Harry Truman said: The only thing new in the world was that you do not know. Truman years, has examined the history of those before him. His research paid off. Truman is now considered one of the greatest American presidents. The reason history is important because we live in a causal universe. Such choices yield similar results at the individual level (micro) and national (macro) level. The story is a story of choices and the outcomes of these choices. Lesson One: Look at what worked and what did not work and why you cannot use history as a
Business School case study. Example: . Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Mark Twain has become a publishing partner, Webster & Co., which published Twain also received the right authorized biography of Pope Leo III. The first book became a best seller. Another short selling. Both publications seemed to good ideas.
Twain implies that the purchase of the
biography of the Pope to be required reading for American Catholics. It was not. At that time, many Irish and German Catholic workers could not read and those who may have little discretionary income to buy books. Grants memoirs became a literary and financial success, as it was written by a popular president who had just died, he provided an overview of the civil war, which has been a
fascinating subject for millions of people, and it was beautifully written. (See Fred Kaplan, The singular Mark Twain. NY: 2003, Doubleday, p. 422, 423)
Second lesson: There is magic in thinking big Ted Turner is the most thoughtful person I have ever known personally. It has literally changed the world with CNN. Changing the world is exactly what he had done. I was a presenter and producer of air when CNN and TBS have been planned. But I had no idea how Ted thought. And where is Ted Turner draws its inspiration? History. One of the favorite characters of Turner as a young Alexander the Great, who would have wept because there were no more worlds left to conquer it. A thorough study of history can increase your hopes. Once you discover what others have been able to perform in adverse conditions and often with little benefit, you can hear an inner voice that tells you, I can do something
substantial, too. Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir mens blood. The quotation is from Daniel H. Burnham. Here is a brief overview of the man behind the quote.
