In this episode, I consider what lessons might be learned from the presidency of Zachary Taylor, the 12th president. Taylor only served 18 months, from 1849-1850. He died in office from overeating and drinking on the July 4th celebration of 1850.
Taylor had a long career in the US Army before his election, during which time he successfully operated cotton plantations in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi. He was elected a Whig despite See more +
In this episode, I consider what lessons might be learned from the presidency of Zachary Taylor, the 12th president. Taylor only served 18 months, from 1849-1850. He died in office from overeating and drinking on the July 4th celebration of 1850.
Taylor had a long career in the US Army before his election, during which time he successfully operated cotton plantations in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi. He was elected a Whig despite refusing to commit to the party platform. He was the first President not to hold elective office. While Taylor is usually ranked in the bottom percentile of presidents, he is most generally described as more a forgettable president than a failed one. However, his biographer, John S. Eisenhower, argued he was the one man who could have hammered out a compromise on slavery that would have averted the civil war contemporaries. Finally, in the political realm, both Democrats and Whigs alike generally viewed his premature death as a national calamity.
What are some of the leadership lessons from the Presidency of Zachary Taylor?
1. Take a stand-One on the leadership lessons from inaction by Taylor.
2. You must be engaged-As a business leader, you must be engaged.
3. Succession Planning-in the case of Taylor, we have that failure from a President who died in office some 18 months into his presidency.
4. Conflicts of Interest-As, a leader must be attuned to and stop conflicts of interest by senior management.
A word on Taylor’s death. It seems that during the 1850 4th of July celebrations, Taylor consumed a large number of cherries, ice cream, and milk. He came down with a severe stomach ache, which turned into cholera morbus. There is still considerable debate over whether the doctors killed him with their treatment or died from an intestinal ailment. Oddly enough, many of his cabinet members came down with very similar symptoms, which seems most likely due to the sanitation in Washington, DC, at the time.
#USPresident #ZacharyTaylor #LeadershipLessons #CPN #Podcast See less -
