No Substitute for Victory: Lessons in Strategy and Leadership from General Douglas Macarthur

Chapter 45. Get the Athletic Advantage

Both leaders and their organizations need to be physically healthy if they expect to perform at peak levels. Robust health supports the drive to success in two ways: It ensures that we are physically able to perform and that our cognitive functions receive the proper care and feeding.

Leaders are always in motion. They work hard, often keeping torturous schedules and logging many hours of travel. They also think hard, applying their intellects to the complex challenges they and their organizations must undertake. To maintain their efforts and ensure peak performance, they hone their bodies as well as their minds.

MacArthur's physical fitness enabled him to enjoy what were essentially two careers. In 1941, ...