The thing is: Even though Dag’s tactics didn’t meet every goal every time, they still accomplished very much indeed, especially given what Dag was up against. And this didn’t happen via shouting, stomping around, refusing to meet people where they were, incessant bragging, gossiping to the media, etc. Corporate America is still heavily skewed in favor of vocal extroverts who love to bellow in meetings and congregate for water cooler chatter. Every self-classified introvert I spoke to while writing this book had at least one horror story of how they were treated as a second-class citizen by a boss. For me, that’s the point: Things could be so much better! They could be better in the political arena and better in the work world. I hope I have shown the ways in which our Swedish unicorn, Dag Hammarskjöld, demonstrated this. Not with perfection, but with his own quiet style and grace.
In February of 1963, President John F. Kennedy said, “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.” This is my wish for Dag and his legacy.
–Excerpt from Decoding the Unicorn: A New Look at Dag Hammarskjöld, © Sara Causey
May Dag’s ideas continue to live on—for leaders, thinkers, and gentle souls everywhere. ✨
Image credit: Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston (KN-C24801 public domain photo)