Defense Secretary James Mattis is a voracious reader. Here's how he draws leadership lessons from books
Defense Secretary James Mattis, a revered Marine with a military career spanning four decades, credits his leadership success to his voracious reading habits.
"Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for
how any problem has been addressed before. It doesn't give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead," Mattis wrote in a 2003 email to military historian Jill Russell.
how any problem has been addressed before. It doesn't give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead," Mattis wrote in a 2003 email to military historian Jill Russell.
Mattis, hailed for his battlefield prowess and kinship with rank-and-file soldiers, explained that the best way to hone war-fighting skills is to leverage lessons learned from history.
"A real understanding of history means that we face NOTHING new under the sun," Mattis wrote. "We have been fighting on this planet for 5000 years and we should take advantage of their experience. Winging it and filling body bags as we sort out what works reminds us of the
moral dictates and the cost of incompetence in our profession."
moral dictates and the cost of incompetence in our profession."
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