Command

Wally Bock has a clear-sighted post on the importance of command. An excerpt:

Mitchell says of Robert E. Lee that he was a "sublime" leader. But then Mitchell judges that Lee was deficient in command because he was too polite. Mitchell means that Lee was so polite and courteous that he was "inclined to issue discretionary or vague orders, when clear, preemptory orders were required."

Mitchell contrasts Lee with Stonewall Jackson and Ulysses Grant. I read many of Grants orders for a program I prepared for new managers several years ago. Over a century after he wrote them, there is no doubt what Grant wanted and expected.

Command is devalued today. We've derided the "command and control" management style for so long without thinking, that we've lost sight of the fact that in hierarchical organizations, which is where most of us work, there are times when command is not just desirable, it is necessary.