Alan M. de León’s Reviews > Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization, and Strategy in the California Farm Worker Movement > Status Update

“Victory turned out to be moments when the next move mattered most - not a time to rest on one’s laurels, but a time to make something out of one’s success.”

“The association of González with the Teamsters enhanced the strategic capacity of neither group because strategy remained firmly in the hands of the Teamster leaders, affirmed by their control over resources and accountability. UFWOC on the other hand, enhanced its strategic capacity by incorporating former AWOC leaders into its leadership team and by winning access to new resources which enhanced its autonomy”

“Signing an NFWA card and signing a Teamster card meant two very different things… Signing an NFWA card meant taking a risk, expressing solidarity with one’s fellows, making a claim, and asserting an ethnic identity. Signing a Teamster card meant protecting one’s job, doing what the boss wanted, and denying one’s ethnic identity… it was not at all clear which emotions would prevail at the voting booth.”

“In a setting as open as the NFWA, new people altered, expanded, and enriched the original team in ways that enhanced its strategic capacity… The depth of commitment of the individuals who chose this collective enterprise - to each other, to their goals, and to their own values - inspired a new understanding of who they were, what they could do, and where they were going.”

“Strategic capacity is a matter not only of information and motivation, but also of capacity to learn.”

“Deliberation that is open to “deviant” or contrary perspectives enhances learning, innovation, and the performance of tasks. But because minorities tend to conform to majorities, and persons with less authority tend to conform to those with more authority, a group’s tendency over time is to lose its diversity. Particular organizational practices are thus required to preserve diverse perspectives.”

“The likelihood that a leadership team will devise effective strategy depends on the depth of its motivation, the breadth of its salient knowledge, and the robustness of its reflective practice - on the extent, that is, of its strategic capacity.”

“Strategy is how we turn what we have into what we need to get what we want. Strategy is intentional - a pathway we shape by making choices on how to use resources in the present to achieve goals in the future.

Strategy, thus, requires the courage to venture into the unknown, risk failure, say no to current demands, and commit to a course of action that we can only hypothesize will yield the desired outcome.”

“Things don’t have to be the way they are, but they don’t change by themselves. Challenging the status quo takes commitment, courage, imagination, and, above all, dedication to learning.”