Without Equal: WE
The following is a speech delivered by Hal Moore at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago - April 10, 2008 excerpted from the book, Hal Moore On Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned by Mike Guardia published by Magnum Books.
I wanted to share this speech given its powerful message on how vital our core values, or "roots" impact our will to win.
Mike - Thank you for permission to post this and for putting together a great book about a great leader who, through your work, will continue to inspire and guide many to come.
"WITHOUT EQUAL: WE!" - Lieutenant General Harold "Hal" G. Moore (USA, Retired)
I suppose we all have certain personal "bumper stickers" that remain with us throughout life. One such "bumper sticker" with me is:
There is always one more thing you can do to influence a situation in your favor. And after that, one more thing.
I wish to reference this during my days on the battlefield, and in life. On November 14, 1965, three o' clock in the afternoon, Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An of the North Vietnamese Army and I were trying our best to kill each other in the la Drang Valley of South Vietnam, by the Cambodian Border.
I was a 43-year—old Lt. Col, commanding a 450-man infantry battalion in the first major battle of Vietnam War. We were up against over 2,000 North Vietnamese regulars. I believe that three principles of leadership, and our will to win, guided us during the 54-hour shootout. First: never quit. Second: attitude. Third: trust your instincts.
On the third day, November 16, 1965, the enemy quit the fight leaving over 600 dead and weapons littering the field. We lost 79 of precious men killed, 121 wounded, none missing. We were a well-trained, tightly- disciplined family team of fighting warriors.
As I walked the bloody and scarred battlefield, I knew that it was, without question, our will to win that made the difference between life or death for my battalion.
In any endeavor, there is always one more thing you can do to influence the situation in your favor. With regard to this battle, near the end of it, the one thing I could and did do, was to charge the enemy when things were spotty. That bayonet charge stunned the enemy: we took it to them when I believe they thought we were on our heels.
As I visit with you today, some 42 years plus later, I can still smell the blood stained soil, hear bullets whizzing by, hear the cries of men going down, and see the land that war had changed forever. And I can see the faces of my men, men I carried to the helicopters, dying in my arms.
Our will to win could not be denied. We would prevail at all costs—and we did prevail, but not without the greatest of human sacrifice and the terrible impact death has on families back home.
Seventeen months earlier, back at Fort Benning, Georgia, on the very first day I took command, I stood in front of my officers and men and told them:
"We're a good battalion, but we're gonna get a hell of a lot better. I will do my best and expect the same from each of you. We will be... without equal. We will be the best infantry battalion in the world! Now go back to your barracks and get rid of all 2nd place trophies. From now on, only 1st place trophies will be awarded, accepted, or displayed in this outfit. In our line of work, if we come in second, we are defeated on the battlefield. From now on, we are interested only in winning! We are without equal!"
For us then, and in many other battles, the will to win was the only acceptable mindset. This required the creation of an institutional culture of skilled, smooth teamwork; an institutional personality of a warming outfit; and for every warrior to believe and act like he was a winner. For a positive, upbeat institutional culture—institutional persona—was critical to our, and your, success.
I say to you, "You are without equal!" To be without equal means to prevail. To win. It is here where I believe that we should discuss where the will to win comes from, in every person who laces up his or her boots, or who puts on your coat of honor. But before we do, I wish to propose a thought to you:
WITHOUT EQUAL. Think about it.
These words are even more powerful than the "Will to Win" or "#1"…ponder the feeling one gets from these words. I suggest you, embrace these words forever within your institution. And as you enlarge your circles around the world, make these two words your everyday life breath.
Look at what the words start with W and E—meaning "WE." If the Army approved and
supplied the pins, and you were my battalion and we were going to war, I would have every soldier wear a pin with the letters "WE," denoting "WE" as a family and "WE" as without equal. This is a war-winning theme that would not let us go down in any battle…ever!
Please forgive me for taking such liberty with you, but you see, I believe that the human condition responds to such a challenge, and in this case, the "WE" theme sets the table for a will to win that is what? WITHOUT EQUAL. And most importantly, it speaks to family...the most important aspect of one's home life and workplace.
