Leadership

From a speech given many years ago, and the principles still stand strong
By John Brunner

It was 36 years ago when I took off my combat boots and put on a pair of steel-toed factory work boots. I hung up my Marine Corps dress blue uniform for the last time and found a “flood-sale” suit for calling on customers. There wasn’t an MP Sergeant at the front gate to salute my entrance onto the base. I parked my Chevy up the street between a trash dump and a burned-out house as I made my way to the back door of the 70-year-old manufacturing plant.

The place was on its last legs. The business that my grandfather started in 1908, and the place my father returned to after WWII, was in survival mode. A week after I arrived, the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) showed up with a regulatory order threatening to shut the place down. That was my first introduction to the popular claim, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help!”

I’ve got a lot of “war stories” about that first decade . . . everything from hauling out trailer loads of trash, removing 18 catch buckets from the ceiling pipes, replacing over 220 broken windows, power washing the restrooms, repairing forklifts, and replacing a 1930’s telephone plug switchboard, to putting a fresh coat of tar on the roof . . . and of course responding to burglar alarms in the middle of the night with shotgun in hand, and by my side, my tail-wagging golden retriever.

I could spend this evening talking about how we built a good team of associates, built our own lunchroom, added a good health insurance program, established an interest-free loan department, added new benefits every year, paid better salaries—even provided pay increases when gasoline prices went up. But as I learned in the Marine Corps it’s all about taking care of your troops, and in the chow line, senior officers eat last.

We were the last business standing in the most broken down, crime infested area of St. Louis. Everyone else ran to the suburbs or to China. But we stayed and made it work. We made it work because we were a team, a true family business where every associate was a member of the family.

There were tough times, as there are in any business or family farm. It was my name on every bank loan, personal guarantees, so if it all went south, we would lose everything. But that is what you did. All in, 100% committed. I started out with less than 40 folks whose life depended upon me to make it work. Loyalty starts at the top and if it comes back to you, well it should not be expected but appreciated. As I look back over those three decades, I am grateful that no associate lost a week of work, no one lost their job, we worked together to make it work. I’ve learned a very simple principle; if you take care of your associates, they take care of the business. And in addition, profits are not a goal; profits are a result – of doing the right thing, in the right way, for the right purpose.

I can say that there is only one reason that this company not only survived but has prospered for over 108 years; it was God’s grace in action. I can’t tell you how many times I turned to God in prayer and opened the Good Book for encouragement. The Psalms were particularly helpful, as the first 5O or so talk about David being under attack and his gratitude to God. Someone once told me that the Psalms are the medicine chest for the soul.

I leaned upon a bunch of retired guys to help me through the challenges. It was a matter of survival that we find new efficiencies and new opportunities for productivity every single day. After all, our products were fighting against the big international companies 24-7. You want to talk about combat in business, well the most valuable real estate in the world is four inches on a Wal-Mart shelf. And if you are there, you will be attacked constantly. Like the game we would play as kids; “King of the hill.” We never had a contract. It was like the old CEO of Eastern Airlines, Frank Borman, used to say, “You got to earn your wings every day.” Obviously, they got theirs clipped!

One day an author dropped by to write about us in his new book about “Corporate Dandelions, and what you can do to uproot them.” It was all about corporate bureaucracy. He wanted to add our story to his book as an example of cutting out waste and being a “go-to-can-do” company.

We all know about waste in government. My friend Senator Tom Coburn wrote the book on it and is known as the best in the US Senate, respected by both sides of the aisle—well, he was a former business guy. In business, if you don’t eliminate waste, you go out of business. In government, if you don’t eliminate waste, you raise taxes, borrow money and hire more bureaucrats that will vote for you.

Here is a story that I used many times when I was coaching my team. This is called “Cowboy wisdom.” It was passed on from generation to generation. Some think that it originated from the Dakota Indians. It is a very simple principle: “When you discover you are riding a dead horse; the best strategy is to dismount.” 

1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Threating the horse with termination.
4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
5. Visiting other locations to see how dead horses are ridden by other government entities.
6. Rewriting the standards so that dead horses can be included.
7. Re-classifying the dead horse as “living-impaired.”
8. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
9. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
10. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse’s performance.
11. Engaging a think tank to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse’s performance.
12. Confirming with the Congressional OMB to declare that the dead horse carries lower overhead and, therefore, contributes more to the bottom line, than some other horses.
13. (Finally, the ultimate government solution) Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.

