Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Support the Peninsula’s only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe!
Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions.
Premium Subscription
As low as $8.25 per week
Premium Includes:
-- Access to the Daily Journal’s e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time.
-- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content
-- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community
-- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week!
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | $99.00 | for 365 days |
| 1 Month | $20.00 | for 30 days |
| 1 Week | $8.25 | for 7 days |
Support the Peninsula’s only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe!
Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions.
DJ Basic Subscription
As low as $5 per month
Basic includes:
-- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content
-- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community
What you're missing -- Additional features available only with the Premium level:
-- Access to the Daily Journal’s e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time.
-- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week!
All for as low as $8.25 per month.
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | $60.00 | for 365 days |
| 1 Month | $12.00 | for 30 days |
| 1 Week | $5.00 | for 7 days |
Editor,
Years ago, I taught the Navy’s leadership course to naval officers in the Bay Area. The material borrowed from great thinkers and military leaders including Gen. Colin Powell. His leadership primer was extremely useful in providing tools for routine and tactical leadership challenges, and there were some life lessons packed into the primer as well.
Lesson 15: When should you take decisive action? General Powell recommended a P=40 to 70 formula which means do not take action if you have less than a 40% chance of being right. Once you’re in that 40 to 70 probability of success range … go with your gut. I have always remembered his advice.
Last year, I was looking at surgery to remove a nodule that could be malignant. While the probability factor was less than Gen. Powell’s 40% threshold, my specialist pushed for surgery. I asked for another test. The second test moved the probability factor well into the P=40 to 70 range. Let’s go. The operation and subsequent tests have indicated the surgery was a complete success. Now, I’m not recommending anyone make medical decisions based on Colin Powell’s leadership primer, but his advice gave me a starting point to weigh the pros and cons of an important life decision.
I watched Gen. Powell’s funeral last Friday. It was sad, but how blessed are we as a nation to have such a great general, statesman and an even better person serve as one of our top leaders?
Ray Fowler
Redwood City
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
(3) comments
Ray - thanks for the letter. However, for those folks who haven’t heard of the rule, perhaps you can enlighten us with the above 70 range? Anything above 70 is a foregone conclusion to take action? 100: too late to take action or you should have already taken action and your personnel retention P-score is now being debated by your bosses?
Hey, Terence
Waiting until you have information above the 70% probability of success range may actually work to a decision maker's detriment due to emerging conditions. According to Gen Powell... "Don't take action if you have only enough information to give you less than a 40 percent chance of being right, but don't wait until you have enough facts to be 100 percent sure, because by then it is almost always too late. Today, excessive delays in the name of information-gathering breeds 'analysis paralysis.' Procrastination in the name of reducing risk actually increases risk."
Link to Gen. Powell's primer... https://www.pnbhs.school.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Colin-Powell-Leadership.pdf
Napoleon once said, “Gentlemen. If you're going to take Vienna, take it.” So, maybe worrying about your personal retention P-score should not be part of the decision making process.
Ray,
Fine thoughts about a fine man. I admired him for having enough backbone and spine to admit his mistakes. A lot of people wanted him to run for a political office, it is too bad he didn't.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.