You may have seen on CNN today a story talking about how the Army is “sorry” for sending thousands of “Dear John Doe” letters to families of Army personnel who lost their lives fighting for our country in Iraq or in Afghanistan. Not only did each begin with “Dear John Doe,” they also contained the wrong address information. To see the original story, click this link, which will take you to CNN’s site: http://tinyurl.com/7m5xpl
Commentary
As a current Reservist and a person who has many friends who have served or are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan — including some who have lost their lives serving our country — this story strikes me as particularly outrageous. Why? Because it illustrates all too clearly that the individuals who have pledged their lives in service to our country — who, in this case, have made the ultimate sacrifice – are really no more than an entry in a large Army database. I’d have said they’re only a name in that database, but the Army didn’t even give them that justice. They’re just John Does.
You see, whether it’s the contractor’s fault, or a database technician’s fault, or someone else’s fault — that doesn’t matter. Every person in the chain of command, every person working this project, every person who was involved at all — they all have a fiduciary duty, not to mention a moral obligation, to do it right. Apparently, those involved in this matter don’t subscribe to the notion that “Everything worth doing is worth doing well.”
When I was a cadet at our nation’s premier military academy — West Point — which also happens to be the Army’s premier officer training school, you couldn’t escape one concept that permeated all aspects of cadet life: attention to detail. Why was it important for the cuff on your bed to be exactly the right width? Why did your shoes and boots have to be spit-shined and in perfect alignment? Not because the world would have ended if they weren’t, but because professional Army officers had to have keen attention to detail! Because it’s attention to detail that can be the difference between life or death…
…Or between treating the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice with dignity, respect, and gratitude and treating them with so much disrespect that we can’t even notice that 7,000 letters are to “John Doe”!
Reflect on how you’d feel if you were “John Doe,” having lost a son, daughter, brother, sister, or other loved one. It’s been said that it only takes a minute to do things right. Take that minute. Show the dignity and respect to others that they are due. Your employees — or, if you’re military, your soldiers, sailors, and airmen — will thank you.
One of our main themes at The LeaderMaker Group is that effective leaders constantly respect their followers as fellow human beings and treat them with dignity, earning and hopefully maintaining their trust over time. Having such a focus in our — and your — daily practices helps guard against lapses in leadership like in this “Dear John Doe” case.