By – Eugene Peterson – Construction Defect Expert Witness, Xactimate™ Certified Trainer
Over the years, I have been fascinated by the ability of Abraham Lincoln to make remarkable decisions. It is my belief that the decisions he made resulted in his successful leadership during the Civil War, as he saved the Nation and abolished slavery. In analyzing Lincoln’s amazing decision-making ability it appears that he surrounded himself with great people who were not afraid to place the best information on the table for Lincoln to consider. And when he had the best available information, he was able to make the best decision.
This Lincoln story begins in May of 1860 when the Republican Party met to select their candidate. Besides Lincoln, there were four other contenders for the party’s presidential nomination. And out of these four other men, three of them were considered more eminently qualified to serve as President. After the first round of balloting, William Seward had a commanding lead of delegate votes. After the second round of votes, Seward again commanded a lead, yet not enough to cinch the nomination. Lincoln was gaining ground. At the end of the third ballot, momentum changed in favor of Lincoln, as he was short only 1 ½ votes to secure the nomination. It was at this point when one of the representatives of the delegation from Ohio rose to his feet and announced that 4 Ohio delegates wished to change their votes to Lincoln. Four Ohio votes secured Lincoln the nomination and soon he would be elected as the 16th President of the United States.
Now here is where the story gets interesting. Lincoln up to this point was a political failure. And after his nomination he recognized that the men that he had just run against were better qualified to serve as President. He immediately went to each of his opponents and requested that they serve as members of his cabinet. Three of them immediately accepted Lincoln’s invitation to serve. William Seward was appointed as Secretary of State; Simon Cameron became the Secretary of War; and Edwin Bates became the Attorney General. Lincoln again approached Salmon Chase, who had initially turned him down and convinced him to serve as Secretary of the Treasury. With the help of these four men, a couple of other men from the Republican Party were appointed as cabinet members. For this 1860 election the Democrats had nominated Stephan Douglas to serve as their Presidential nominee. After the election Lincoln recognized that in order to make the best decisions he needed to have a balance of opinions from his advisors. So he approached Douglas and asked him to become one of his cabinet members and advisors. Douglas refused and could not be persuaded to do so. Then, Lincoln requested that Douglas help him find 6 people from the Democratic Party to serve as cabinet members. This request Douglas willingly agreed to do. This balanced Lincoln’s cabinet. When Lincoln’s cabinet met, as you might imagine, the discussions were spirited and the best available facts, ideas and opinions were placed upon the table for Lincoln’s consideration. And with the best facts, Lincoln was able to make the exceptional decisions and choices for which he was noted.
The lesson that the expert witness team at Advise and Consult, Inc. learned from this Lincoln story is now one of our guiding values, as we endeavor to give our clients the best information and facts available, so that they can make the best possible decisions.