A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

78 ■ A CLASS WITH DRUCKER
(or ICAF) in Washington, D.C. ICAF is one of the higher level schools
in the military called “war colleges.” Those officers who are selected to
attend in residence are considered to have a better chance than others of
someday becoming a general or an admiral. I think something like 20
percent actually make it.
ICAF is unique among the war colleges for two reasons. First, rather
than attendees being primarily from one particular military service, as
in all but one of the other war colleges, officers attend from all the military
services. There are officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines,
and Coast Guard, plus senior government officials, and, in current
classes, even a few senior executives from civilian industry. Secondly, it
is the only war college which specializes in aspects of national defense,
such as mobilization and weapons acquisition, not directly involved in
fighting a war.
Mike was what anyone would call a natural leader, if there ever was
one. He was loved and respected by all. There was no question that in leading
a unit of combat forces in his specialty, which was armor, his tank
troops would follow him anywhere and he would do a superb job. In fact,
several years later, as a full colonel, he led one of the leading brigades of
tanks making the attack against Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War. He
performed in an outstanding manner.
Unfortunately, Mike had a weakness. He simply could not expand his
thinking out of the tactical level in which he was an acknowledged expert
and maybe the best. I rather suspect that one of the reasons he was
selected to attend ICAF rather than one of the other war colleges which
was more focused on fighting was to try and expose him to other things
and other people. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. One of the last things Mike
said to me on our graduation from ICAF was, “I can’t wait to get back to
where everyone thinks exactly like I do.” What a telling comment!
Some years later, I talked <strong>with</strong> a retired four-star general who had once
been Mike’s boss. In retirement, this senior general had been hired to run
a short course for those newly promoted to general officer. He told me,
“Mike was one of the finest soldiers I ever met. I kept waiting for the day
that he would be promoted to brigadier general and be sent to take my
course, but it never happened.”
I once gave a talk on developing senior strategic leaders. I told the story
of Mike and I said, “Mike, this one’s for you.” So is what follows, and I am
sure that Peter would have echoed my sentiments.