The First Step In Learning From Your Mistakes Is Saying Out Loud What Men Say So Rarely
By
Leonard Zwelling
At this point in the second Trump presidential term, it is safe to say that the country is in worse shape than when he took office in January of 2025. Along with the decrease in vaccination rates, the terrible toll taken on academic research due to Trump’s DOGE funding cuts, the witch hunts begun in pursuit of Trump’s enemies in Ivy League universities and prestigious law firms, the tariffs that have turned our long-term friends, especially those to our north, into our foes, the nation is engaged in a war in the Middle East that was of Mr. Trump’s choosing. Trump’s War has led to the closing of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the depletion of our own munitions, and a world-wide jump in oil prices along with a world-wide decrease in trust in the United States. Interest rates are on the rise. So is inflation. There is no reason to believe these will decrease in the near term. Even President Trump says he expects no economic relief for the American consumer before the mid-term elections. For this he blames Iran or Biden or anybody but himself.
Every one of the Trump actions that have harmed the country from his self- centered building projects in Washington to the massive job losses caused by Elon Musk and DOGE, could be reversed for the benefit of the American people. To do that, however, Trump would have to admit that he made mistakes and was wrong. That will never happen and that is why things are likely to get worse before they get better unless the Democrats sweep out the Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, pass laws reversing Trump’s actions (although he will likely veto these and the Dems are not likely to have veto-proof majorities even if they have a great Election Day), and then move to impeach Trump for a third time.
If the Dems impeach Trump again, it is still unlikely that he will be convicted in the Senate. Nonetheless, putting his terrible decisions and criminal actions on public display would allow the American people who elected him thinking our foreign wars would be over and our financial troubles would mysteriously vanish, can finally grasp who they voted for. In the end, he’s still a game show host, a buffoon, and a clown. He also probably broke the law taking classified documents to Mar-A-Lago. Any impeachment should start there.
I believe that my greatest progress in my own career came from saying that I was wrong. I learned this lesson well enough early in my administrative tenure that I made sure I got faculty input on my larger decisions before making them soon after assuming my initial associate vice presidency. That made it less likely that I would make additional mistakes.
I believe that the last two presidents of MD Anderson failed miserably at owning up to their poor decisions and certainly got very little faculty input before making them. My guess is that both Dr. DePinho and Dr. Pisters would have benefitted from meaningful faculty input prior to their making the foolish choices that probably led to their dismissals. Just a glimpse at the Comments section of this blog as well as input I have gotten from former members of the President’s Advisory Council (PAC) made me understand that Pisters took advice from no one. The PAC, like a Trump Cabinet meeting, was one huge echo chamber of praise for the chief. That will not lead to a successful tenure as a leader. Neither DePinho nor Pisters lasted as long as each of their three predecessors. Given the way they led, that is no surprise.
I was taught many years ago that men cannot say three things: I’m wrong, I’m lost, I’m sorry. These are the three things good leaders need to be able to say. Thus, my first question for anyone aspiring to be the next president of MD Anderson would be: tell me of instances when you said you were wrong, you were lost, and you were sorry as a leader, and what you did to correct your errors.
The person with the best answer ought to get the job.
