Presidential Leadership Lessons for the Business Executive: Recent Episodes
Tom Fox
Who are our greatest Presidents? What lessons can the modern-day business leader learn from our 46 Chiefs of State? Find out in this podcast series with Tom Fox and Richard Lummis to delve into the great and not so great Presidents to mine their successes and failure for today’s business executive
In this episode, I consider what lessons might be learned from the presidency of Zachary Taylor the 12thPresident. Taylor only served 18 months, from 1849-1850. He died in office from over eating and drinking on the July 4thcelebration of 1850.Taylor had a long career in the US Army prior to his election, during which time he successfully operated cotton plantations in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi. He was elected as a Whig, this despite refusing to commit himself to the party platform. He was the first President not to hold elective office. While Taylor is usually ranked in the bottom percentile of presidents, he is most generally described as more a forgettable president than a failed one. However, his biographer, John S. Eisenhower, argued he was the one man who could have hammered out a compromise on slavery that would have averted the civil war contemporaries. Finally, in the political realm, both Democrats and Whigs alike generally viewed his premature death as a national calamity. What are some of the leadership lessons from the Presidency of Zachary Taylor.1.Take a stand-One of the leadership lessons came from an inaction by Taylor. It began before he was even elected President, did not embrace the Whig political platform, or even declare himself a Whig until February of 1848 with the election only seven months away. He thought the President should stand above party politics, even to the extent of not taking a public stand and declaring himself as a Whig. Still, for leadership, the clear message is that sometimes you do have to take a stand.2. You must be engaged-As a business leader, you must be engaged. Taylor’s military training influenced this thinking but that training and those instincts did not serve him as President. A philosophy of trying to be above the fray just does not always work. As a CEO, a senior executive, a Board of Director, you must be engaged in your business. It does not mean you have to get into the weeds of tactical decision making but you must set the proper tone and then oversee it going forward.3. Succession Planning-in the case of Taylor, we have that failure from a President who died in office, some 18 months into his presidency. Taylor and his Vice President, Millard Fillmore, did not even meet in person until only a week or two before the inauguration, so there was no time to build any sort of personal relationship. This lack of engagement with Fillmore, if not to consult, at least air out his thoughts and let him know which way he was thinking about issues, was a critical failure.4. Conflicts of Interest-As a leader, you must be attuned to and stop conflicts of interest by your senior management. There was never any allegation that Taylor was personally corrupt. However, during the later days of his administration there was the Galphin affair. Before joining the Taylor cabinet, the Secretary of War, George W. Crawford, had served as a lawyer and had been involved in a 15-year lawsuit. During Taylor's term and to his great embarrassment, he was paid nearly $100,000 to the President’s Secretary of War for his fee as counsel. The terms of the settlement meant that two Cabinet members had effectively offered a huge amount from the US treasury to a third member of the Cabinet. This was a huge scandal at the time. A word on Taylor’s death. It seems that during the 1850 4th of July celebrations, Taylor consumed a large number of cherries, ice cream and milk. He subsequently came down with a severe stomach ache, which turned into something called cholera morbus. There is still a considerable debate over whether the doctors actually killed him with their treatment or whether he died from the intestinal ailment. Oddly enough, many of his cabinet members came down with very similar symptoms, so it seems most likely it was due to the sanitation in Washington DC at the time.
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox return to their exploration of American Presidents as they conclude a two-part series on Andrew Johnson. In this Part 2, they discuss Johnson’s career as Military Governor of Tennessee, his Vice Presidency, Presidency and Impeachment. Highlights include: · Civil War · Vice President to President · Where did it all go wrong? · Impeachment · Leadership Lessons Resources Andrew Johnson-UVA Miller Center Is Andrew Johnson the worst president in American history? Andrew Johnson: The most-criticized president ever?
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox continue their exploration of American Presidents as they begin a two-part series on Andrew Johnson. In this Part 1, they discuss Johnson’s early life up to his nomination as Lincoln’s Vice-Presidential running mate in 1864. Highlights include: · Early Life · State Political Career · Federal Political Career · Up to the Civil War · Leadership Lessons Resources Andrew Johnson-UVA Miller Center Is Andrew Johnson the worst president in American history? Andrew Johnson: The most-criticized president ever?
