My son, a Major in the United States Army, was so impressed with the book, A Message to Garcia that when he was a Captain he gave a copy of the book to all his lieutenants to read. When presenting them the book, he would tell them, “There are some people who deliver the goods; they are the people who get it done! That’s what the Army and I expect of you.”
The inspiring story of A Message to Garcia is the story about Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan, who, when the Spanish-American War broke out, was a young lieutenant in the United States Army. Rowan was chosen to deliver a message from President McKinley to General Calixto Garcia the leader of the revolutionary forces. Author Elbert Hubbard set the stage for the drama that followed by writing in his 1899 essay, “Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastnesses of Cuba — no one know where. No mail or telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his co-operation, and quickly.”
Lieutenant Rowan held the lowest commission rank in the Army but, by having his name suggested to the President, Lieutenant Rowan received the ultimate commendation “If anybody can find Garcia, it is Rowan.”
After receiving his instructions to carry the message to Garcia, Lieutenant Rowan shook his commander’s hand and without asking one question sailed to Cuba with no other help and no other directions than to deliver the President’s message.
With only the assistance of native guides provided by Cuban patriots, Rowan made his way into the mountains of the interior and delivered his message to Garcia. The lieutenant faced many obstacles, but as the author of this essay, Elbert Hubbard writes, “It was the sheer courage and indomitable spirit of the young lieutenant that were at the heart of the accomplishment of his mission.”
Elbert Hubbard penned A Message to Garcia over 100 years ago. Over 40-million copies have been sold and it has been translated into 37 languages making it one of the highest selling books in history. Maybe the message of this “old” essay is really a new message for change. How long has it been since your manger gave you an assignment and you took the message to Garcia? Can you remember giving a task to one of your employees and without questioning you about, what, when, where, why or how, they took the message to Garcia? When did you last volunteer to take a message to Garcia?
To paraphrase a popular song, “What the world needs now is more people taking the message to Garcia.” Governments, business, the military, religious institution, organizations (profit and non-profit), sporting teams, hospitals, schools and universities, everywhere the search is underway for Lieutenant Rowans.
I know many organizations classify their employees using the ABC method. If you are a Rowan, you are easily an “A”. In tough times, the “A” players— the message carriers — are highly prized.
HOG THOUGHT: Are you a Rowan? When asked to accomplish a task, do you deliver? Do you do more than is expected? Are you one of the rare individuals that can take a message to Garcia? Or, are you a non-Rowan with a victim mentality asking a lot of questions and offering a litany of excuses?
HOG QUOTE: “Civilization is one long, anxious search for just such individuals (Rowans). Anything such a man asks shall be granted. 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.” — Elbert Hubbard, A Message to Garcia
HOG ACTION: Remember, change is a decision and excellence is not an option. When you choose to be a Hog, you decide to welcome change and accept excellence as your standard for delivering, “The Message to Garcia.”
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