The Leadership Moment

The Leadership Moment Plot Summary

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how you would react when everything is on the line? When lives hang in the balance, when millions of dollars are at stake, or when history itself might pivot on your decision? These moments come to all of us, though rarely with such dramatic stakes. They arrive unexpectedly – a crisis at work, a team in disarray, an ethical dilemma with no clear answer. In these crucible moments, we discover who we truly are as leaders. This collection of remarkable true stories shows what happens when ordinary people face extraordinary challenges. Through nine riveting accounts of leadership under pressure, we witness how decisive action, moral courage, and strategic thinking can transform potential disaster into triumph. These narratives offer more than just inspiration – they provide a practical framework for developing our own leadership capabilities. You'll learn how to prepare for high-stakes decisions before they arrive, how to maintain clarity when everyone around you is losing focus, and perhaps most importantly, how to align your actions with your deepest values when it matters most. By examining these defining moments, we can better anticipate and navigate our own.

Chapter 1: Vagelos's Ethical Imperative: When Profit Meets Humanity

In 1978, a scientist at Merck & Company made a remarkable discovery. William Campbell realized that a drug being developed for livestock might help combat river blindness, a devastating disease affecting millions of impoverished people across Africa. The parasitic illness, spread by blackflies, caused unbearable itching and eventually, complete blindness. Campbell brought his finding to Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, Merck's research director, suggesting they develop a human version. Vagelos faced an immediate dilemma. Developing such a medication would cost millions of dollars and years of research. Yet the potential recipients – mostly subsistence farmers in remote African villages – could never afford to pay for it. From a purely business perspective, the project made no sense. "The drug was needed only by people who couldn't afford it," Vagelos would later explain. Nevertheless, he authorized the development program. By 1987, the drug (named Mectizan) had proven remarkably effective, requiring just one or two small pills annually to prevent the disease. But when Vagelos, by then Merck's CEO, approached various government agencies and international organizations seeking funding for distribution, he encountered only closed doors. He faced another critical decision: abandon the drug that could prevent millions from going blind, or give it away for free – forever – at shareholder expense. "Sometimes in your life," Vagelos later recalled, "you've got to take a leadership position and make a decision." He announced that Merck would donate Mectizan to anyone who needed it, for as long as needed. The company also established an expert committee to manage distribution and committed to solving logistical challenges of delivering medicine to remote villages. By 1992, Mectizan had reached 5 million people; by 1996, 19 million. The river blindness initiative reveals a profound leadership principle: when core values and business interests appear to conflict, leaders must sometimes transcend narrow financial calculations. "Knowing where you want to go and what your values are can be essential," Vagelos demonstrated. "Building that understanding into an organization's culture can help all employees be clear-minded and fast-acting as well." This case reminds us that leadership often demands more than logical analysis – it requires moral courage. The most meaningful decisions we make are rarely just about numbers; they're about who we are and what we stand for. When Vagelos visited Chad in 1994 and personally distributed Mectizan tablets, he noticed a blind mother nursing her infant nearby. He took comfort knowing her child would be spared the same fate – a legacy far more valuable than any quarterly profit report.