It invites reflection, thought, planning and action. I have learned that to move too quickly to action, even with a strong will to win, can invite failure. We need to be careful and not let the words "without equal" cause premature, ill-considered decision making. In my world, Gen. George Armstrong Custer had a very strong will win in 1875 in that valley in Montana, and yet he and his cavalry troopers went down in one last stand!
Why? Precipitous bad judgment!
That was indeed Custer's last stand! I was determined in 1965 that la Drang was not going to be Moore's last stand. And you must be determined that the 21st century will not be your last stand!
The will to win is all about truth, development and one's personal journey. Developing the internal self is a rooted, structured process that begins with building from the ground "down" first, before building from the ground "up." The deeper one roots downward, the more strength one has to withstand life's hits and stay on a winner's course from the ground upward.
Are you aware of the tree structure of the most beautiful Live Oak? It spans the sky in its majestic and huge brilliance with shapely limbs. However, its root structure below the ground, what the eye does not see, reaches outward, not downward. When great winds come, it is not unusual for the mighty oak to have toppled on its side—only to reveal the surprise below. The root structure does not go deep enough to help it withstand major blows. It is truly a sad sight to see such beauty toppled so easily!
And, it can be with all of us. Our personal structure from the ground "down" should run deep, which then allows us to withstand the heavy winds that come our way. It is this structure that enables us to be "without equal" It leads to winning!
With "good leaders," he or she wins most of the time. With "great leaders," his or her men or women win all the time!
I wish to share an observation from my many years in leadership. Be cautious in determining who you believe the real "good" and "great" leaders are. There is no one profile that makes of breaks a leader. One may be quiet and reflective, or one may be passionate and full of vigor and fight. One may be six feet five, or one may be five feet six. One many have an advanced degree, or one may have a GED from high school. The will to win — to be without equal — is not particular in where it finds a permanent home!
But regardless the choice and pursuits in life, the requirements to have an authentic will to win are the same. Let us visit the matter of building and developing, even further, a will to win from the ground "down" …the invisible part of our nature and character. Our personal experiences in life are quietly building, out of sight, our will. Who can think about the components of the one's will — those aspects of life that can hopefully stand disappointments, failure and even brokenness — when one's will has not been broken?
Perhaps each of you has been a fortunate person who has always flown high without failure or disappointment. Well, I can tell you that my three stars earned in the military were due to my trust in my rooted mental infrastructure. There were days when my men were being killed to my left and right, I relied on my roots. When my wife died suddenly after 54 years together, I relied on my roots. When members of my family had a personal crisis, I relied on my roots. When my aging process reduces my physical ability to do things that I have always been able to do well, I rely on my roots.
It is now that I wish to discuss internal trusting of self, and how trust plays out in "without equal." There is a great term in golf, where golfers must repeat their swing over and over for a long time until they begin to trust their swing without even thinking about it.
As in golf, we must trust our swing, our rooted structure, without ever questioning it. When times are at their worst, one's trusted swing gets one back in the fairway of life and onto the green. Specifically, I shall mention three things that are built into my nature now, and hopefully, at 86 years, they are working as they should. These were my rooted structure priorities back then, and are still today.
- The development of one's mind.
- The condition of one's body.
- The nature of one's spirituality.
The mind must always be alert and in a learning mode. The body is your machine and ticket to winning. The soul matters more than one may believe or know. Each of these elements is part of my "trusted swing." It is all about balance in your golf swing and in the swings of life. Now, I shall speak to one's will to win, to be without equal, from the ground "up," from the visible aspects of one's nature and character. This is the hard part, the execution, where all of your training and trusted swings come into play. If your rooted structure is right, and you are in the right place at the right time, let it rip! Go for the green. Trust your swing and do not even think about it. This is where your balance comes into action...where the mind, body and soul function as one. What a beautiful sight to see.
Remember, it is never too late to work on your rooted structure. The invisible part of your life will always impact the visible. There is always one more thing you can do, that I can do to influence the situation in one's favor.
Let us revisit "WE" … without equal.
I cannot speak to this enough. Your bottom line is how you may be measured every day. You must have personal balance to have institutional balance. This is being deeply rooted from the ground down. This will impact your will to win from the ground up. This places you and your institution in a rare place - to be without equal.
WE! You are family. I am about family. All of us know what it takes to possess an authentic will to win…to be without equal…WE.
Thank you and "drive on!"