The insanity that reigns and the lack of common sense would be funny if it weren’t so tragic for our country and our future. We no longer have true authentic statesmen or stateswomen in elected office…with very rare exceptions. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure that neither of us would hire a career politician to help on the family farm, the small business, or even allow them in the classroom with our children. It would be a good first start if every politician had to register with the local police, put a sign in their yard and a sticker on their car: “Caution: Politician within.” At least when taking the dog out for a walk we would know to go “the other way.”

Here is what Senator Corburn has concluded and states too clearly in his book: “The typical member of Congress is a wonderful and engaging individual with little real-world experience. If we are to solve the problems in front of us, we must elect individuals with backgrounds like those of our founders; people full of life experiences paid for with hardship, hard work, and disappointment; people who are willing to give up the comfort of today for a better America.”

My friends, we just don’t have authentic leaders anymore; we have people with titles. And those titles used to mean something. Now they are empty shells; an echo of what used to be.

Over the years I’ve struggled with defining the term “Leadership.” You see, for a company to grow and prosper, you need authentic leadership. And of even greater importance, our country needs authentic leadership. I’ve had the privilege of speaking at some top schools such as Harvard, Columbia, Wake Forest, and Washington University on leadership. I’ve read dozens and dozens of books and compared those experiences with my own. But I believe that the best statement on leadership I have ever read comes from WWII General Douglas McArthur when he said, “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”

I spent many hours helping many of my associates to become authentic leaders. I would never want to put someone in authority who I could not report to—sort of an extension of the “golden rule.”

The foundation of leadership is TRUST, based upon INTEGRITY. This is the principle or quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles and professional standards. I would coach my team to never confuse authority, seniority, position, office or title with leadership. In the fewest words I’ve summarized that leadership is a result, not an appointment.

“Leadership is earned, through integrity in action, attested only by those who freely choose to follow; unencumbered by persuasion or rewards, unaffected by threats or punishment, uninfluenced by titles or position.”

The tragedy is not that America doesn’t have leaders, most of you in this room are leaders—as a homemaker, a teacher, a businessperson, a volunteer, a deacon in your church, or a student striving for excellence.

Leadership again, is simply – integrity in action.

The problem is that it takes courage to lead. Tragically the politicians who seek to become careerists, end up destroying our republic with extensive spending and debt, who have capitulated and surrendered as Tom Coburn stated, “. . . to the forces of careerism . . . which have so far prevented our leaders from making the courageous choices these times require.”

Why do the majority of those we place our trust and confidence in “To defend and protect the Constitution,” fall far short?! Where is their courage?!

Winston Churchill stated, “Courage is the first of the human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others. Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning.”

So where is this courage that we so desperately need?!

There is much to be learned by those who were martyrs for their faith. There is much to be learned by those who sacrificially gave their lives for our country. We have a tradition in our family at Thanksgiving, and all significant family gatherings, to get out the “Medal of Honor” book and read the citation to family and friends. You begin to develop a real sense of gratitude for all we have as a nation, in the shadow of these heroes.

Just about a year ago, I was encouraged by my mother to go to Washington DC and meet a good friend of my late father. Mom and Dad had the opportunity over the years to get to know Captain Red McDaniel and his dear wife Dorothy. As many of you know, Red was a POW for 7 years in the Hanoi Hilton. The first three years neither his wife nor anyone in our government knew whether he was dead or alive. Well, I had the opportunity to meet Red and Dorothy in a little cafe in Alexandria, Virginia. I had read Red’s book “Scars and Stripes” as well as Dorothy’s book “After the Hero’s Welcome, A POW Wife’s Story of the Battle Against a New Enemy.” I have never met a more gracious and humbler couple in my life, both still in relatively good health at the young age of 82. Captain Red, with a passion in his voice and the continued determination that never wavers, talked about his continued battle to find his navigator, Kelly Patterson, who was shot down 47 years ago on May 19, 1967. The honor code of all warriors is to never leave anyone behind. Red went on to recall the horrible beatings that lasted for weeks on end, and all the torture endured under the most hopeless of situations. He said he learned some personal lessons as well as some lessons for his country that he loves so dear. He told me, “I learned to appreciate freedom, and I learned to appreciate my children and my wife, and all those things that you sometimes take too much for granted. Sometimes it takes having these torn away from you to know their value.” Red states, “I learned that a man can take away everything you possess—your clothes, your food, your health, even your freedom, but he can’t destroy your will to survive, and he can’t destroy your will to believe. He can’t destroy your faith.” And this is what I learned about courage from this war hero. He said, “I learned another very important truth: courage is not the absence of fear. I was scared to death in that torture room. Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is simply the presence of faith.” “COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR; COURAGE IS SIMPLY THE PRESENCE OF FAITH.”

