Lessons of Leadership (Audio)

Bernard William Rogers (July 16, 1921 ’Ŭ October 27, 2008) served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army and later as NATO’Ŵs Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. He attended the U.S. Military Academy, where he was First Captain of the Corps of Cadets. After World War II, he was an aide to General Mark Clark, the commander of U.S. forces in Austria. In 1943, he returned to West Point as an instructor of economics, government and history. In 1947, Rogers received a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University. He went on to become a decorated infantry commander in the Korean War and held intelligence positions before becoming executive officer to Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1962. As assistant commander of the First Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1966 and 1967, Rogers was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross ’Ŭ the Army's highest award for valor after the Medal of Honor ’Ŭ for leading a successful counterattack against a Vietcong raid on a South Vietnamese special forces camp. He rallied troops on the ground and personally scouted enemy positions from a low-flying helicopter under heavy fire. He returned to West Point as Commandant of the Corps of Cadets from 1967 to 1969, and then took command of the Fifth Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colorado. At a time of failing morale, he made sweeping changes in the daily routine of soldiers. Rogers established councils for junior officers, enlisted men, and racial minorities to express their concerns and set up a coffeehouse complete with folk singers. Old-line officers were aghast but enlistments soared, and Rogers became known as one of the brightest thinkers in the Army. He continued his reforms as Army chief of staff from 1976 to 1979, improving training programs and developing plans for a modern quick-strike force. He also took steps to make the Army friendlier toward women and minorities. Despite his charmed career, General Rogers was eager to leave the bureaucratic labyrinth of the Pentagon behind when he assumed his post as NATO’Ŵs Supreme Allied Commander in 1979, based in Belgium. However, in 1987, when the Reagan administration signed a treaty with the Soviet Union requiring each side to withdraw intermediate-range missiles from Europe, General Rogers called the agreement "foolish." He said the Warsaw Pact's superiority in foot soldiers and conventional weapons left NATO forces at risk of being quickly overrun. His stance drew a pointed rebuke from Secretary of State George Shultz, who called the general's comments "way out of line." General Rogers soon retired. General Rogers, who spent 44 years in uniform, had an unusual combination of talents as a combat commander, intellectual, and statesman. In 1985, General Bernard Rogers participated in the Achievement Summit in Denver, Colorado and addressed the student delegates on his personal lessons of leadership.

The life of Roy H. Park (1910-1993) is a classic American success story story. A poor farm boy from North Carolina, he founded two great companies in completely different fields and became one of the wealthiest men in America. A precocious writer and cub reporter for his hometown paper, he worked his way through North Carolina State working for the Associated Press, and gradated to a job as publicist for the North Carolina Cotton Growers Cooperative Association. His ingenuity promoting his home state's products led ot a job with the Grange League Federation, a national farmer's association based in Ithaca, New York. When the Federation needed a marketing outlet for excess food products he enlisted the well-known food critic Duncan Hines to endorse a line of packaged foods. Hines-Park Foods, and its signature product, Duncan Hines Cake Mix was a national success. Within five years, Park sold the company to Procter and Gamble, joining the larger firm as a senior executive. Park invested his profits from the sale by buying up radio and television stations, first in his home state, than in his adopted one, then across the South and West. In 1962, he left Procter and Gamble to concentrate on his new company. When he addressed the Academy of Achievement at its 1984 Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his company was the first to own as many radio and television stations as the law allowed. At the time of his death, Park Communications owned 21 radio stations, seven television stations and 144 publications in 24 states. In this podcast, he shares his advice for achieving success. He encourages the Academy's student delegates to change direction in life if circumstances call for it, and emphasizes the overriding value of honesty in all business ventures.

No person did more to advance the surgical treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels than Dr. Michael DeBakey (1908 - 2008). As early as 1932, DeBakey developed components which became part of the first heart-lung machines. In 1936, he was one of the first to identify a connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. In the 1950s, DeBakey devised plastic tubing for repairing blood vessels, a treatment he applied to prevent recurring strokes, and kidney failure, and to restore circulation to limbs which might otherwise have been amputated. In 1963, DeBakey made history by installing an artificial pump to assist a patient's damaged heart. As Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor University in Houston, Texas, he played a major role in the evolution of heart transplantation, artificial heart implantation and coronary bypass surgery. Countless men and women owe their lives to Dr. DeBakey's work, and he was sometimes called upon to perform in the most conspicuous situations. When the life of Russian President Boris Yeltsin hung in the balance, Dr. DeBakey, already in his 80s, traveled to Russia to participate in the multiple bypass operation that saved the ailing leader's life. In this audio podcast, recorded during the Academy of Achievement's 1984 Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dr. DeBakey discusses the concept of excellence in education, and encourages the Academy's student delegates to practice the ideals of liberty and brotherhood in their everyday lives.