Chapter 2: Kranz's Apollo 13 Leadership: Failure Is Not an Option

"Houston, we've had a problem." These words from astronaut Jim Lovell aboard Apollo 13 on April 13, 1970, initiated one of the most dramatic rescue missions in history. An oxygen tank had exploded, crippling the spacecraft's power and life support systems. Three astronauts were now hurtling through space, 200,000 miles from Earth, in a severely damaged vessel with dwindling resources. Eugene Kranz, the flight director at Mission Control, faced an impossible situation. His team had to somehow guide the astronauts safely back to Earth despite catastrophic system failures, extreme power limitations, and rapidly diminishing oxygen supplies. The situation was dire - some engineers calculated the crew would run out of oxygen and electricity long before they could return. As pressures mounted and emotions ran high, Kranz gathered his team and declared: "Failure is not an option. We will never surrender. This crew is coming home." Kranz immediately reorganized his resources, creating a dedicated "Tiger Team" pulled from regular console duties to solve the life-threatening challenges. He put the brilliance of collective problem-solving to work, famously asking: "What do we think we've got in the spacecraft that's good?" Rather than focusing on what was lost, he directed attention to available resources. When engineering teams claimed certain tasks were impossible within the severe power constraints, Kranz pushed back: "I want you figuring our minimum power needed to sustain life." Throughout the four-day crisis, Kranz maintained exceptional composure while making dozens of critical decisions. When three senior officials debated contradictory courses of action - whether to prioritize power conservation, crew rest, or thermal control - Kranz listened carefully before decisively resolving the dispute: "The next job for this crew will be to execute a thermal roll. After that, they will power down their spacecraft. And finally, they will get some sleep." His clarity and certainty provided a steadying influence amid chaos. What made Kranz's leadership so effective was his balance of optimism and realism. "When both speed and precision count," he demonstrated, "sharing information and keeping everybody's eye on both goals simultaneously are essential for achieving both." He never expressed doubt about ultimate success, yet insisted on meticulous accuracy in every calculation and procedure. The leadership lesson is powerful: expecting high performance is prerequisite to achieving it. Kranz had spent years building teams through rigorous simulation training, creating what he called "the ability to make basically one hundred percent correct decisions in extremely short periods of time." When the real crisis came, this preparation paid off. Against overwhelming odds, the Apollo 13 astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific on April 17, 1970 - a triumph of leadership, teamwork, and human ingenuity in the face of near-certain disaster.

Chapter 3: Blum's Summit Strategy: Leading Teams in Dangerous Terrain

In 1978, mountaineer Arlene Blum found herself facing a decision that would determine not just the success of her expedition but potentially the lives of her team members. As leader of the American Women's Himalayan Expedition to Annapurna – one of the world's most dangerous mountains – Blum stood at 21,000 feet confronting a terrible reality: the route to the summit required crossing an avalanche chute where massive snow slides had been thundering down with alarming frequency. One afternoon, the entire mountain seemed to give way, with avalanches cascading every few minutes. One nearly overwhelmed Camp 1 and its six inhabitants. The threat was so grave that Blum raised the unthinkable: abandoning the expedition. "These avalanches are getting to be too much," she told her teammates. "I feel as if something is telling us we should give up before one of us dies." After a long silence, one climber responded: "I don't feel like talking about it. I just want to climb this mountain." Despite grave misgivings, the team pressed on. Leading a high-altitude expedition presented Blum with complex challenges beyond the physical dangers. She had to manage diverse personalities and competing motivations among her ten climbers. Some sought personal glory as first women on an 8,000-meter peak; others wanted to prove women could climb without men; still others simply loved the mountains. When selecting summit teams – deciding who would get the rare opportunity to attempt the top – these different motives created tension. Blum's approach balanced structure with autonomy. She established clear frameworks and protocols but allowed team members significant voice in decisions. When climber Alison Chadwick pushed for changes to the summit team composition, Blum didn't simply impose her authority. Instead, she opened discussion while maintaining final responsibility: "Annie has to make her own decision," Blum said when another climber expressed reluctance. "You can't talk someone into taking that kind of risk." The expedition ultimately achieved historic success when two women reached the summit on October 15, 1978. But tragedy followed when Chadwick and another climber fell to their deaths during a subsequent summit attempt. This devastating outcome highlighted a crucial leadership principle: "When a summit, product, or project seems well within reach, dampening overconfidence can ensure that energy remains focused on achieving it; when it appears almost out of reach, encouraging greater confidence can ensure that motivation remains focused on achieving it as well." Blum's experience reveals how leadership often requires balancing competing values – achievement versus safety, structure versus autonomy, individual ambition versus team welfare. The best leaders, like Blum, recognize that different moments call for different approaches. Sometimes they must dampen excessive optimism; other times, they must bolster flagging spirits. This capacity to adjust leadership style based on conditions, while maintaining unwavering commitment to core principles, is what distinguishes truly exceptional leaders in any challenging endeavor.