We’ve talked about leadership depending upon courage and courage depending upon faith. So, what about faith?!

St. Paul helps us with this in his counsel and encouragement to his young associate Timothy, “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me…but the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength…and I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.” Paul goes on to emphasize, “The Lord rescued me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”

The message is clear, confidence in God and His word, gives courage to life and all its exigencies, and trials and sufferings.

Red McDaniel learned that in the pit of the Hanoi Hilton. Dorothy McDaniel learned that in the darkness of every night for seven long years, with three little children at her feet. It is a principal that has proven the test of time throughout the centuries. It is a principle tested by heroes.

We’ve all faced the darker side of life. We have all experienced the death of a dear loved one. We have all experienced losses and tragedies. I’ll never forget the night many years ago, when I was sitting at the edge of the bed. My wife’s entire body was wracked with horrible pain under the relentless attack of incurable lupus. She had lost so much weight, just a fragile image of what she used to be. Her suffering was immense. She was trying to sing in a whisper one of the great hymns of faith…and then her voice was lost. I was absolutely convinced that the angels were going to take her home that night…but God was so merciful and gracious…the incurable was cured. And now after all these years as she looks into my eyes, I’ve been pegged in just the right spot of the pecking order of importance below all the children and grandchildren, and some days I’m a notch ahead of the family dog.

In one of my lighter moments early in my business career, I was struggling to fix a piece of equipment so we could get an order shipped out on time. I exclaimed out loud, “If I ever write a book, it will be titled, “God, Sweat, and Beer.” The mechanic next to me asked how I ever came up with that? I said simply, “First, every great endeavor or effort must start out with a purpose greater than yourself—God. Second, you can’t just sit back and expect God to just make it happen, you must—Sweat. And finally, should there be a little success along the way, don’t forget to celebrate a little—Beer!

My friends, we were born at this time in history to serve a higher purpose. Never has the future of America been more at risk. Without question, the worst is yet to be. Are we prepared? It begins with a spiritual transformation and renewal. It begins with faith in our creator. Our country was founded upon His faith, as our Declaration of Independence declares, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” In my business, it was critical that wisdom and discernment identified those issues upon which were most critical to the continuation of the business. Likewise, we need to focus on the most critical issues for the survival of our country.

So back to our Declaration. We hold these “Truths.” What is meant by “Truths?”

When Jesus in his trial responded to the Roman Governor Pilate, “I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And Pilate responded, “What is truth?” and he walked away. We, my friends, cannot afford to walk away from that question.

Now this is a question that deserves a thorough and thoughtful answer. In summary: 1. We recognize that there is evil in the world. 2. If there is evil, there is also by definition, good. 3. If there is good and evil, there must be a moral law that distinguishes between the two. 4. If there is a moral law then there must be a moral law giver. This is exactly what our founding fathers claimed about Truth being self-evident, that the created has a creator, and from there exists our inalienable rights.

Some will say we are in a “culture war.” It is much greater than that. We are in a war to claim the principles of liberty. Is the source of freedom the state? Is the source of liberty government? Or is the source of Freedom and Liberty from our Creator— inalienable to each of us?!

Whether we survive or fall as a nation depends on the collective response to this ultimate question: Does God exist?

My friends, Freedom is a moral concept. It only exists within a moral framework. If you remove that moral framework, you don’t have an increase of the amount of freedom in society, you have a loss of it.

Freedom isn’t doing whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want to. That is not freedom. That is anarchy. And anarchy in a society is a loss of freedom. WHEN MORAL STANDARDS COLLAPSE, VIRTUE VANISHES AND ANARCHY ADVANCES UNTIL TYRANNY REGAINS CONTROL.

