Ulysses S. Grant on Directing Movies

I just finished "The Man Who Saved the Union" a biography of Ulysses S. Grant written by H.W. Brands. Grant was clerking in his father's leather goods store when the Civil War started, and rose from volunteer to Lieutenant General of the U.S. Army (the first man who held that rank since George Washington) and then President of the United States. His countrymen revered him throughout his later life, and built him a magnificent final resting place on Riverside Drive and 122nd Street in Manhattan. Grant's career has a lot to teach content creators, particularly film directors. As Orson Welles said, “A writer needs a pen, an artist needs a brush, but a filmmaker needs an army.” Grant's success provides a model for those wanting to lead a creative army. In 1862, talking about how lead an army, Grant said, "The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on." Translate that to movie making -- know what the heart of your story is -- what is important and what can be cut if needed. Get to the heart of the story as soon as you can and attack it in the most compelling way possible. Make your point and move on to the next scene. Grant once told an aide who asked if Grant believed he'd made a correct decision that he wasn't sure, but "We must decide. If I am wrong, we shall soon find it out, and can do the other thing. But not to decide wastes both time and money, and may ruin everything.” That is very true for directors. Make a decision and follow it through. The next day, you can come back and change everything you did, but no one loses control of a set or a production faster than a director who's not sure. Grant is also famous for saying, "I will take no backward step." Once he started moving in a direction he kept moving toward his objective, even if he had to take a couple of detours to get there. That's the same for a creative career. Only the most determined achieve their goals. The road may not always go straight, but you'll get there if you keep your end in mind and trust your judgement.