One of the most important leadership tasks is to prioritize the focus of effort. If leaders don't identify the critical tasks, businesses, governments etc. will fail. After Pearl Harbor, Admiral Nimitz immediately recognized that naval warfare had changed. No longer were the battleships the critical element of the fleet. The aircraft carrier was the new king of naval battle.
In preparation for the Battle of Midway, while much of battleship row still lay underwater, Nimitz directed all necessary and available resources be dedicated around the clock to the repair of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, which had been severely damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Admiral Nimitz showed total disregard for established procedure in getting his third and last available carrier ready for battle—repairs continued even as Yorktown steamed toward Midway. Just three days after pulling into drydock at Pearl Harbor, the ship was again under steam.
Yorktown’s aircraft played an important part in catching the Japanese fleet by surprise on Jun 4th, 1942. Had it not been for Admiral Nimitz’ clear vision of what needed to be done and allocation of resources to make it happen, the Battle of Midway may not have gone our way.
I recall an unusual plaque on the desk of a colonel I used to work for. It said “Themainthingiskeepingthemainthingthemainthing.” Just like that. It would seem some of our leaders have forgotten the main thing. We are at war with Islamo-terror-fascists. Winning that war should be the main thing. Winning that war should be the first priority of our government and its leaders. Sadly, that is not the case today. It seems to me that a large portion of one of our major political parties is more interested in “getting Bush” than getting al Qaeda.
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