I love reading biographies and autobiographies, because I firmly believe there is much to be learned from the mistakes other people have made! And there is no shortage of business books drawing on the lives of those who have gone before. But we also need to be cautious in translating what lessons we think we can glean from these experiences, in order to avoid making new mistakes of our own.
A great little article I read recently (read it here) gives three tips on how to understand the past , which is “likely to be partial, faulty, and distorted.” It won’t take you long to read the article, but for those that are really time poor, here is a very quick summary:
1. Recognize the limitations of history as a guide to action. That is, the world was a difference place then – so be careful of the context.
2. Check sources and double-check assertations – because history is filtered through our perceptions and the perceptions of others.
3. Look for the differences in past and current situations, as well as their similarities.
The article quotes from Henry Kissinger to conclude:
“History is not, or course, a cookbook offering pretested recipes. It teaches by analogy, not by maxims. It can illuminate the consequences of actions in comparable situations, yet each generation must discover for itself what situations are in fact comparable.”
As the article then notes, the same goes for CEOs.