While I wish I were reviewing the actual book, I’m going to instead focus on the mini-series. But I will duly note that I’ve spent the last two months (and much of the past five or six years) giving myself dope-slaps for not reading David McCollough’s masterpiece, John Adams. But too late now. The mini-series became an event in my home that kept us riveted to the TV much the same way Roots did 30 years ago.
I’ve also seen Adams’ letters, which were on exhibit at the Boston Public Library last year, and driven by his home not far from my house (to which I can expect to chaperone many a school field trip over the next few years). So I’m not sure I’m going to feel as compelled to go back now and read it–but I hope some of you do.
Why review John Adams in a column about entrepreneurial books? Because the guy helped launch a whole new country under a whole new style of government. One doesn’t get much more entrepreneurial than that. The storyline encompasses so much (50 years of American history). And yes, there were inaccuracies that HBO had to create to compress the story into seven hours of viewing. For a list, visit Wikipedia and http://loadedquestions.blogspot.com/2008/04/john-adams-book-vs-miniseries.html. But I have limited space, so I will just set down some stream of consciousness thoughts that the miniseries sparked for me about leadership and entrepreneurs and the strong tie between the two.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I think the U.S. has gone a bit off track thinking that leaders need to fit into a certain pre-existing mold. The Founding Fathers were not leaders selected because they fit into an existing schematic. They were elected because the people trusted them to come up with a whole new plan. Hence, they were the ultimate entrepreneurs.
This reminds me of something I once read about law schools in the Boston area. Certain ones prepare you for taking the bar exam (and as a result have higher pass rates) and others focus on preparing lawyers to create legal systems from scratch. While there is a need for both, I’d rather have graduates of the latter serve as leaders than the former (but, if faced with a particular legal situation, I might prefer the former to the latter!).
The Founding Fathers were not people who your average Jane or Joe Schmoe would want to drink a draught of ale with on a Saturday night. These were highly educated intellectuals who were, for the most part, men of wealth. While I might have wanted to be a fly on the wall at a dinner with Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, I’m guessing it wouldn’t be most people’s idea of a rockin’ Saturday night. I find it absolutely disturbing that candidates in our current election are being attacked for having these traits.
Related to this point, I recently discussed whether to friend or not friend your boss on Facebook. I think there is a line here that shouldn’t necessarily be crossed between leaders and the people that they lead. A leader, whether he or she is a CEO, manager or Founding Father of the United States, needs to be above the people in order to have respect. It doesn’t mean that leaders should be out of touch, but they need to be above the fray on several levels to be effective. Am I the only one who thinks that the U.S. has been taking this “man of the people” thing a bit too far?
Didn’t every entrepreneur feel JA’s pain when he was trying to get credit from the Dutch?
Entrepreneurs cannot work in isolation. They work best when surrounded by other entrepreneurial thinkers. While JA had falling outs with Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ben Franklin and others, they all needed the contrasting opinions and theories to create the most appropriate result.
One of the contrasts I loved best was when, as he watched the first hot air balloon launch in Paris, JA says something along the lines of “it will never fly,” to which TJ replies, “Yes, but what if it does?” Maybe this statement, not to mention the handsome actor who plays him in the mini-series, was the reason for my new-found crush on TJ. Gotta love a brilliant optimist! Although not sure I can reconcile the whole slave thing–something which also tempered Abigail Adams’ fondness for him. But it just goes to show that even the most brilliant individuals have their blind spots, and that is why they need other brilliant individuals to broaden their focus.
And in a total non sequitur: The things HBO will do to spice up a historical drama. I have to admit, the scene where Abigail and JA reunite in France was a bit jarring. First, because maybe, like with your parents, you just don’t want to think about a Founding Father’s sex life. But second, I found myself wondering whether I was going to be faced next month on Showtime with “The John Adams Sex Tapes.” Then I remembered that Ben Franklin had invented a lot of things in his day, but the hidden video camera wasn’t one of them.
Top Shelf Bottom Line. I really wished now that I had read the book first. But if, like me, you can’t see yourself lugging that tome along with you on your next vacation, then at least check out the HBO mini-series.
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under Nonfiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Leave a Reply