Chapter 4: Chamberlain's Little Round Top: Winning Trust Under Fire

On a hot July afternoon in 1863, Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain faced what seemed an impossible situation. His 20th Maine Regiment, just 358 men strong, had been ordered to hold the far left flank of the Union army at Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg. If Confederate forces managed to take this strategic high ground, they could roll up the entire Union line and potentially win the Civil War's decisive battle. The situation was especially dire because Chamberlain, a former college professor with no formal military training, had been in command for only four days. Just moments before the battle, he had received 120 mutineers from another Maine regiment, transferred to his command under guard. These men had refused to serve under any officer except their original commander, and Chamberlain's orders regarding them were brutally clear: "Make them do duty or shoot them down the moment they refused." Instead of threats, Chamberlain gathered the mutineers and spoke to them with remarkable empathy and vision. "I've been told that if you don't come I can shoot you. Well, you know I won't do that. Not Maine men," he began. He acknowledged their grievances but reminded them of the larger purpose: "We're here for something new... This hasn't happened much in the history of the world. We're an army going out to set other men free." Rather than commanding their loyalty, he appealed to their shared identity and values. Within hours, all but a handful had voluntarily taken up arms alongside the 20th Maine. The battle that followed became legendary. Confederate forces launched five fierce attacks against Chamberlain's position. After two hours of desperate fighting, the 20th Maine was nearly overrun – out of ammunition, a third of the men down or dead, and another enemy charge forming. In this critical moment, Chamberlain ordered a daring bayonet charge down the hillside. His remaining troops, including the former mutineers, swept down in a great human arc, surprising the attacking Confederates and driving them back in confusion. Chamberlain's leadership under fire illustrates a profound principle: winning the confidence of your people before a crisis arrives creates the foundation for success when that crisis comes. "No one can know when that day will come or even if it will," his example teaches. "But if it does, early investments in winning support among even your most stalwart opponents may make the difference between success and defeat when it counts most." The mutineers who joined Chamberlain's bayonet charge had been transformed from reluctant conscripts to committed soldiers in just forty hours – not because he commanded their obedience, but because he had earned their trust. In our own leadership moments, we may never face such dramatic circumstances, but Chamberlain's approach remains instructive: understand people's grievances, connect their immediate task to larger purpose, and demonstrate through actions that you value them as human beings, not merely as instruments of your will.

Chapter 5: Wharton's Transformation: Restructuring an Entrenched Institution

In 1986, Clifton R. Wharton Jr. received an unexpected job offer. At age sixty, after successfully leading Michigan State University and then the enormous State University of New York system, he was invited to become chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF, the nation's largest private pension fund. With $52 billion in assets and nearly a million account holders, "Teachers" (as it was known) managed retirement funds for professors and staff at thousands of American colleges and universities. The challenge was immense. Though financially sound, TIAA-CREF had become dangerously out of step with the times. "Here's a great institution that is in more trouble than it realizes," Wharton observed. For decades, Teachers had exercised a virtual monopoly, offering participants just two investment options and severely restricting their ability to move funds. Account holders complained about inflexible rules and poor service. One retiree wrote that he thought of TIAA "as the American version of Intourist, the Soviet travel agency" – notorious for its indifference to customer needs. Meanwhile, the investment landscape was changing dramatically. Mutual funds had exploded in popularity, offering hundreds of investment options and responsive customer service. Top-performing fund managers like Peter Lynch at Fidelity were outpacing TIAA-CREF's returns. Universities were threatening to allow competitors onto their campuses. Despite these warning signs, TIAA-CREF's entrenched bureaucracy resisted change. Management consultant Eugene Jennings reported, "I have encountered no bureaucracy as entrenched as what you have at TIAA-CREF." Wharton approached this transformation methodically. Rather than announcing his plans immediately, he spent three months listening to customers, employees, and stakeholders. He formed a Special Trustee Joint Committee to review internal recommendations and external criticisms. Then, in a bold move, he publicly distributed the strategic plan for comment before implementation – a risky but trust-building step. "Either we mean what we say – that we want their input – or we don't," he insisted when board members objected. The restructuring that followed was comprehensive. Wharton reorganized TIAA-CREF from traditional functional divisions into four "accountability centers" with clear responsibility for results. He tied compensation to performance, with up to half of executive pay dependent on customer satisfaction and cost control. He created new positions for promising young managers to work directly with him, ensuring reform champions throughout the organization. Most importantly, he modernized the product offerings – creating diverse investment options and allowing the transferability customers had long sought. Wharton's approach demonstrates a crucial leadership principle: "Buy-in by all those affected by an organization's change hastens its achievement. Consultation with them, engagement of them, and appeals to them are the critical steps for building acceptance of the change." Rather than imposing his vision from above, he built support at every level – from trustees and executives to front-line employees and customers. The results were dramatic. During Wharton's six years at the helm, participating institutions increased from 3,950 to 5,000, account holders from 890,000 to 1.5 million, and assets from $55 billion to $114 billion. By creating a genuinely customer-focused organization, Wharton transformed an outdated monopoly into a competitive modern enterprise that continues to thrive today.