Chuck Yeager made history in 1947 as the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. But even before he broke the sound barrier, Yeager's exploits had made him a legend among his fellow flyers. Shot down over occupied France during World War II, the wounded flyer successfully evaded capture and crossed the Pyrenees into neutral Spain, before returning to his squadron in England. Returning to the skies, he shot down five German planes in a single day, an extraordinary achievement in aerial warfare. After the war, Yeager broke speed records again and again, testing new planes for the Air Force. In 1947 he broke the sound barrier in the rocket-powered X-1 research plane. He served in both Korea and Vietnam, and helped train the first generation of U.S. astronauts. Along the way, he survived an incredible series of harrowing accidents and rose to the rank of General in the U.S. Air Force. The bestselling book and hit movie The Right Stuff, and his own best-selling autobiography, Yeager, brought him international fame, but his courage and resourcefulness had already assured his place in the history of aviation. In this address to the Academy of Achievement, recorded at the Academy's 1983 gathering in Coronado, California, General Yeager recalls how he joined the Army Air Force straight out of high school in West Virginia. He recalls his experiences as a test pilot, discusses continuing advances in aviation technology, and shares with the Academy's student delegates the sustaining life lessons he learned in air combat.

Mother Antonia, or Madre Antonia as she is known in Spanish, is an American-born Roman Catholic nun and activist, who resides in a Mexican maximum security prison. Born as Mary Clarke in 1926, she has lived for the past three decades in a 10’Ŵ x 10’Ŵ concrete cell at La Mesa penitentiary in Tijuana, Mexico, one of Mexico’Ŵs most notorious prisons, caring for the inmates. In the 1970s, she chose to devote her life to the Church after she had a nightmare, in 1969, that she was a prisoner at Calvary and about to be executed when Jesus appeared to her and offered to take her place. She refused his offer, touched him on the cheek and told him she would never leave him, no matter what happens to her. She had been married twice and had seven children, living in affluent Beverly Hills, but both her marriages ended in divorce. As an older, divorced woman, Clarke was banned by church rules from joining any religious order, so she went about her work on her own. She sold her home and all her possessions, and founded an order for those in her situation in life: the Servants of the Eleventh Hour. Sister Antonia provides not only spiritual guidance to the guards and inmates, but she also helps with basic material comforts such as blankets, toiletries and medicines. The church has since blessed her mission and in 2009, she received the Peace Abby Courage of Conscience Award. She is profiled in the book ’źThe Prison Angel’Ź written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan. Sister Antonia condemns crime, but loves the sinners and the victims. Her love and guidance have made a difference at the prison and, as a result, many who were imprisoned there have sought a better life. Mother Antonia Brenner participated in the 1983 Achievement Summit at Coronado, California, nearby the prison in Tijuana, Mexico, and spoke to the Academy student delegates about her inspiring ministry of caring for, and living with, the poorest prisoners in one of Mexico’Ŵs most dangerous and squalid jails.

The legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys football team, Tom Landry (1924-2000) led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories. A native Texan, he was an All-Regional fullback in high school. During World War II, he flew 30 B-17 missions over Germany. After the war, he returned to Texas, and co-captained the University of Texas football team, earning All-Southwest Conference honors. He was an All-Pro with the New York Giants before becoming the team's defensive coach. He became the first head coach of the newly formed Dallas Cowboys in 1960, surviving one disastrous winless season before leading the team through 12 consecutive winning seasons. Over 29 seasons with the Cowboys, he earned the awe of his peers for his intricately calibrated strategy on the gridiron, revolutionizing the game in the years when football ascended to its peak of national popularity. Tom Landry was at the height of his success when he spoke to the Academy of Achievement, discussing his early career and the role of religious faith in his life.

The legendary quarterback Roger Staubach was the star of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s, famed for his daring fourth quarter plays. A high school standout in basketball, baseball and football, he attended the United States Naval Academy, where he won the 1963 Heisman Trophy as the nation's outstanding collegiate football player of the year. He served in the U.S. Navy for four years, serving one tour in Vietnam, before joining the Dallas Cowboys in 1969. In Dallas, he was regarded as an inspirational leader. Sportswriters praised his agile, zig-zag scrambling on the field, and he repeatedly brought his team to victory with startling come-from behind plays in the fourth quarter. The most famous of these came in the 1975 playoff with the Minnesota Vikings, when he threw a 50-yard pass to score the winning touchdown in the closing seconds of the game. Staubach told reporters he had said a Hail Mary after throwing the ball; since then, Americans have used the phrase "Hail Mary pass," to refer to any risky last minute ploy to reverse a seemingly inevitable outcome. Staubach led his team to nine winning seasons, and was the starting quarterback in four Super Bowl games, winning the championship in Super Bowls VI and XII. When he retired from football in 1980, he was the highest-rated passer of all time. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Following his football career, he concentrated on a highly successful commercial real estate venture, the Staubach Company. In this audio podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1981 Summit in Dallas, Texas, Roger Staubach reflects on his career with the Cowboys. He recalls Coach Tom Landry's system of meticulous planning and setting specific goals. Staubach extols the importance of setting goals in sports, life and business. He points out that success in any field requires hours of unspectacular preparation and urges the Academy's student delegates to focus on their own goals and learn something new every day.