Two Leaders. One Deadline. Very Different Outcomes.

When the Deadline Becomes the Mission

Two federal leaders reportedly received extraordinary, short-notice requests in advance of America’s 250th anniversary: turn the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool “American flag blue” and help create a new $250 bill featuring President Trump.

One deadline produced a fiasco. The other produced an act of courage.

Reflecting on the Pool

The Reflecting Pool project bypassed normal competitive bidding and was rushed toward completion before July 4. For a brief time, it appeared to work. Then the lining began peeling, and the problems surfaced.

Officials blamed vandalism. Former Olympian David Hearn, who said he merely touched a loose piece of lining, was arrested and charged with felony property destruction.

Then the story changed.

Documents provided to prosecutors after Hearn’s indictment reportedly revealed “a rushed and flawed installation process,” repeated failures during installation, and extensive peeling before Hearn ever approached the pool. Prosecutors moved to dismiss the case, saying the damage resulted from a botched installation rather than vandalism as the Department of the Interior had initially represented.

The deadline had become the mission. Normal safeguards became obstacles. Speed displaced judgment. When the result failed, the search for a culprit overwhelmed the search for the truth.

The Courage to Speak Up

Patty Collins, then director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, reportedly faced a similarly unrealistic request. Patty and I served together in the Pentagon and Afghanistan and have remained friends ever since.

According to various news reports, senior Treasury officials wanted the bureau to help develop a $250 bill featuring President Trump. There were a few complications. The United States does not have a $250 denomination. Federal law prohibits placing a living person on currency. Congress had not authorized the bill. And creating a secure new banknote normally takes six to eight years.

You cannot simply adjust a few dials and start cranking out money. Apparently, even the federal government has limits.

Patty reportedly explained that she had no objection to the concept, but there was no lawful or responsible way for her agency to produce the bill on the requested timeline. She also noted that her bureau was not the approving authority.

She was subsequently removed from her position.

These two episodes center on Keen Judgment, one of the nine accelerators in the 3-Discipline Leadership System® (see video here).

Keen Judgment is the ability to assess reality, weigh competing risks and perspectives, and determine what the moment requires. It enables leaders to make sound decisions when information is incomplete, pressures are intense, and no option is risk-free.

In both cases, the desired outcome collided with reality.

One agency pushed ahead, weakened safeguards, and eventually blamed someone who appears not to have caused the damage.

One leader surfaced the problem and accepted the personal consequences of telling senior officials what they did not want to hear.

How Do You Develop Keen Judgment in Your Organization?

Begin by making your values and standards explicit. Then discuss what should happen when they collide:

• What happens when speed conflicts with quality?
• What happens when one value conflicts with another?
• What happens when accomplishing the mission requires violating a standard?
• Who has the authority to pause the work?
• How should someone challenge an unrealistic directive?

These conversations are especially important when delegating consequential work. Shared standards help people understand where they have freedom to improvise and where they must stop, question, or elevate the decision.

Why It Matters Even More Today

Keen judgment is increasingly vital. AI will produce more ideas and make action possible at unprecedented speed. But speed does not make an idea wise, lawful, or executable. It merely gets us to the consequences faster.

The leaders you cannot afford to lose are often the ones willing to place a dose of reality on an exciting idea before it becomes an expensive fiasco.

If loyalty is your organization’s only implied value, you will not create disciplined initiative. You will create blind obedience and flattering agreement.

And eventually, the epoxy begins to peel.

About Author

Chris Kolenda

I work with leaders who want to build unshakeable business endurance.

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