The Second Mountain

Lessons Learned From The Iron Horse

For the first 35 years of Lou Gehrig’s life, he defined leadership, work ethic, and greatness. Known as the “Iron Horse of Baseball”, the six time World Series champion played in 2130 consecutive games. Nothing, it seemed, could stop this titan of a man.

Until it did.

At age 36, Gehrig was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. There remains no cure and in time, ALS will affect all muscles, including those that control speaking, eating, and breathing.

Gehrig went from one of the most accomplished athletes in a century to a death sentence.

But that isn’t the story.

In a sense, each of us will face a similar path in life. It may not be as horrific as Gehrig’s but it will be a path every leader will face. This is how Lou Gehrig approached the path.

Whether you are a baseball fan or not, you are familiar with the “Luckiest Man” speech, given on July 4, 1939, just two weeks after his diagnosis.

The Yankees proclaimed Tuesday, July 4, 1939 "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium. Between games of the Independence Day doubleheader against the Washington Senators, the ceremony was held but what isn’t widely known is that one of the most famous speeches in history was not planned.

Lou Gehrig did not intend to speak but after the crowd chanted his name, Gehrig stepped to the microphone.

The Second Mountain

Lou Gehrig’s influence did not stop that day and that is true for you. Leadership does not have book ends. It doesn’t end the day you retire, when your kids move out or when you get the worse news of your life. In a sense, the second mountain of life is where leadership can be the most effective and is the most important.

Gehrig would die in two years and he knew that long before that, he would face horrific challenges. He could have spent his remaining months doing anything he wanted. He was offered $30,000 just to lend his name to a restaurant and more money for other sponsorships.

He turned all of it down and took a job as the head of the New York City parole board making $5700 a year. The job was a grind, placing Gehrig in dirty prisons and small offices. As his health rapidly declined, Gehrig went to the office each day and did the job, even to the point where he could no longer sign his name to the piles off paperwork that met him each day.

Gehrig conquered the “Second Mountain” of leadership.

What About You

Some of you have never considered this. Some of you have taken a different path and some of you, like Gehrig, are winning this battle.

I worked for Chief Ron Palmer for many years and as a young police officer, I remembered him as one of the toughest leaders I had ever seen but a few years after he retired, I walked in the chiefs office and there he was sitting in a chair. I greeted him and asked him if he needed anything.

“I’m just waiting to talk to the chief…It’s no hurry,” he told me.

That moment was my first thought of the second mountain of leadership. Chief Palmer went from one of the most respected police leaders in the country to sitting quietly in a chair, hoping the chief would give him a few minutes to speak to him as a salesperson for a law enforcement product.

That thought couldn’t be more wrong.

Like Gehrig’s approach 85 years ago, leadership has nothing to do with status, importance, or rank. It has everything to do with your attitude, your desire, and your influence.

What I know now, is that Palmer displayed more leadership sitting in that chair than I had seen in his decade of accomplishments on the department. Sure, his first mountain was full of accomplishment, recognition, and status but like Gehrig, what happens when you get up every day to lead without the ego driven outcomes?

Will you still lead when no one seems to notice?

Will you still lead when your name isn’t in the headlines?

You will and you must and you can.

Leadership has no expiration so lead on and stay courageous.

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Dr. Travis Yates retired as a commander with a large municipal police department after 30 years of service. He is the author of “The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos & Lies.” His risk management and leadership seminars have been taught to thousands of professionals across the world. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy with a Doctorate Degree in Strategic Leadership and the CEO of the Courageous Police Leadership Alliance.