Essay: David Crockett

Introduction
David Crockett was clearly an outstanding frontiersman, a successful Tennessee politician, and a colorful congressman, but these attributes alone would not have earned him lasting fame. His record in Congress was not good: most of the legislation he favored failed to pass. Even as defender of the Alamo he should have attracted no more fame than the other fallen heroes.
When I say the name David Crockett people might ponder for a second and wonder if I meant to say Davy Crockett. In that lies the reality most individuals remember the legend and not the man. David Crockett as he preferred to be called was an amazing frontiersman, a decent Tennessee politician, a congressman who did not waiver from his morale compass. However, these accomplishments would not have been enough to raise his status of becoming one of America’s Legendary folk heroes.
Rather his charisma and ability to tell his tall stories in what they would describe as frontier lingo; today one would describe as speaking plainly. After all David Crockett did not attend college and only spent a couple years in school altogether between his various adventures in his youth. David never tried to be something he was not, he was cordial and treated everyone as a friend.
By my research I would state that where David and the legendary Davy began to split was when the play “The Lion of the West” opened up in New York in 1831. The play was written as a loose account of Crocketts life, which projected his legendary adventures and overshadowed his real life. A couple years later more illustrations and books began to hit the market. In 1833 a pseudo biography was released, shortly thereafter David released his own autobiography in 1834 with the assistance of Thomas Clinton. There was no stop to the wave of books and almanacs which continued to develop over the decades. Most claimed to be true stores about David; usually narrated in frontier lingo describing larger than life adventures of a man living life on the frontier.
David Crocketts tales and legendary status has never wavered, during the 1940’s and 50’s the legend was given new life with the television. Because of motion pictures and the short lived television series Davids tales were revived for the twentieth century. Hollywood’s portrayal of David Crockett as a brave, patriotic, high moral and sincere frontiersman was consistent with other mainstream media of the time. With shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Andy Griffith show.
– background – where/how/when (s)he grew up
The historic David not Davy Crockett as he liked to be called was born not on a mountain top in Tennessee, rather David was born in Greene County, East Tennessee. However,  at the time the true birth place of David was in a State that no longer exists. The State of Franklin, was a breakaway territory that had declared its independence from North Carolina two years earlier. Advocates of the movement which included David’s father, pushed for Franklin to enter the union as the 14th U.S. state, but the territory fell just shy of the required vote-total in Congress. Following a stretch as an independent republic, Franklin was eventually reclaimed by North Carolina in 1789. By 1796, its lands had become part of the newly formed state of Tennessee.
David “Davy” Crockett was a frontiersman, folk hero and a three-time Congressman. He fought in the Creek war of 1812 and died at the Alamo in the Texas Revolution, or so they say. The details of his death have been the subject of debate with the findings of a Mexican general who served under Santa Ana. In 1975  a memoir of a the Mexican Officer Jose Enrique de la Pena had gained attention after it was translated to english. In the memoir described six individuals who were captured at the battle of the Alamo. Santa Ana had them executed he stated “died without complaining and without humiliating themselves before their torturers. However much debate over the veracity of the account of Crocketts death, and therefore his death at the Alamo continues to be the subject of debate. Though there is no doubt that he did all that he could until the very end, because that was his character.
In 1813, after the War of 1812 shortly broke out, David enlisted to be a scout in the militia under Major John Gibson, stationed in Winchester, Tennessee. Crockett believed in being a true patriot and wanted to serve his country and state, after his first enlistment he re-enlisted as a third sergeant under Captain John Cowan. He again advanced in ranks and was discharged as a fourth sergeant.
David needed to provide for his growing family and also wanted to continue to serve his fellow statesman. He did this by becoming a Tennessee State House Representative from 1821 to 1823. In 1825 he tried to run for the 19th US Congress, but lost the election. Prior to Andrew Jackson taking the Presidency David supported him and in 1826 he earned a seat in the US House of Representatives. However in 1829, Jackson had begun to waver in his stance and focused more so on the individuals of high society. This did not sit well with David and changed his public political stance as an Anti-Jacksonian supporter and was not re-elected to Congress. However, as the popularity of David’s autobiography began to gain traction the whig party took notice and put David on a tour and was elected as a member of the which political party in 1833. Though that would be the last time David was successful in his political run for office.
Confidence
When David Crockett spoke he was confident and was plain spoken. David knew he was not the smartest or the most sophisticated in the room, but he did not let that deter him from engaging with his audience. Crockett spoke from the heart and
Focus
Throughout David Crockett’s career he had undertaken many different projects to establish a continuous source of revenue to provide for his family. David Crockett had his own code and lived by what he believed was right and fair. Regardless of what others may have perceived as being the appropriate thing to do, if it meant bending or turning a blind-eye to what he recognized as the right thing to do, he did not waiver.
Honest
What cannot be said about many politicians in Washington D.C. is that they are honest and trustworthy. The Status quo has been to vote for what individuals believed to be the lesser of two evils. David Crockett, never believed in adjusting his policies or misrepresenting himself to others to win them over. He spoke plainly and was straightforward. However, he may have stretched the truth a time or two in reporting his hunting kills. Though, none will deny his skill with the rifle or his tracking abilities.
Positivity
David Crockett definitely did not have the easiest life, many of his ventures lasted for a short time and then a random act of god would come through and David would move onto their next adventure.