Chapter 6: Gutfreund's Fatal Delay: The Cost of Inaction

In April 1991, John Gutfreund, chairman and CEO of Salomon Inc., faced a disturbing revelation. His vice chairman, John Meriwether, informed him that a bond trader named Paul Mozer had submitted an improper bid during a U.S. Treasury securities auction. Mozer had violated federal regulations by secretly using a customer's name to acquire more government bonds than the rules allowed. Gutfreund and his senior management team – representing over a hundred years of combined experience at Salomon – discussed the violation. They agreed that the transgression should be reported to federal regulators. Yet remarkably, they did nothing. Days passed, then weeks, then months – without action. During this delay, Mozer committed an even more serious violation in May, submitting bids that allowed Salomon to corner the market for certain Treasury notes. It wasn't until August 8 – more than three months after learning of the first violation – that Gutfreund finally notified regulators. By then, government investigators were already suspicious of Salomon's trading patterns. On August 14, Salomon publicly admitted both the violations and the management team's knowledge of them. The company's press release awkwardly attributed the delay to "a lack of sufficient attention." The consequences were devastating. Salomon's stock plummeted, wiping out $1.65 billion in shareholder value in just 30 trading days. Customers fled, including major investors like the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the World Bank. The Federal Reserve threatened to revoke Salomon's status as a primary dealer, which would have been a death sentence for the firm. Within days, Gutfreund was forced to resign. Warren Buffett, Salomon's largest shareholder, stepped in as interim chairman to save the company from collapse. In stark contrast to Gutfreund's inaction, Buffett took immediate, decisive steps: he fired everyone implicated in the scandal, cooperated fully with investigators, and instituted strict new compliance measures. He told employees, "If you lose money for the firm by bad decisions, I will be very understanding. If you lose reputation for the firm, I will be ruthless." The most tragic aspect of Gutfreund's failure was its needlessness. The initial violation, while serious, would likely have resulted in modest penalties had it been promptly reported. Instead, the cover-up transformed a manageable problem into an existential crisis. As SEC Chairman Richard Breeden described it, Gutfreund's inaction amounted to a "long and thunderous silence." This case illuminates a fundamental leadership principle: "Inaction can be as damaging to leadership as inept action." At the highest levels of an organization, decisions made or not made can have consequences that reach well beyond the organization to affect its very survival. Gutfreund's fatal delay wasn't a product of corruption but of procrastination – the human tendency to avoid uncomfortable tasks that only grow more difficult with time. For leaders in any field, the lesson is clear: problems rarely improve with neglect. When facing difficult situations – whether ethical breaches, performance issues, or strategic challenges – prompt, decisive action is almost always preferable to delay. As Warren Buffett demonstrated in the aftermath, unequivocal cooperation, complete contrition, and a focus on recovery are the ingredients for restoring a damaged reputation.

