View single post by ashbel
 Posted: Fri Mar 21st, 2008 06:40 pm
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ashbel
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Joined: Fri Jan 25th, 2008
Location: Fort Worth
Posts: 165
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Mana: 
 I think you are leaving out the most important quality of all:

ABILITY TO DELEGATE EFFECTIVELY

At the end of the day generals are managers of large organizations.  Most of the qualities listed above could be used to describe what it takes to be a good private or a good captain.  What separates the the great generals is they understood that they couldn't be everywhere on a battlefield.  They had to delegate responsibility and then allow the commanders under them to do their jobs. 

It is interesting that this principle of delegation and decision making at the lowest level possible is the core of american military strategy today.  For a really great read on this subject see: "Boyd:The Fighter Pilot that Changed the Art of War" by Robert Colam.