Moving mountains: lessons in leadership and logistics from the Gulf War / by General William G. Pagonis

Business Week and others have called the Gulf War the largest military logistics operation in history. In record-breaking time the United States and its allies deployed troops and supplies halfway around the world against enormous constraints. From Desert Shield to Desert Storm to Desert Farewell, the numbers were staggering: 122 million meals served, 1.3 billion gallons of fuel pumped, 52 million miles driven, 12,575 aircraft processed, 32,000 tons of mail delivered. General Norman Schwarzkopf hailed it as "an absolutely gigantic accomplishment." In Moving Mountains, the man responsible for this remarkable undertaking, Lt. General William "Gus" Pagonis, provides a riveting personal account of the behind-the-scenes activity that led to our success in the Gulf. From the first fateful telephone call, to the mobilization of 550,000 troops and the shipment of 7,000,000 tons of supplies, to the enormously complex challenge of bringing home half a million soldiers and their equipment, Pagonis recounts the daunting challenges that he and his colleagues faced. He gives us an inside look at the decision-making process at the top levels of command, including the details of a meeting with General Schwarzkopf and other commanders where he was asked to guarantee delivery of the flawless logistical support that could make or break the entire war effort. Moving Mountains is a real-world lesson in the critical role that effective management and strong leadership play in the success of any large undertaking. Pagonis emerges from these pages as a brilliant and innovative manager who describes his management style as "centralized command/decentralized execution." His managerial techniques include such useful tools as daily twenty-minute stand-up meetings, the use of 3 x 5 cards to ensure brevity of information flow throughout the chain of command, and an insistence on flexibility in an organization known for its rigid hierarchy. Using historical examples--from Alexander the Great to Rommel to the Israeli Army--and drawing on current business practice, he makes a strong case for better leadership and better logistics, in both the military and the private sector. In the Gulf War, leadership and logistics came together and extraordinary goals were achieved. Pagonis demonstrates firsthand what senior managers of world-class companies now recognize: good logistics brings competitive advantage. Moreover, Pagonis's accomplishments as a leader--his ability to improvise when necessary, use his resources wisely, run meetings in novel and goal-oriented ways, keep stress to a minimum, emphasize training, and make new recruits into real team members--provide an inspirational model for today's business executives trying to cope with an increasingly global and complex environment. -- Inside jacket flaps