Clausewitz and Roosevelt

Last night I was in the office late trying to make some progress on my maintenance management system. I had some ideas of how to set it up, but have been frustrated by the lack of materials available through the supply system, and the difficulty of even identifying what I need, much less actually ordering and procuring it.

Since I had had a day which also involved some bureaucratic infighting and other various obstacles to progress, I was reflecting on how to handle it when a couple of familiar quotations came to mind. They helped me to break free of my frustrations, drive a stake in the ground, and get something put together that will work.

I know everyone will recognize Theodore Roosevelt. For those who may not recognize the other name, Carl von Clausewitz was a Prussian General during the Napoleonic era. His book "On War" is as close to being the standard text on war as anything ever written.

One of his principles of war was the principle of "friction". The idea was that what seems easy in theory or in training will be harder in war due to various factors such as fear, fatigue, lack of communication, etc. It was some of his thoughts about friction in war that came to mind yesterday:

"Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult….Perseverance in the chosen course is the essential counter-weight, provided that no compelling reasons intervene to the contrary. Moreover, there is hardly a worthwhile enterprise in war whose execution does not call for infinite effort, trouble, and privation; and as man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.”

- Carl von Clausewitz

The other thought that helped to free me up from focusing on my limitations and to get on with the job was a familiar quotation from one of my favorite Presidents:

“Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

And that's just what I'm doing. :-)