[Vision2020] Paul Kimmell and the Leadership Principles of Robert E. Lee

Wed Sep 1 06:07:10 PDT 2004

Greetings Visionaires -

The following was provided to me by an unknown source who desires to remain
nameless (and so it shall be), requesting that I post it here.  Although the
source is nameless, I feel that it reflects the heart-felt opinion of an
ever-growing portion of the Moscow citizenry.

--------------------------------------------------------------

On August 5th, Moscow Chamber of Commerce Executive Director presented a
Power Point lecture on the Leadership Principles of Robert E. Lee.

Mr. Kimmell's text, which does not cite an author, is drawn largely from
Robert E. Lee on Leadership : Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and
Vision by H.W. Crocker III. Prima Publishing.  

Favorable reviews from Casper Weinberger, Dinesh D'Sousza and S. Partrick
Presley blurb the back cover of this book.  

Mr. Crocker is a "longtime student of Robert E. Lee, is the executive editor
of Regnery Publishing Inc.  He serves on the board of the Southern Military
Institute, writes a column on Civil War books for Southern Partisan
magazine, and has written on  military history for National Review, American
Spectator, and other publications" according to the back cover.

(Regnery Publishing is a conservative publishing house carrying such authors
as Ann Coulter, Patrick J. Buchanan, Dinesh D'Souza, General Joshiah
Bunting, well, you get the picture.  Southern Partisan Magazine is a
notorious neo-Confederate magazine
(http://www.fair.org/press-releases/southern-partisan.html)

(The Southern Military Institute - a yet to be formed college -
http://www.south-mil-inst.org/html/about_us.html)

"In the tradition of the original "Institute," SMI will be a small
engineering and science institution emphasizing the foundations of Christian
faith and morality. It will also provide a sound background in the history
of Western Civilization, American politics, Constitutional studies, and
military history. SMI will be steeped in southern tradition and will
re-establish the all-male Corps of Cadets, the Gentleman's Honour System,
the "Brother-Rat" Class System, and the traditional "Ratline" basic training
system. SMI will sponsor programs that advance the knowledge and awareness
of Southern history and culture including the honouring of Confederate
Memorial Day and New Market Day, which celebrates the valor of the VMI
cadets at the Battle of New Market, Virginia on the 15th of May, 1864"

The gratuitous inclusion of photographs of Confederate Generals Jeb Stuart
and Stonewall Jackson don't really have much to do with Robert E. Lee's
leadership.  I am unclear why they are included in the presentation - except
to bolster the Confederate image.  

>From Crockers book:

"Robert E. Lee was a leader for the ages. The man heralded by Winston
Churchill as "one of the noblest Americans who ever lived" inspired an
out-manned, out-gunned army to achieve greatness on the battlefield. He was
a brilliant strategist and a man of unyielding courage who, in the face of
insurmountable odds, nearly changed forever the course of history. 

"A masterpiece-the best work of its kind I have ever read. Crocker's Lee is
a Lee for all leaders to study; and to work, quite deliberately, to
emulate." - Major General Josiah Bunting III, superintendent of the Virginia
Military Institute  [which as nearly as I can tell from the VMI website
exists only on paper]

In this remarkable book, you'll learn the keys to Lee's greatness as a man
and a leader. You'll find a general whose standards for personal excellence
was second to none, whose leadership was founded on the highest moral
principles, and whose character was made of steel. You'll see how he remade
a rag-tag bunch of men into one of the most impressive fighting forces
history has ever known. You'll also discover other sides of Lee-the
businessman who inherited the debt-ridden Arlington plantation and
streamlined its operations, the teacher who took a backwater college and
made it into a prestigious university, and the motivator who inspired those
he led to achieve more than they ever dreamed possible. Each chapter
concludes with the extraordinary lessons learned, which can be applied not
only to your professional life, but also to your private life as well. 

Today's business world requires leaders of uncommon excellence who can
overcome the cold brutality of constant change. Robert E. Lee was such a
leader. He triumphed over challenges people in business face every day.
Guided by his magnificent example, so can you."

Visionaries should be prepared for the usual defense of race based slavery
(the page number is the page number of Mr. Kimmell's presentation)

Duty, he [Lee] believed in, yes.  But duty directed one to serve people, not
principles.  Lee's attachment to what was tangible and real - the soil of
Virginia, to his family, friends, and neighbors of the Old Dominion, helps
explain his loyalty to the South in the War Between the States.  Lee would
not consent to raising a sword - or having other raise a sword - against his
own people..... slaver owner were to be made free:, as Lee had hoped they
would be, "that process should be achieved through oral persuasion, free
legal advice - not by force." page 14 (emphasis in the original)

Leaving aside the silliness connected with free legal advice for slaves,
leaving aside the powerful word "IF" in describing potential emancipation
this is the same old clap trap that comes from all apologist of the Lost
Cause mythology, and causes pictures of Robert E. Lee to hang in
classroom(s) in Logos School. 

Read this presentation and weep that such an example is being used in this
community with the support of the executive board members of the Chamber of
Commerce (http://www.tomandrodna.com/notonthepalouse/Kimmell)

Take care,

Tom Hansen

Not On The Palouse (Or Monroe, Louisiana), Not Ever

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