On Being Strategically Outrageous
This past summer I was standing on Little Round Top at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with Phillip, a great friend from high school I hadn't seen in over 30 years. I knew something of the history of the Battle of Gettysburg. I knew it was the turning point of the Civil War but I didn't know I was standing at the turning point of the battle.Colonel Chamberlain from Maine had been charged with defending this key piece of real estate on the left flank of the Union Army. If the Confederates captured Little Round Top, they could bombard the entire Union line with artillery which would have forced the Union to retreat.
On July 2, 1863 the South's General Longstreet unleashed a furious series of attacks on this strategic position. After several charges up Little Round Top the South had been unable to break the Union defense. But Chamberlain had a huge problem. His forces were out of ammunition. They had no chance of repelling another Rebel attack. Chamberlain's aides and commanders were all unanimous in their assessment. They must retreat and relinquish Little Round Top to Longstreet.
But Chamberlain had another view. He cried out "fixed bayonets" and ordered the entire regiment to charge down the hill sans ammunition. He won the day which eventually won the battle and ultimately the war.
Chamberlain's decision may seem a bit irrational, but it was actually a brilliant example of the strategically outrageous. Thinking through ALL of his options, he landed on the one that might actually turn the battle. To stand or to retreat gave zero hope for success. His charge seemed outrageous (and it was) but it was also his best strategic option. That it worked was in part due to it being so unexpected.
People do outrageous things all the time. But the leaders who can merge the strategic with the outrageous can make those breakthrough decisions that turn the tide.