Decisive
Inspire
Most important things learned about leadership from this project:
Good leaders need to be decisive and confident in front people. A reality check for any individual in a leadership position is that there will be times when people will need decisions from that leader, and if they cannot make them swiftly their organization will afflicted. Some of the best materials we have covered over the course of the semester have suggested acquire high-level concise abstracts, weigh the alternatives and deliver the decision with confidence. Never allowing anyone to see themselves second-guessing their own decisions.
Many leaders will come across a time when they must lead others through change, and like most will have to set the example for others by embracing change. We live in a world that is continually advancing, through technology and methodology. We have seen companies to large to fail, do so overnight. When people are to comfortable with doing things they way they have for years is when lightning is about to strike. Companies like Kodak and Toys “R” Us are prime examples of organizations that failed to adapt change, in a timely manner. Kodak’s own engineers were the pioneers in digital photography and yet because they believed that the concept would never take-off, Kodak placed the project on a shelf, and focused on film. Toys “R” Us failed to change their business model, as competitors such as Walmart, Target and Amazon began to expand their market share. The reason for these industry giants having to downsize and close their stores and factories is the result of leaders being set-in-their-ways. Leaders must be able to “see what’s coming around the corner,” being informed of both internal and external environmental factors. Being proactive about change when organizations are proving successful will ensure a stronger potential for sustainability and success.
People enjoy working for leaders whom are able to inspire them to achieve not only organizational goals but personal ones as well. When things are in decline and projects fail, individuals need to feel as though everything will be okay. People look to their leaders for strength, encouragement and the motivation to continue moving forward in the face of failure. Good leaders promote a sense of hope and positivity, and being able to equip their people to handle the fallout of failure such as a sense of weakness, negativity and complacency. Leaders must demonstrate trust in their people that they have recruited and trained, to face adversity and not be afraid to fail.
Every leader will have to endure difficult situations, conversations and or difficult negotiations throughout their career. Today’s company internal environments are evolving, they are no longer just a place of work. People develop their social skills along with their professional skills at their places of work. Being a leader in todays organizations requires the ability to manage people and communication, along with the quantitative tasks. Leaders who are able to show empathy is crucial skill to have in their “toolbox.” The ability to place yourself in the other person situation will increase the potential of formulating a solution that the other person can invest in.
Being self aware of your emotions and maintaining a clear head even though you may have had just had to endure an aggravating situation is a sign of a good leader who is capable of controlling their emotions. A leader who is hot-headed can appear as allowing their emotions to impact their judgment and be unqualified to make the right call under pressure.
Research may be contradicting in whether a good leader is either born or made, I believe in the latter. I believe the decision resides with the individual on whether or not they will dedicate the time to develop the skills that a good leader should posses. The leaders who are able to persuade and motivate without actually inciting the individuals with monetary or (word for bribes, physically giving someone something.) Martin Luther King Jr. once said “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” Consensus, by definition, means “acceptance.” In a business setting, this could be understood as an alignment of purpose. However, molding consensus is not as clear cut as establishing and measuring goals. Consensus can be achieved with less “road blocks” when the process utilizes commonality as a starting point. The better leaders know how to work with their people to establish good SMART goals and collaborate on a plan in order for those individuals to be successful in reaching them, this allows organizations to stay on-track and in alignment with the organizations goals as well.
There are misconceptions that leaders need to have all the answers. However, the truth is that good leaders know where to find the answers. Leaders who are willing to seek out advice when they are unsure of the right course of action should be. The cliche’ of the saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” does have a good amount of truth to the statement. In a competitive market knowledge is worth it’s weight in gold and good leaders understand that. Leaders who establish and grow their network of people who will be able to provide insight in situations that they may experience are another great mark of a good leader. Trusted people can provide insight in pointing out an error in a project or plan that an individual may have not even considered, similar to “Red teaming” we all have a certain way of approaching problems and getting having individuals who can provide that outside point-of-view are key, especially when they are not in your day-today operations.
The best leaders know that the best thing they can do for their organization(s) is to never stop moving forward and to never stop learning. A famous Navy Lieutenant by the name of John F. Kennedy stated “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” You can easily google CEO book club or CEO must read list. The results of which will be astonishing to discover how many actually compile a recommending list of literature that they recommend to their leadership teams.
As individuals continue move up the career ladder they will naturally build professional networks and establish relationships with business professionals outside of their company. Time is only a factor and there will be a multitude of instances when leaders will come across individuals outside of a project or department that will try to convince you how to run your business or department more effectively than you. These “experts” will explain the “tried-and-true” method otherwise known as the safe way to conduct business. However, safe does not always mean growth and future success. A leader should be confident enough in their ability to lead and make the decisions following their instincts and not people who are interested in doing business the way it has always been done.
Leaders need to be recognized as being true to themselves and others, the better leaders are authentic to who they are, and do not put on a fake persona for others. There are times when leaders can get caught up in situations or environments where they develop an artificial public persona which they perceive as what others would consider more “leader-like.” This not what individuals want, leaders can be many things and have various personality types such as being a introvert, extrovert, humorous, stern, but if their goal is to gain others respect than all they really have to be is genuine.
My Baseball Coach used to always say “Practice like you are gonna play” which was a spinoff of “Practice what you preach.” At first people will listen to what leaders have to say, however that will only last so long, because they will involuntarily watch what they do. As people should look to their leaders as an example. Leaders cannot be all talk and not follow through, for that is an example of a leader who is destined to fail. Leadership is about being able to produce results.
We have all watched movies in which an individual has allowed their position of authority to go to their head, most often corrupting them and changing them for the worse. The best leaders focus on developing others to be successful. Leaders who are able to remain humble and are able to maintain a balance of putting their employees and customers first will be a leader that I strive to serve as an example of.