In this episode, we consider the leadership lessons which can be drawn from our 7th President Andrew Jackson. We focus largely on the crisis surrounding the charter of the Second National Bank of the United States, which played out over 5 years from 1831 to 1836. This conflict pitted Jackson against most the nation’s political and financial elites, most prominently Nicolas Biddle, the President of the Bank. However, the great politicians of the day, including Henry Clay and Daniel Webster were lined up against President Jackson as well. The crisis came to a head in the summer of 1832 when both the House and Senate passed a bill renewing the Charter of the Second Bank of the US early. Not only did Jackson veto the bill and give one of the most memorable veto addresses of any President, he then took on Biddle directly by removing first removing persons in the administration and government who were pro-Bank and pro-Biddle. In the coup de grace for the Bank, Jackson the gold species from the Bank and moving into state banks across the country. Jackson won the battle completely. His actions were not without negative consequence as the distribution of the species across the country led to rampant inflation and the Panic of 1837. However, by that time, Jackson had departed the Presidency and the fallout was left to his successor Martin Van Buren.
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox are back to continue our series of exploring leadership through the study of US Presidents. This episode continues our series on Gilded Age Presidents, now largely forgotten. In this episode we take up James Garfield. Some of the highlights include:
Educational and Professional Background.
History as Radical Republican.
Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1872.
Nomination and Election of 1880.
Presidency including the Tariff, Purging the Post Office, Supreme Court Nominations, Proposal for universal education and Assassination.
Leadership Issues including the importance of strong ethics, a strong believer in education and Goldbug-a man for his times?
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox continue our series of exploring leadership through the study of US Presidents. This episode continues a series on Gilded Age Presidents, now largely forgotten. In this episode, we take up Chester A. Arthur. Some of the highlights include:
Educational and Professional Background of Chester A. Arthur.
His time as a New York politician, including work in the Conkling Political Machine and as Head of Customs House and conflict with President Hays.
His Stalwart Candidacy as Vice President.
His election and short tenure as VP.
Leadership issues from his Presidency, including the confusion on how to take office, his enactment of Civil Service reform, his work on the surplus budget and the tariff, immigration issues, and Civil Rights in the South.Leadership Issues, including (a) What are your expectations? (b) How much does a leader’s health matter? (c) Arthur adopted a code for his political behavior but was subjected to three restraints: he remained to everyone a man of his word; he kept scrupulously free from corrupt graft; he maintained a personal dignity, affable and genial though he might be.
Richard Lummis and I are back with more business leadership lessons from American Presidents. In this episode, we look at leadership lessons from William Howard Taft, the 27th President, who had the misfortune to follow one of America’s greatest and most popular Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt. Taft was a mountain of a man, weighing over 300 lbs. He is also the only President to become Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court after he left the office of the Presidency. Highlights of this podcast include:
Background of Taft.
Education and early professional life in Ohio.
Move to Washington, the role of Nellie and work in the Philippines.
Work in the Roosevelt Administration.
Presidential Term.
1912 Presidential election.
Final thoughts on leadership lessons.
Resources
National Park Service article on his home and upbringing.
Taft as good-hearted
Taft, TR and the Bully Pulpit-Forbes
This episode begins a short series on Gilded Age Presidents, now largely forgotten. In this episode, we take up Rutherford B. Hayes and try to mine the issues he faced for some leadership lessons for the 21st-century business executive. Some of the problems we consider include: 1. Hayes Educational and Professional Background 2. The Disputed Election of 1876 and Compromise-(1)Election Commission; (2) Terms of the Compromise, and (3) Was it necessary? 3. Hayes’ Presidency-(1) Reconstruction ends-was it inevitable? (2) Civil Service Reform; (3) Cabinet Selections; (4) Port of New York; and (5) the Post Office. a. Foreign Policy-(1) Paraguay War settlement; (2) Mexican border crisis; and (3) Immigration issues. b. Great RR Strike of 1877, the Great Western Tour, his Indian Policy and Lemonade Lucy 4. Hayes Leadership Issues- (1)“He serves his party best, who serves his country best.”; (2) Rutherford the Rover; (3) Use of veto and (4) Conflicts with Congress over Congressional v. Executive Power.
