John Lewis Gaddis

The ancient Greek poet Archilochus said, "A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog one important thing."The original meaning of the quote has been lost to the mists of time, but my guest today argues that it's a great metaphor for classifying two types of leadership strategies.His name is John Lewis Gaddis and he's a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, an expert on the Cold War, and a professor of military history at Yale University. Today, Professor Gaddis and I talk about his book, On Grand Strategy, in which he distills insights about strategy from political and military history going all the way back to antiquity.We begin our conversation discussing what strategy is and what it means to have grand strategy. John then shares the analogy of the fox and the hedgehog, and the benefits and downsides to each approach to thinking and acting. We then discuss why the best strategists combine fox-like and hedgehog-like mindsets, examples from history of great leaders who had both, and how he helps his students see the relationship between principle and practice.Get the show notes at aom.is/grandstrategy.

Renowned historian John Lewis Gaddis discusses timeless principles of grand strategy and the fox vs. hedgehog concept. He explores balancing ambition with realism in historical strategy, dives into Chinese strategic literature, and reflects on the influence of Cold Wars on democracy in South Korea and Taiwan. Gaddis also touches on the influence of liberal politics on elite university campuses.

John Lewis Gaddis, a renowned history professor at Yale and author of influential works on strategy, discusses the intertwining of historical consciousness with strategic thinking. He examines how presidents like Lincoln and Reagan utilized historical insights in leadership. Gaddis emphasizes the significance of common sense in strategy and critiques the contemporary reinterpretation of historical events, such as the Ukraine conflict. He also reflects on the evolving legacies of historical figures and the philosophical implications of Isaiah Berlin's ideas on governance.