Colonel Jack Jacobs has one of the most impressive resumes ever seen.
Col. Jack Jacobs believes that "at certain levels you have to be somewhat of a Maoist."
He is a Medal of Honor recipient, he holds the McDermott Chair of Humanities and Public Affairs at the U.S. Military Academy, he was founder and COO of AutoFinance Group and managing director of Bankers Trust, he is currently a principal of The Fitzroy Group (a London-based real-estate development firm), he serves on several charitable boards, he is the vice chairman of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, he is the author of the award-winning memoir If Not Now, When? and he is an on-camera analyst for NBC.
Just reading that can make anyone feel a bit inadequate.
But Jacobs did not accept the invitation to speak at the 15th Annual Wharton Leadership Conference so he could brag about his accomplishments. Far from it. In fact, most of his bio I learned from the conference material, not from his speech.
Jacobs was there to speak about how he learned leadership from his experience in Vietnam. Simply put, he believes in four “principles of war.” Those being:
- The objective: “You must tell a soldier what the mission is before he’ll do what you say.”
- Unity of command: “Don’t have one person reporting to two people — respect the chain of command.”
- The truth: “Honesty is very important when running any organization.”
- You’ll make mistakes, but do nothing that is immoral or illegal: “Anyone who says they don’t know what’s immoral or illegal is a liar!”
Jacobs is Brooklyn-born straight-shooter whose accomplishments in life have more than proved he knows how to be a leader in any given situation, whether on the field in combat or in the office with the board. His speech made those in the audience laugh, cry and feel uplifted and motivated — all at once. Proving, once again, that Col. Jack Jacobs has an overwhelming command over people. He is a natural leader.
Check back over the next couple of days for more posts relating to the amazing speakers I was fortunate enough to hear at the Wharton Leadership Conference, including Jane Golden, executive director of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and James Quigley, author of As One.