Shock and Awe
Finding the right words when we’re aghast, agog, dumbstruck
“The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation…We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility.”
— Abraham Lincoln, 1862
The annals of leadership, both military and civil, are filled with stories less of triumph than of astonishment — astonishment at the behavior of one’s fellows, whether hostile or merely absurd.
For the commander on the battlefield, as for the manager in the boardroom, the most disarming maneuver is not a flanking movement or a clever turn of phrase, but the deployment of behavior so bizarre, so grotesque in its disregard for custom, law, or decency, that it leaves the opponent dumbstruck.
The pressing question becomes one of which response or action best meets the moment. The answer, as is typical, can be found in history and charted for the present. Read on for examples and a framework.
