13 Days: Three Lessons in Leadership

61 years ago today, the world kicked off one of the most intense stretches in history that led our world to the brink of a nuclear war.

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61 years ago today, the United States learned that Cuba was building nuclear bases. This discovery kicked off 13 days of what came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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Fortunately, we were able to avoid a catastrophic military outcome of nuclear war. There are so many incredible lessons from this experience that is hard for me to do all of them justice. Today, I will put on my old history teacher hat and share three lessons in leadership from President John F. Kennedy through his navigation of arguably the greatest leadership challenge in U.S. history.

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LESSON ONE: Learn from your Mistakes

One year earlier back in 1961, John F. Kennedy had his lowest moment as president: The Bay of Pigs fiasco. He was convinced by military intelligence that it was possible to support an overthrow of the Communist Castro regime in Cuba without any United States connection.

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The idea was that Cuban refugees could be trained to go to Cuba and lead the overthrow of the government. Of course, the Bay of Pigs turned out to be a disaster. The overthrow failed, and it was clear the United States was the perpetrator. This resulted in huge egg on our face; more importantly, it was the catalyst for the Soviet Union to put missiles in Cuba.

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As soon as the presence of missiles was discovered on October 16, 1962, there were immediate closed-door meetings to decide next steps. The recommendations by the military were clear: act quickly and decisively to invade Cuba.

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President Kennedy decided not to do that. He knew that a military invasion was the likely option; however, he did not want to be rushed into a fatal error. By taking the time to consider next steps, President Kennedy learned from his prior mistake, and in doing so, avoided what probably would have been a guaranteed path to nuclear war. His ability to learn from his earlier mistake gave him the foresight to take some time. While speed is always an advantage in any conflict, it should never be at the expense of sound decision making.

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LESSON TWO: There is Always Another Way

Building on lesson number one, the unanimous advice was an invasion. It was presented as the only option. President Kennedy tasked his brother Robert to lead the closed-door discussions to explore other avenues. While they agreed that invasion was probable, President Kennedy also encouraged his brother to find alternatives.

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Fortunately, what came out of those discussions was a second option. The decision was made not to invade, but rather, launch a military blockade around Cuba. This would prevent Soviet warships from bringing the remaining materials necessary to arm the missiles and provide nuclear capability. The blockade would be termed a “quarantine.” Maybe this was a subtle distinction, but the idea was to present an option that would not automatically guarantee a full military response from the Soviet Union.?

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When surrounded by experts in any field, it is very easy to suffer from “groupthink” – the tendency to blindly accept one opinion. A tremendous lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis was the strength of the Kennedys to challenge the notion that only one option was viable in solving this conflict. There is always another way!

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LESSON THREE: Empathy is the Key to Understanding and Compromise

Because of political alliances, the stakes in this conflict were incredibly high. With the United States as part of NATO and the Soviet Union as part of the Warsaw Pact, each side was bound by its agreements to consider any act of hostility to trigger a required response to defend any country considered to be an aggressor. As a result, any action by the United States in the Cuban Missile Crisis could be determined by the Soviet Union as an act of war - therefore requiring them to respond by invading a country in Europe. The most likely target would be military forces from East Berlin occupying West Berlin. The domino effect would be a United States response, and likely, the beginning of World War III likely with nuclear fallout.?

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While the United States could not tolerate the introduction of nuclear missiles in Cuba a mere 90 miles away from Florida, it was important to have perspective. After all, United States had nuclear missiles in Turkey, right on the doorstep of the Soviet Union. As a result, it was difficult to take the high moral ground on Cuba without being hypocritical.

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Ultimately, the key step of compromise in the Cuban Missile Crisis was the United States agreement to remove our missiles from Turkey as long as the Soviet Union halted operations to arm Cuba with nuclear missiles. Kennedy’s ability to walk in Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s shoes provided him with the insight to make this key tactical decision that ended the conflict and preserved peace.

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Thank you for allowing me to put my history teacher’s hat on today to recount this incredible piece of history! While you may not be negotiating world peace today, here are three questions that will serve you well in your day-to-day interactions, discussions, and negotiations:

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Are you learning from your mistakes?

Do you have the discipline to seek another way?

And finally, can you find the empathy to truly understand another?

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I wish you the best of luck in finding those answers this week!