ago as centuries B.C., to today, has given me insights I did not previously have. As I tell the stories of these people, I have tried to turn my insights into ideas and specific suggestions that will help you.

* * *

I hope this book inspires you. More practically, I hope it helps you reach a new and higher level of decision-making.

Even in the time it takes to read just a few sentences in this book, you and others around you will gain insights into how to make decisions that will shape the minutes, days, weeks, and years ahead.

Consider:

• Harry Truman and his decision to use the atomic bomb.

–Once you have done it, you should never look back, but for the best outcome, continue.

• Pablo Picasso and his decision to paint the ultimate anti-war masterpiece, Guernica.

–Always step forward and use your talent to underscore the importance of doing the right thing.

• Elie Wiesel and his decision to use his life to keep the reality of the Holocaust alive.

–Keep the decisions you need to make in perspective.

• Mahatma Gandhi/Dag Hammarskjöld and their decisions to pursue world peace.

–Continually push nonviolent behavior that others will recognize and applaud because it is right.

• Margaret Thatcher and her decision to go to war.

–Stick to your objective no matter what the barriers and problems.

• Joan of Arc and her decision to obey divine voices.

–Do not be afraid to dream and let your imagination take hold of your actions.

• Johann Gutenberg and his decisions on using his new invention, movable type and the printing press.

–Be clear about your goals.

• A. P. Giannini and his decision to focus his banking business.

–Remember your start in life and the values you have learned and apply them in all you do.

• Henry Ford and his decision to pay his workers a living wage.

–Make sure you listen to and take care of those who support you.

• Howard Johnson and his decision to franchise his restaurants.

–Do your research and always be aware of the external conditions in which you operate.

• Alexander Fleming, Louis Pasteur, Ignaz Semmelweis, and their decisions to advance medicine and save lives.

–Think outside the box. Involve others in your efforts.

• Marie Curie and her decision to persevere in the face of personal tragedy.

–Do not hesitate to learn from others but always credit those with the original idea. If at all possible, do not make important decisions under pressure or following a negative event in your life.

• Rachel Carson and her decision to write Silent Spring and expose DDT.

–Keep at it and no matter what distraction presents itself be determined in pursuit of your goals.

• Hannibal Barca, Julius Caesar, and John Kennedy, and their decisions to cross literal physical boundaries.

–Always have a precise goal in mind and dedicate all you can to achieving that end.

• Abraham Lincoln and his decision to publish the Emancipation Proclamation.

• Understand the value of patience.

• Muhammad Ali and his decisions to change his name and to resist the draft.

–Develop your conscience.

• Martin Luther and his decision to defy the Catholic Church.

–Follow your conscience and do what you think is right. Do not be afraid of the unknown. Face it with strength.

• Malala Yousafzai and her decision to stand up to the Taliban.

–Learning from your earlier life is a key to your future. Never stop learning. Do not be reluctant to speak out on topics and issues that surround the commonweal.

George Bush famously said, I’m the decider. It all comes down to each one of us, individually, and this book should help us get to a new and higher level of decision-making.

PART ONE

War and Peace

1

HARRY TRUMAN

The Buck Stops Here.

—H

ARRY

T

RUMAN

Y

EARS AFTER THE FACT

, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 stand in stark relief on history’s timeline. An obvious turning point in history that meant life on earth has never been the same.

Also standing in stark relief is the seemingly lonely figure of the man who made the decision to take the step that, yes, effectively ended the carnage of World War II and brought a new kind of carnage. An immediate slew of horrendous death, injury, and destruction was unleashed by the bomb.

The permanent specter of total man-made destruction has stalked and haunted the world since 1945 and is possibly the most salient feature of modern life.

You and I all know that Harry S Truman was the man behind that decision to drop the bomb. That sentence almost seems to beg the use of the word hiding to modify behind—who would want to be tarred with such a decision? Wouldn’t you want to be invisible or at least anonymous? Yet, in today’s phrase, Truman owned that decision. He made it, he acknowledged, it and he never looked back.

