A Message to Garcia summary

Right now, you might be asking yourself, “Who is Garcia and what does he have to do with me?” To answer that, we have to look back to a notable incident that occurred during the Spanish-American War.

When the war broke out in 1898, American President William McKinley wanted to recruit Cuban rebels to fight for the American cause. Spain still ruled Cuba at the time, so Cuban insurgents would have been a valuable military asset to the United States.

President McKinley asked military leaders to deliver a message to one rebel leader in particular: Calixto Garcia. Getting a message to him would be no easy feat, however. It would be dangerous to send an American soldier through Cuba in the midst of the war, and military leaders didn’t even know exactly where Garcia was. They had to find someone up to the task.

It was Colonel Arthur L. Wagner who found the right person: Lieutenant Andrew Rowan. Rowan successfully penetrated enemy territory and delivered the oil-skin pouch that contained the message for Garcia, all without once stopping to question the nature of the mission.

Lieutenant Rowan truly exemplifies the idea worker – it’s a shame statues of him don’t adorn university campuses! After all, swift responses and dedication to one’s assignments are often more important than learning from books, but we still tend to neglect the lessons of Rowan’s story.

As an employee, you should strive to maintain the same levels of initiative and devotion that Rowan displayed in delivering the message to Garcia. If you don’t, you’ll suffer the consequences.