“A Message to Garcia” Will you deliver it

“A Message to Garcia” Will you deliver it ! I want you to be the Rowan of the organization ready to “Deliver your message to Garcia” was an instruction given to me by a Superior officer many years ago, I did not understand what he meant, till I read the true story of an army officer Lieutenant Andrew Rowan by one Writer Hubbard in 1899. 

 The Rowan story is relevant today even in Corporate world as it was 115 years ago and this story needs to be told and retold to drive a point that once a mission is taken up , it must be accomplished , come what may and one habit , quality or attitude that makes it happen is Being Proactive . It is all about how LT Rowan's actions and display of initiative over a century ago still have the power to inspire us today. 

This story is told with many lessons in many management courses also across the world . example : http://bsr.london.edu/lbs-article/373/index.html. In 1899, a man by the name of Elbert Hubbard wrote an editorial for a small magazine called The Philistine. Over tea, Hubbard was discussing the Spanish-American War with his family. Everyone had been cheering General Calixto Garcia, the leader of the Cuban rebel forces, as the key to winning the war in Cuba, when Hubbard's son, Bert, put forth this argument. "In my mind", ventured Bert, "the real hero of the war was not General Garcia, but Lieutenant Rowan, the man who got the message to Garcia." His son's words leaped in Hubbard's heart. Hubbard wrote the article, "A Message to Garcia" and the edition went to print. He thought little more about it until the magazine began getting requests for re-prints of that particular edition. 

More and more requests for re-prints came in until the magazine was literally swamped. Puzzled by the overwhelming number of orders, Hubbard asked why people were interested in that particular copy of the magazine. He was surprised to learn that the demand was for the "filler" article he had written about Rowan. Orders came in for 100,000 copies, 500,000 copies, 1,000,000 copies. Eventually, Hubbard was forced to simply grant permission to those who wanted large numbers of re-prints, because of his limited ability to publish in those quantities. Why are so many people interested in an article about some unknown lieutenant by the name of Andrew Summers Rowan? 

 

The reason is: everyone is looking for individuals such as Rowan Hubbard’s story told of an obscure but important event surrounding the 1898 Spanish-American War. With tensions mounting between the United States and Spain (which ruled Cuba at the time), When war broke out between Spain & the United States, President McKinley saw strategic value in establishing rapport with Cuban rebels should war with Spain ensue. Communication needed to be established posthaste with Cuban leader General Garcia to help America. it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Just before declaring war, President McKinley was meeting with Colonel Arthur Wagner, head of the Bureau of Military Intelligence for the United States. "Where", asked President McKinley, "can I find a man who will carry a message to Garcia?" Co-operation between the rebel forces in Cuba and the United States was essential to the success of the campaign. It was vital to quickly communicate with the leader of the rebels, General Calixto Garcia, a Cuban-born Creole. General Garcia was somewhere in the mountains of Cuba leading the rebel troops in their fight for independence. He was a hunted man by the Spanish army. No one knew his exact whereabouts. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba- no one knew where. No mail nor telegraph message could reach him. 

The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly. What to do! Colonel Wagner did not hesitate in his answer to the President. "I have a man - a young officer, Lieutenant Andrew Summers Rowan. If anybody can get a message to Garcia, Rowan can."Lieutenant Andrew Rowan was recommended for the task: “…Rowan will find Garcia for you, if anybody can.” And so the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation handed this army officer a letter with instruction for it to be “delivered to Garcia.” An hour later, Col. Wagner stood before Lieutenant Rowan. "Young man," said the superior officer, "you must carry a message to General Garcia, who will be found somewhere in the eastern part of Cuba...You must plan and act for yourself. The task is yours and yours only." Col. Wagner then shook Rowan's hand and repeated, "Get that message to Garcia." Without asking one question, Rowan left to find Garcia. How “the fellow by the name of Rowan” took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, & in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia, are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail. 

Rowan delivered the message to Garcia and the response got back to McKinley without Rowan ever asking, "Where is he? What does he look like? Who are his contacts? How do I get there?" He simply took the orders and did what he was asked to do. Is there a Rowan among us? Is there somebody who can get a message to Garcia without having to do an interrogation of his senior officer first? Is there someone who can get the job done without needing to have his employer hold his hand until the task is completed? If not, the boss might as well do it himse Bottom line: Rowan delivered the letter against all odds and did not ask “Where is he at?” Notice that Rowan didn’t equivocate. He didn’t ask McKinley for detailed instructions. He didn’t hire a consultant or assemble a task force. He simply took the letter and delivered it to Garcia. 