And that sentence, though true on its face, also begs us to ask—How did he do it? How could he do it?

This book starts with Truman’s story because of that decision. And because he was President, America has had a global impact that is still felt today. He left us a model for how we as a country must continue to provide the leadership for which these uncertain times call. I hope some of the thinking in this chapter will affect the thinking of big-time policy makers, and I intend to share what follows and indeed this entire book with heads of all the countries around the world.

* * *

The atomic bombs were dropped on August 6 and 9, 1945.

Barely four months earlier, on April 12, President Roosevelt had died and Vice President Truman had been sworn in to succeed him. Roosevelt had just begun his unprecedented fourth term and had this new VP (two other men had served with him in his previous twelve years in office). Accounts agree that FDR barely acknowledged Truman; in fact, didn’t know him well, only met with him once during the 1944 campaign and twice after they were sworn in. Not the best move by a wartime leader who was visibly staggering under the load of his office, knowing he was near death.

History seems to tell us that Truman knew nothing about the existence of the bomb until about two weeks after he was sworn in; it’s possible that he had been told of it, but only in a cursory way. (Even Truman seemed to contradict himself on this point.) In any event, the scant four months that he was in office was the only time that was available to Truman to ponder the question—hardly seems like enough.

A friend once told me that the most important decisions are made in the first 10 seconds of realizing that they have to be made. I have not been able to find, nor did I actually ask, the factual source to back up that assertion. But I quickly understood he did not mean that those decisions were superficially made, but that they were the product of a lifetime of preparation.

Truman had that lifetime of preparation, with many factors working for and against him. He was what I would call a man of parts, a complex man. Every reader has a lifetime of preparation, some good, some insignificant. Consider the following for Truman.

• Intelligent though not well-educated, he knew how to take in new information, how to learn.

• He loved reading and music and was also a warrior.

• As a boy, he was encouraged to be a mama’s boy, a condition not helped by shyness and bad vision. In his prime, he was jaunty, healthy, athletic, and he dressed well.

• Well into his adulthood (he was thirty-five when he married Bess, whom he first met when he was eight and she was five), he formed a strong marriage and family, and a stable and unpretentious personal life.

• He was a man of regular habits (which, in the White House in those very different times, included a shot of bourbon after morning exercise and a rubdown before breakfast).

• After a difficult childhood (poverty and thwarted dreams), he came to know himself and be comfortable in his own skin.

• A man of deep but not overt faith, he had a strong moral sense that encompassed all situations, public and private.

• He was plainspoken and forthright, saying pretty much what he meant and meaning what he said.

• His work and then political life in Missouri (he held odd jobs, and was also a farmer, a soldier and a judge) and in Washington D.C. (a decade as a Senator) entailed many years of weighing conflicting courses of action aimed at doing the right thing.

• He was popular and collegial, with many buddies as well as close friends and intimates. Not all of these people had unblemished characters, shall I say, but somehow their mud did not stick to him.

I say all this (and could say more) to show that Truman was not a saint and that things did not come easily to him. In fact, the circumstances of his early life were enough to kill many a future, and as an adult, he did not win every battle. But I think his ground must have been exceptionally fertile when it came to making the key decision of his and millions of other people’s lives.

Reviews for Decisions

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a very informative and thoughtful book. Mr. Dilenschneider focuses on different prominent figures in history like Harry Truman, Margaret Thatcher, Joan of Arc, Henry Ford, Abraham Lincoln, Malala Yousafzai to name a few. Mr. Dilenschneider breaks down this book into four different sections: War and Peace, Commerce and Invention, Science, and Breaking Boundaries. Mr. Dilenschneider shares what each figure was known for but what you may not have thought about was what made each person so famous. It was the decisions that they made. There is so much information in this book but it is so easy to understand. It made me think more about the information I was reading in this book. Readers can take this information in this book and apply it to every day life to make more thoughtful decisions.