Chapter 3, Page 1

Chapter 3

The “How” of Thinking

General George Patton’s Advice

General George Patton said: “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

That depends on the people and the task. I am certain that General Patton always made sure before taking his troops into battle that they had been taught how to aim and fire their weapons, how to disassemble and clean them, and how to operate and maintain their tanks and other vehicles. He wanted, as a minimum, for his men to have been through basic training in military “hows.”

Patton did not take raw recruits straight from the streets, schools, factories, and farms, put them on the battlefield, and then order them to defeat the enemy. He did not win his great victories simply by telling his soldiers what to do and leaving it up to their ingenuity to figure out how to do it.

We often follow Patton’s advice. We tell people to “Think about it,” or “Think it over,” and we ask, “Why didn’t you think?” But we cannot assume that, left to their own ingenuity, people will know how to think. They may not. But they can learn. And, after you have read this book, you will know how to thin