The first 100 days. Franklin D Roosevelt’s first term is the standard by which all other Presidents are measured for their first days in office. Why? It is because FDR not only hit the ground going full speed but also passed legislation that changed the shape of America for years to come. While the first thing he did was declare a Bank Holiday to save the nation’s banking system, he also passed significant legislation to stem the effects of the Great Depression. These bills included the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the National Industrial Recovery Act. He also enacted the Truth-in-Lending and Glass-Steagall Acts to help regulate the stock market, whose collapse had heralded the economic downturn. Even if these acts did not turn the tide of the Great Depression, they gave people hope because at least it appeared FDR was doing something to fight the economic calamity. Now imagine that you finally can secure a new position as Chief Compliance Officer in the compliance field. Every company believes that they are ethical and do business ethically, but what are some things you can do in your first 100 days? Hopefully, you will not be dropped into a corporate situation as dire as the one FDR faced for the US in 1933, but the reality is that many new heads are still judged on these mythical first 100 days. One obvious thing to generate success in the corporate world is to have a good relationship with your boss. You should have important conversations around expectations, working style, resources, and personal development. To facilitate these discussions, the following points are posited:
There is no value in trashing the existing compliance program.
You need to drive the discussions with your boss.
Your boss is looking for solutions, not problems.
Your boss is not interested in running through your checklist of things to do.
Make sure you connect with the people your boss values and admires, such as their mentor.
Set expectations.
These first 100 days will be a time of very high stress. This may well be compounded by your travel schedule and working very long hours to try and fulfill the concepts. The right advice-and-counsel network is an indispensable resource. Use your outside network of mentors, coaches and friends you have developed over the years to discuss your part at the company and what you have been experiencing. The key is to use whatever resources are available to you during your first 100 days. Just as FDR accelerated his actions during his first 100 days, a large part of his success was that he accelerated those around him. You should take this key component of FDR’s success to heart in your new role. Get your direct reports, bosses, and peers to accelerate their transitions. The fact that you are in transition means they are too. The quicker you can get your new direct reports up to speed, the more you will help your performance. It is difficult to imagine today a harder situation than the country faced when FDR came to power in 1933. The task must have seemed overwhelming. Starting a new compliance leadership position at a new company can seem equally daunting. You need to not only think through your steps going forward but also how to execute them for maximum performance in this early part of your corporate career.
In this episode, Richard Lummis and consider the leadership lessons from the Presidency of US Grant. The lessons include: 1. Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Acts, leading to the passage of the 15th Amendment; 2. Appointment of minorities to his cabinet and other top government positions; 3. His Indian peace policy. At the start of his administration there were 370 separate treaties with Native Americans. Grant streamlined this process and appointed a Seneca Indian as head of the BIA; and 4. Foreign Affairs. We consider Grant's leadership in the dispute with Great Britain over claims against the Confederate raider Alabama.
In this episode we consider the presidency of the 10thPresident, John Tyler. Tyler was the first president to ascend to the position after the death of President in office, William Henry Harrison. This ascendency, as his presidency was fraught with difficulties and conflict. We consider the following:
Tyler was not viewed as a legitimate president as he ascended due to the death of a President in office, William Henry Harrison.
Tyler was the first President against whom impeachment proceedings were brought.
Tyler had no real political base while President as he had been in the Democratic Party up until he became a Whig to run in 1840.
Tyler was the first President to veto legislation based upon policy, not constitutional considerations.
Tyler was the first President to have a mass Cabinet resignation.
Tyler was the first President to have his Cabinet nominees defeated in the Senate.
Tyler was the only President to face an open, armed rebellion from a State, the Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island; up until Lincoln.
In addition to the foregoing Richard Lummis and I consider the leadership lessons from Tyler in the following areas:
His ascension to the Presidency and establishment of the Tyler Principle for succession.
