By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to keep you more aware of your surroundings.

Ten years before he would become Prime Minister of Great Britain; ten years before he would lead England to her “finest hour,” ten years before he would virtually preserve our democratic way of life in World War II, Winston Churchill should have been killed.

In a car accident. His fault. By default.

Churchill committed the most egregious sin of all leaders, a sin he never forgot, the sin of reacting mindlessly to something he always knew instead of responding to something brand new. As Henry David Thoreau observed “We hear and apprehend only what we already half know.”

Indeed, think of yourself walking in Churchill’s shoes the next time you take on a new project in a new venue. Become more aware of your new surroundings. Adapt your behavior accordingly as the cliche goes.

“When in Rome do as the Romans do.”

Churchill’s body was in New York, but his mindset was still in London. And that misplaced mindset could have well changed history and cost Sir Winston his life. Here’s how it happened.

Churchill, visiting New York City on December 13, 1931, got out of a cab on Park Avenue and crossed the street between 76th and 77th Avenues. He was hit by a car.

“I should have been broken like an egg-shell,” Churchill grimaced while spending seven days in a hospital. But miraculously he was not badly injured. He was more embarrassed than hurt.

Churchill stepped into the street and looked Continue reading →