That is why, the day after the declaration of American Independence was signed, one of the signers, John Witherspoon said, “Civil liberty cannot be long preserved without virtue. A Republic must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty.” Benjamin Franklin claimed, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.” And Ron Paul in his Farewell Address stated, “Political action, to be truly beneficial, must be directed toward changing the heart and minds of the people, recognizing that it’s the virtue and morality of the people that allow liberty to flourish.”

Of course, there are too many of those who believe that we are our own gods, “And what’s good for me, is good for me, and what’s good for you is good for you—it is just a matter of preference. But I would counter that in some society’s that raise their young, and other society’s that eat their young, do you have a preference?”

Going against the immortal law of nature, suggesting that liberty can exist in a moral vacuum is like the guy who was disputing the law of gravity. As he jumped off the top of a 40-story building he could be heard as he passed the open window on the 23^rd floor exclaiming, “Sooo farrr Sooo good!”

Leadership requires courage, courage requires faith, and the source of faith is our creator. On that foundation, America will be free again.

So, what is the battle ahead? It will require integrity in action. It will require that we keep our eyes on victory. It will require that we stand with liberty. We cannot afford any longer to be satisfied with Triumph without victory. Triumph without victory is about winning elections and losing our freedoms. Triumph without victory was Vietnam. Triumph without victory is Iraq or Afghanistan. Triumph without victory is majority control of the congress. Triumph without victory is taking back the presidency for our party. Triumph without victory is electing politicians not leaders.

Let me finish with two true stories of those who never lowered their sights to triumph but kept their eyes on victory. Both are in the form of letters. One well known and the other never heard.

The letter from Col Travis at the Alamo Commandancy of The Alamo Bejar, Feby. 24th. 1836

To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World­Fellow Citizens & compatriots-

I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna – I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man – The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken – I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls – I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch –The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country – 

Victory or Death. 

William Barrett Travis. 

Lt. Col. comdt.

P. S. The Lord is on our side –When the enemy appeared in sight, we had not three bushels of corn – We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

Travis

Although I was trained for battle as a United States Marine and although I was one of 1,726 Marines who stepped up from their civilian jobs for Desert Storm, l was never called into combat. The most humbling experience of my battle for the U.S. Senate was a meeting of the organization of recipients of the Purple Heart. I met a Vietnam veteran who was awarded a purple heart. He told me that his son likewise was awarded a purple heart posthumously, as he died fighting in Afghanistan.

“You can’t choose your battlefield; God does that for you. But you can plant the colors where the colors never flew.”

Each of us, in our own way, on our own battlefield is called to fight, even if the odds are stacked against us, even if the battle appears lost. We must have the courage to fight and never give up. 

This is a letter that I received a day after my father’s memorial service, back in 2006. It was from his long-time administrative assistant, Mary. Here is what she wrote:

The Memorial Service for your father yesterday was beautiful. As I was driving to church, I kept thinking of all the wonderful times I had working with your parents. I recalled one day in specific – I had typed up a letter to Senator Smith for your dad. I brought the letter to him for his signature and asked, “Mr. Brunner, don’t you feel like you are just fighting a losing battle?” He replied, “Mary, the only battle you always lose is the one you don’t fight!”

That has stuck with me ever since. It has made me realize that if that one statement from your dad has been with me all these years, then maybe one statement from many of those letters sent to our Senators and Congressmen stuck with them also and caused them to vote a different way.

To this day I choose to fight those “losing battles.” God bless you and your family during this time of loss. (signed) Mary

Those words from Mary encouraged me at a very difficult time, and they continue to be a source of inspiration.

In summary: Get right with God. Know your job, know your people, be a teacher and a coach. These are the imperative fundamentals. But to know yourself; building upon your strengths and reinforcing the weaknesses to remain loyal to those absolute values that have withstood the test of time for centuries is the foundation of leadership. Execution is the demonstration of your character, the greatest of which is courage; to do what is right. There will be times when you will stand alone. It will take guts and perseverance if you are to prevail, driving with determined internal inspiration and the motivation to keep pressing forward to do the right thing, to take care of your family, your friends, your fellow patriots so they can be equipped to accomplish the mission. The ensuing loyalty and respect of those around may pursue you. And you can give the credit where it counts, to your creator.

May we all aspire to finish strong, so as leaders we can join with St. Paul, when he proclaimed, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith!”

May God continue to shed His Grace and Mercy on America.