Economic issues including the tariff and veto of the Bank bills.
His handling of the Dorr Rebellion
Texas Annexation
The Princeton Incident
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox conclude a two-part series on leadership lessons from Woodrow Wilson. In this Part 2, we look at lessons from Wilson’s two terms as President, his illness and short post-Presidential life and early death. Highlights of this podcast include: A. New Freedom Agenda 1. Tariff and Tax 2. Federal Reserve 3. Anti-Trust Legislation 4. Labor and Agriculture 5. Immigration (here we go again) 6. Judicial Appointments B. Race relations and Wilson’s attempts at Segregation C. Foreign Policy-how did he “keep us out of war”
Re-Election in 1916
Move towards and declaration of War
D. Miscalculation by Germany and Wilson Response
14 Points
The Peace Conference
Ratification debate and Incapacity
Death
Leadership lessons
Resources Ten Ways to Judge a President Woodrow Wilson Quotes Woodrow Wilson-a Failure in Leadership How Woodrow Wilson Lost the Peace Woodrow Wilson-Life Before the Presidency 13 Leadership Lessons from WWI
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox begin a two-part series on leadership lessons from Woodrow Wilson. In this Part 1, we look at lessons from Wilson’s formative years in growing up in the South, his educational career, his academic profession and thought leadership; his Presidency of Princeton, his governorship of New Jersey and the Presidential election of 1912. In Part 2 we will take up his Presidential years. Highlights of this podcast include:
Intro of Woodrow Wilson
Discussion on impact of slavery on Wilson and being a Southerner
Academic Work History
Professor at Johns Hopkins
Publication of Congressional Government
Move to Wesleyan
Move to Princeton in 1992-textbooks on government
President of Princeton-1902
Achievements
Seeds of character defects revealed?
Health issues
Governor of New Jersey
Surprise Candidate- "it came to me unsought, unanimously, and without pledges to anybody about anything."
Reformist and turned back the Bosses?
Nomination and Campaign of 1912
Dark Horse Candidate
Impact of William Jennings Bryan
New Freedom platform - breaking up trusts and lowering tariff rates
Leadership Lessons
Resources Ten Ways to Judge a President Woodrow Wilson Quotes Woodrow Wilson-a Failure in Leadership How Woodrow Wilson Lost the Peace Woodrow Wilson-Life Before the Presidency 13 Leadership Lessons from WWI
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox conclude their series on leadership lessons from Theodore Roosevelt. We will look at lessons from Roosevelt’s early years in New York up to his cowboying days in Montana; the second phase of his public career, from NYC Police Commission to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, San Juan Hill and the Vice Presidency; his leadership from his Presidency; his life in the post-Presidency and the election of 1912 and we will end with leadership lessons from his post Bull Moose Party life, World War I and event surrounding his death. In this fourth episode, we consider the leadership lessons learned from Roosevelt’s years after the end of his second term up through his run for President at the head of the Bull Moose Party in 1912. Highlights of this podcast include: Roosevelt goes big game hunting and holds meetings with political leaders across all of Europe. What led to the schism in the GOP and Roosevelt’s defeat at the GOP 1912 Convention? The formation of the Bull Moose Party and his survival of an assassination attempt. The election of 1912, his loss to Wilson but his overwhelming defeat of his former protegeé, William Taft. We conclude this episode with three key leadership lessons, including: 1. Change when the facts change; 2. Don't be afraid of making unpopular decisions; and 3. Leaders are Learners. Resources Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 10 Leadership Lessons from the White House 6 Leadership Hacks From The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt 10 top Leadership Principles of Teddy Roosevelt The Roosevelts: Eight presidential lessons in leadership Lessons in Leadership from 100 years ago Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership 10 Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Lessons
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox continue their series on leadership lessons from Theodore Roosevelt. We looked at lessons from Roosevelt’s early years in New York up to his cowboying days in Montana; the second phase of his public career, from NYC Police Commission to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, San Juan Hill and the Vice Presidency; his leadership from his Presidency; his life in the post-Presidency and the election of 1912 and we will end with leadership lessons from his post Bull Moose Party life, World War I and event surrounding his death. In this third episode, we consider the leadership lessons learned by Roosevelt in his ascension to the Presidency and his first and second terms as 26th President. Highlights of this podcast include: Roosevelt’s ascension to the Presidency after the assassination of President McKinley; his domestic policies including: trust busting, issues with railroads, starting the American conservation movement and regulation of food and