The Peacemaker's Code Quotes

“human creativity in the arts, and human innovation in technology—are intimately related. Every advancement in technology, including military technology, remains, foremost, a feat of imagination. This is where humans excel.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“Society cannot afford to forget the lessons of the past—nor to learn the wrong lessons. But there is a third danger—and it is the greatest threat of all, if only because it is the least well recognized. Humanity can no longer afford to have only a handful of its citizens and leaders understand the lessons of history. We cannot count on a select few to be the caretakers of knowledge. The elite guardians of wisdom will be rendered useless if the masses are incapable of understanding their language, unable to appreciate their concerns, or uninterested even in considering their advice. This danger is not new, but it is always magnified during those times when a population is empowered at a faster rate than it is educated. And it is worst in societies where the value of any idea is measured only after it is filtered through the lens of politics, partisanship, or ideology. Of the diabolically complicated Schleswig-Holstein affair—as pertained to Denmark and Prussia in the mid-19th century—Lord Palmerston is said to have remarked: “Only three people have ever really understood the Schleswig-Holstein business—the Prince Consort, who is dead, a German professor, who has gone mad, and I, who have forgotten all about it.” We can no longer rely only on princes, professors, and lords to understand the affairs of the world. The professors and Palmerstons of the world must educate—and hence enable—the rest. And they must do it soon. The time will come when the masses no longer listen to their advice—when expertise is unrecognizable because the gulf between those who know and those who don’t is too wide to bridge. That day is almost upon us.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“Let me tell you what I would have really liked to witness. The meeting where Hitler decided to break the treaty he had negotiated with Stalin, and to invade the Soviet Union. I would like to have been in the room when the Japanese decided to bomb Pearl Harbor. These people were not stupid. They were not irrational. They debated the pros and cons. And yet, somehow, they decided to light the fuses that would ultimately burn their own empires to the ground.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“If crises are a test of leadership, it is not because they show us who has the strength to fight and win, but because they reveal who has the wisdom and courage to do so without sacrificing their vision for the future.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“There is nothing wrong with celebrating Hannibal’s remarkable crossing of the Alps, and much is to be learned from how he amassed his many wins on the Italian peninsula. But we should not forget that he failed to deliver a decisive victory even after fifteen years of fighting, that he was ultimately defeated by Scipio Africanus, and that Carthage was not just defeated by Rome in the Punic Wars, it was wiped off the map. That Hannibal is still remembered for his brilliance, but the empire he fought for is remembered only for its complete destruction, should give us pause.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“If the appropriate analogy is ‘war against Germany’ in the years leading up to World War II, then the lesson of history might be that aggressive actions, taken early, can help to avert war.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“it is worst in societies where the value of any idea is measured only after it is filtered through the lens of politics, partisanship, or ideology.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“While good leaders exhibit the strength to learn from bad outcomes, great leaders show the wisdom not to overweight outcomes, whether they be bad or good. Ultimately, outcomes are not what matter. Inputs matter—because only inputs can be chosen. If your decision process was sound, if the strategy was wise ex ante, if you can find no fault in your approach despite extensive examination, then it is misguided to second-guess your actions simply because the outcome was rotten.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code

“Heirs of Herodotus by D. Kilmer. Excerpt from Chapter 9. Good leaders attempt to learn from their mistakes. They have the courage to acknowledge the consequences of prior decisions, no matter how terrible, so that errors will not be repeated. But in doing so, good leaders risk discarding even excellent ideas—simply because they failed, previously, to deliver the desired results. Great leaders, on the other hand, recognize that all outcomes—bad and good—are but noisy signals of the wisdom of their approach. Chance, error, and unknowns also play a role. While good leaders exhibit the strength to learn from bad outcomes, great leaders show the wisdom not to overweight outcomes, whether they be bad or good. Ultimately, outcomes are not what matter. Inputs matter—because only inputs can be chosen. If your decision process was sound, if the strategy was wise ex ante, if you can find no fault in your approach despite extensive examination, then it is misguided to second-guess your actions simply because the outcome was rotten.”
― Deepak Malhotra, The Peacemaker's Code