Not many generals in the USA have had the same bold and long-lasting impact as George S. Patton, Jr. He was both a genius and a hard taskmaster to his soldiers, a leader whose ambition and resolution were seemingly boundless. To those who hated him, he was a temperamental and divisive character. However, all these qualities only contributed to the character that represented the fighting force of America in the key situations of the twentieth century. Patton’s life was as complicated as the wars he had to deal with – a mixture of victory, oddity, and scandal that still gets people to argue about it today.
Influenced by his ancestors who fought the American Civil War, he read and learned the art of war from the Bible, with the history and stories of his forefathers. It was not easy at school for him – reading and spelling were a nightmare for him, and some historians also say that he may have had undiagnosed dyslexia. Still, he immersed himself in the study of warfare, devouring history and stories of his Civil War ancestors.
Through the Virginia Military Institute, Patton got in touch with West Point. Although academics were challenging for him, with his determination, he still managed to graduate as a cavalry officer in 1909. A year later, he shared the vows with Beatrice Banning Ayer, the daughter of a Boston industrialist, thereby starting a marriage that would have kept his roaming spirit grounded for the rest of his life.
Even though he was not a famous person yet, Patton was still beyond human. In the modern pentathlon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912, he performed excellently and took the fifth position; as well, he also designed the Model 1913 Cavalry Saber, which was named after him.
To polo and fencing that he loved so much, he gave up playing and training in his usual reckless manner, thus escalating his reputation for the showcasing of both physical courage and frequent injuries.
His first exposure to warfare was in the campaign of the U.S. Army in Mexico to capture Pancho Villa in 1916. Patton, under General John J. Pershing, led a daring raid utilizing three automobiles, which killed three of Villa’s collaborators. The audacity allowed him to be recognized as a skilled man of mechanized warfare, which would become his lifelong vocation.
One more method that was used to encourage manual workers was by paying. They were told they would get more pay if they worked harder or for a longer time, which would make sense if the only motivation was money. However, employees often did not work harder for long and simply did the minimum necessary to get the bonus.
Similar strategies were used in schools. One of them was to give bonuses to teachers if the students’ achievement increased. However, the schools that implemented such schemes did not see a long-term improvement in students’ performance.
Probably, there were various reasons for this. First, teachers focused only on activities that led to quick improvements. Second, students became driven only by the bonus and not by intrinsic motivation.
Herbert Kelleher might be the biggest example of a leader who used humor as a way to diminish distance with his team and solve problems. Kelleher was always making jokes about Southwest Airlines, even when the company was close to bankruptcy. Rather than this affecting staff confidence, they actually got behind the company even more.
Just like Kelleher, Barack Obama often uses humor when addressing difficult and controversial issues. This helps the audience to relax and become more open to their points. A good example of this was when Obama, during the 2016 election, joked about his wife’s cooking. This made him appear more human and approachable to voters.