drugs. We then turn to foreign policy and his arbitration of the Russo-Japanese War which won him the Nobel Prize, the Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine and construction of the Panama Canal. We look at the clection of 1904 and his second term. We conclude with three key leadership lessons: 1. Surround yourself with other leaders; 2. Maintain an Open Channel with Adversaries; and 3. Be able to take criticism. Resources Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 10 Leadership Lessons from the White House 6 Leadership Hacks From The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt 10 top Leadership Principles of Teddy Roosevelt The Roosevelts: Eight presidential lessons in leadership Lessons in Leadership from 100 years ago Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox continue their series on leadership lessons from Theodore Roosevelt. We will look at lessons from Roosevelt’s early years in New York up to his cowboying days in Montana; the second phase of his public career, from NYC Police Commission to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, San Juan Hill and the Vice Presidency; his leadership from his Presidency; his life in the post-Presidency and the election of 1912 and we will end with leadership lessons from his post Bull Moose Party life, World War I and event surrounding his death. In this second episode, we consider the leadership lessons learned by Roosevelt in the second phase of his political career, which took him from Police Commissioner of NYC to the Vice Presidency. Highlights of this podcast include: What led to appointment to New York Civil Service Commission and then to the NYC Police Commissioner? His move to the National Stage as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. This led to his work in the War with Spain and Admiral Dewey in Manilla Bay. He founded the Rough Riders, his leadership in Cuba and ride up San Juan Hill. He becomes Governor of New York. This leads to joining the McKinley ticket in the election of 1896 and becoming Vice President. We conclude with three key leadership lessons, including: 1. Pick yourself up when you fall; 2. Find a cause; and 3. Communicate Simply and Directly Through Stories. Resources Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 10 Leadership Lessons from the White House 6 Leadership Hacks From The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt 10 top Leadership Principles of Teddy Roosevelt The Roosevelts: Eight presidential lessons in leadership Lessons in Leadership from 100 years ago Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership 10 Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Lessons
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox begin a series on leadership lessons from Theodore Roosevelt. We will look at lessons from Roosevelt’s early years in New York up to his cowboying days in Montana; the second phase of his public career, from NYC Police Commission to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, San Juan Hill and the Vice Presidency; his leadership from his Presidency; his life in the post-Presidency and the election of 1912 and we will end with leadership lessons from his post Bull Moose Party life, World War I and event surrounding his death. In this first episode, we consider the leadership lessons learned by Roosevelt from his parents, his sickly childhood, initial forays into public life, widowhood and cowboying in Montana. Highlights of this podcast include: Roosevelt’s parents, his upbringing, education and early book publishing. Roosevelt’s widowhood in his early 20s and his election to the New York State Assembly. From the Presidential election of 1884, up to his cowboying in Dakota. We conclude with three key leadership lessons, including 1. The beginning of his lifelong learning; 2. How he came to view merit, not privilege as the key to advancement, and 3. How hard work is required to be a great leader. Resources Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 10 Leadership Lessons from the White House 6 Leadership Hacks From The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt 10 top Leadership Principles of Teddy Roosevelt The Roosevelts: Eight presidential lessons in leadership Lessons in Leadership from 100 years ago Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership 10 Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Lessons
Richard Lummis and I are back to continue our series of exploring leadership through the study of US Presidents. This episode begins a look at Gilded Age Presidents, now largely forgotten. In this episode we take up Grover Cleveland. Some of the highlights include: Educational and Professional-background of Grover Cleveland New York Politician including his term as Mayor of Buffalo and Governor of NY Election Campaigns, including Rum, Romanism and Rebellion Presidency including Reform (1st term); the Tariff (1st term); Military Policy (1st term); Labor unrest and Pullman Strike (2nd term) and Foreign affairs (2nd term) Leadership Issues including (1) Why tone at the top matters? A Public Office is a Public Trust; (2) How Cleveland helped to return power to the Executive Branch; (3) When is the ‘vision thing’ needed? and (4) Servant Leadership- Officeholders are the agents of the people, not their masters.