The rarest of skill of all is the Ability to Deliver , People like Rowan who accomplish mission quiclkly and effciecntly with minimum blames and whining are as rare today as they were 100 years ago. “It is not book-learning young men need,” Hubbard exhorted, “nor instruction about this or that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies; [to] do the thing – ‘carry a message to Garcia!’” The message this literary classic “delivered” over a century ago, more than ever, still rings true today. In a world where “slipshod assistance, foolish inattention, dowdy indifference, and half-hearted work seem the rule,” we need “Rowans” that are willing to “do the thing” … to stand up, take initiative, “Just Do It!” and “Git-R-Done!” with loyalty to themselves, their bosses, and their organizations. To “do the thing” — “DELIVER YOUR MESSAGE TO GARCIA.”

 Now ask yourself “Are you the Rowan of your company?”

 1 Are you available for assignments, any assignment, without hesitation and adaptable to whatever task is at hand, given by your boss 

2. Are your reliable. If your boss asks you to get something done in a timely manner, have it done by that deadline. Often other deadlines must be met down the line, so do not be the weak link. 

 3. Can you figure out how to get it done on your own. This is a fine line to walk, but the more you can do on your own, the more burden you relieve from your superior. The more burden you relieve, the more grateful your superior will be. 

4. Can you take action. So often people get bogged down in the details that they become apoplectic and unable to even start a project. Often times procrastination prevents even the first step from being taken, which is most often the hardest step to take. 

. 5. Are you diligent. it will show your employer that you do not need constant hand-holding or someone looking over your shoulder to make sure that you are getting your work done 

6 Are you a whinier always laying blames on others sidetracking issues and raising minor issue /delays to big issues to cover your own faults or are you above that and just go about completing a task in hand amidst all uncomfortable noise around you ! 

If you are all above that the You are the Rowan of any organization that learns to value your kind of work…. In words of Hubbard ‘’By the Eternal! there is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing- “Carry a message to Garcia!” General Garcia is dead now, but there are other Garcias. No man, who has endeavored to carry out an enterprise where many hands were needed, but has been well nigh appalled at times by the imbecility of the average man- the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it. Slip-shod assistance, foolish inattention, dowdy indifference, & half-hearted work seem the rule; and no man succeeds, unless by hook or crook, or threat, he forces or bribes other men to assist him; or mayhap, God in His goodness performs a miracle, & sends him an Angel of Light for an assistant. 

You, reader, put this matter to a test: You are sitting now in your office- six clerks are within call. God, give us people like Rowan! People who don't need somebody to pet them every time something goes wrong. People who don't need someone to baby them every time things don't go the way they thought it shout I feel as Hubbard felt when he penned these words My heart goes out to the man who does his work when the boss is away as well as when he is at home. And the man, who, when given a letter for Garcia, quietly takes the missive, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer, or of doing anything else but deliver it, never gets laid off, nor has to go on a strike for higher wages. Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals. Anything such a man asks shall be granted. His kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town, and village; in every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such. He is needed and needed badly, the man who can carry a message to Garcia. 

We have become experts with excuses - of why we can't do what we are supposed to do. Why can't we just take a job and do it with excellence? People tell me all kinds of excuses of why they can't do what they’re supposed to do. Be a Rowan. Do it! Just make a decision. Make a choice. Something may slow me down. I may get bogged down in my tracks. 

There may be times I find myself drowning in quicksand, times I have to hang on to make it through, times when I feel so downtrodden, I don't know if I can put one foot in front of the other, but I will not quit. I will not give up. Quitting is not even an option. I will accomplish the task that is set before me. I will pursue excellence in every area of my life. Even though I may fall down, I will get back up. I will dust myself off, and keep pressing on until I win. 

 Make a decision. Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. If you will just put in the effort, you can do it. Are you willing to make the decision to get the job done with excellence? Are you prepared to carry the message to Garcia? My answer to them is, "Change." Really, it’s just a decision away. Make a decision to change 

There is also a responsibility as leader that we nurture Rowans: One of the biggest mistakes you can make is taking care of a subordinate’s problem. If you have attracted a team that is dependent on you for detailed directions, then you are the problem. Once your organization is full of like-minded people who can get the job done, there is no limit to what you can achieve . . . except maybe hand delivering messages to the president to Cuba. 

After 20 years I know I can deliver the message to Garcia , You may think that's arrogance on my part, but it's not. It's confidence. I know that if my senior handed me a letter and said, "Get this to Garcia." I could get it there. and the next time I see them I am told, "I'm finished with that. What do you want me to do next, but that inspirational story that inspired me years back and how it is useful in today corporate world I wish to share i want all to be Rowans for the origination .