Chapter 7: Barry's Grassroots Vision: Building Solutions for the Poorest

In 1990, Nancy Barry faced a career-defining choice. As one of the highest-ranking women at the World Bank, she had spent fifteen years managing billion-dollar development projects worldwide. She had negotiated with presidents and finance ministers, overseen massive infrastructure initiatives, and traveled first-class to global capitals. Now, she was considering leaving it all to lead Women's World Banking (WWB), a tiny nonprofit focused on microfinance for impoverished women entrepreneurs. The contrast was stark: The World Bank lent $15 billion annually; WWB presided over $2 million. A typical World Bank loan was $250 million; at WWB, $250. The World Bank employed 6,000 staff; WWB's global staff numbered just 60. When Barry told her colleagues she was considering the move, "the collective gasp was almost audible." One asked bluntly, "Why are you leaving when you have such a great career?" Despite the seeming professional sacrifice, Barry was drawn to WWB's mission and approach. While the World Bank focused on large-scale government projects and structural reforms, WWB operated at the grassroots level, providing tiny loans directly to poor women entrepreneurs. These microloans – often as small as $50 or $100 – enabled women to start or expand small businesses: selling eggs at truck stops, making batik fabrics, or even reselling toothpaste by the spoonful. "I feel that my whole life has been preparing me to do this job," Barry reflected. At the World Bank, she had grown frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles and political infighting that undermined the mission of poverty reduction. She had come to believe that the future of development lay not in massive top-down projects but in empowering individuals at the bottom. "The connectedness of who we are and what we do," she observed, "is totally related to our effectiveness." After taking the WWB position, Barry transformed the organization through ambitious expansion. She increased its capital assets from $6 million to $30 million, grew its New York staff from 6 to 30, and expanded its worldwide affiliate staff from 100 to 1,000. She strengthened the network's local affiliates by pressing for sovereignty instead of dependence: "Affiliates had expected New York to provide 80 percent of their direction and service. Now they knew only 20 percent would come from the hub; the rest would have to come from themselves." Most importantly, Barry became a global champion for microfinance, elevating it from an obscure intervention to a mainstream development strategy. She chaired UN expert groups, addressed international forums, and ultimately helped organize the 1997 Microcredit Summit that launched a campaign to reach 100 million of the world's poorest families by 2005. "If sometimes we sound evangelical," Barry told the summit, "it is because we are trying to change the world." Barry's leadership journey illustrates a powerful principle: "Realizing your leadership potential depends on making a match between your vision and an organization. The challenge is to find the right opportunity, pick the right moment, and make the right move." By leaving a prestigious position for one that better aligned with her values and vision, Barry multiplied her impact and helped transform how the world approaches poverty reduction. The microfinance revolution Barry championed offers another vital lesson: "In serving others – whether low-income women, rice-growing farmers, or dividend-hungry investors – finding a self-sustaining engine that works is an essential step in delivering value to them." Unlike traditional charity, microfinance creates a virtuous cycle where both lender and borrower prosper together. This principle of sustainable value creation applies far beyond development work – it is the foundation of any lasting solution to complex problems.

Summary

Leadership is forged in moments of truth – when routine approaches fail, when stakes are highest, and when our deepest values are tested. The essence of exceptional leadership lies in the ability to maintain clarity amidst chaos, to mobilize others toward a compelling vision, and to take decisive action when inaction would be easier. As these remarkable stories demonstrate, leadership is not about position or title – it's about how we respond when faced with our most challenging circumstances. Begin preparing for your leadership moments today. Clarify your core values before they're tested in crisis. Build relationships of trust with those around you; they'll be your greatest asset when challenges arise. Develop your technical competence through continuous learning, as Eugene Kranz did with his flight teams. Remember that small decisions can have outsized consequences – both Roy Vagelos's choice to develop a drug for those who couldn't afford it and John Gutfreund's delay in reporting a violation changed the trajectories of their organizations. Most importantly, recognize that your leadership journey is personal and ongoing. As Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain observed, "We know not the future, and cannot plan for it much. But we can determine and know what manner of men we will be whenever and wherever the hour strikes."

About Author

Loading...

Michael Useem

Michael Useem is a professor in the Management Department and Faculty Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management and McNulty Leadership Program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His university teaching includes MBA and executive-MBA courses on management and leadership, and he offers programs on leadership and governance for managers in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.  He works on leadership development with many companies and organizations in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. He is co-anchor for a weekly program “Leadership in Action” on SiriusXM Radio Channel 132 and co-director of the annual CEO Academy. He is the author of The Leader’s Checklist, The Strategic Leader’s Roadmap (with Harbir Singh), The Edge: How Ten CEOs Learned to Lead—And the Lessons for Us All, Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy (with Dennis Carey, Brian Dumaine, and Rodney Zemmel). Mastering Catastrophic Risk (with Howard Kunreuther), Fortune Makers: The Leaders Creating China’s Great Global Companies (with Harbir Singh, Neng Liang, and Peter Cappelli), The India Way (with Peter Cappelli, Harbir Singh, and Jitendra Singh), and Boards That Lead (with Ram Charan and Dennis Carey).

Read more