In this episode we consider the presidency of the 10th President, John Tyler. Tyler was the first president to ascend to the position after the death of President in office, William Henry Harrison. This ascendency, as his presidency was fraught with difficulties and conflict. We explore his Presidency for leadership lessons for the 21st Century business leader in this podcast.
Tom Fox and Richard Lummis return to mine leadership lessons from American's Presidents. In this episode, the consider our fifth President, James Monroe. Monroe is the final founding father to be elected as President. He is also the final Virginian elected to the Presidency. Monroe's Presidency was unique for several aspects we explore in this episode.
Tom Fox and Richard Lummis return to mine leadership lessons from American's Presidents. In this episode, the consider our second President, John Adams. Adams presidency was glossed over with little more than a brief mention, most probably because he was President between two of our more memorable presidents – Washington and Jefferson. Samuel Eliot Morrison once said that history teaches us how to behave and Adams provides a great example on it.
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox conclude their four-part series on leadership lessons from George Washington. We will look at lessons from Washington’s colonial and frontier period, focusing on the French and Indian War, leadership lessons from Washington’s generalship of the Continental Army, his leadership in both the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention and we will end with leadership lessons from both terms of Washington’s presidency. In this fourth and concluding episode, we consider the leadership lessons demonstrated by Washington during his two terms as the first President of the United States. Highlights of this podcast include:
Introduction into Washington’s two terms as President.
A team of rivals? How did he manage them?
Leading by example, yet in a measured and nuanced manner-the Whiskey Rebellion.
Foreign Affairs-Citizen Genet and Jay Treaty with Britain.
Farewell Address-how did this encapsulate Washington’s leadership?
Final thoughts on leadership lessons still relevant today from George Washington.
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox continue our four-part series on leadership lessons from George Washington. We will look at lessons from Washington’s colonial and frontier period, focusing on the French and Indian War, leadership lessons from Washington’s generalship of the Continental Army, his leadership in both the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention and we will end with leadership lessons from both terms of Washington’s presidency. In this third episode, we consider the leadership lessons demonstrated by Washington at the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention. Highlights of this podcast include:
Introduction into Washington’s generalship of the Continental Army.
Why silence and listening can be so powerful.
Call for strong union in Constitutional Congress.
How did Washington’s leadership in the Constitutional Convention influence the creation of the Chief Executive role?
Richard Lummis and Tom Fox continue their four-part series on leadership lessons from George Washington. We will look at lessons from Washington’s colonial and frontier period, focusing on the French and Indian War, leadership lessons from Washington’s generalship of the Continental Army, his leadership in both the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention and we will end with leadership lessons from both terms of Washington’s presidency. In this second episode, we consider the leadership lessons demonstrated by Washington as General of the Continental Army. Highlights of this podcast include:
Introduction into Washington’s generalship of the Continental Army.
First 3rd of the War-Boston and NY disasters to Trenton and Princeton.
Valley Forge.
Use of French General Rochambeau and commutation of Charles Asgill from death sentence.
Resignation as General of the Armies.
Welcome to Presidential Leadership Lessons for the Business Executive. Today, Richard Lummis and Tom Fox begin a four-part series on leadership lessons from George Washington. We will look at lessons from Washington’s colonial and frontier period, focusing on the French and Indian War, leadership lessons from Washington’s generalship of the Continental Army, his leadership in both the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention and we will end with leadership lessons from both terms of Washington’s presidency. In this first episode, we consider the leadership lessons learned by Washington in his colonial and frontier period and how his failures during the French and Indian War influenced his later leadership. Highlights of this podcast include:
Introduction into Washington’s early life.
Washington’s Ambition and the Battle of Jumonville Glen.
Battle of Fort Necessity and Washington’s surrender.
Massacre of Braddock’s troops by the Iroquois.
What did Washington learn from these experiences?