Bennett and Vivian Levin acted on our behalf

As we conclude one year and begin another, we would be well-advised to take a moment and think about the young men and women who defend our freedoms throughout the world.

In that spirit, I now share the following account.

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It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed by sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. “We have to let them know we care,” Vivian told Bennett. So they organized a trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3.

The cool part is, they created their own train line to do it. Yes, there are people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin – native Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish – is one of them.

He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at his Juniata Park train yard. One car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried John F. Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and ’62. Later, it carried his brother Bobby’s body to D. C. for burial. “That’s a lot of history for one car,” says Bennett.

He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975, during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country directly to the stadium where the annual game is played. The Levins could think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wounded men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D. C. and Bethesda , in Maryland . “We wanted to give them a first-class experience,” says Bennett. “Gourmet meals on board, private transportation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats – real hero treatment.”

Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett met with Walter Reed’s commanding general, who loved the idea. But Bennett had some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops alone:

No press on the trip, lest the soldiers’ day of pampering devolve into a media circus.

No politicians either, because, says Bennett, “I didn’t want some idiot making this trip into a campaign photo op.”

And no Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy saluting superiors to relax.

The general agreed to the conditions, and Bennett realized he had a problem on his hands. “I had to actually make this thing happen,” he laughs.

Over the next months, he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars from around the country – these people tend to know each other – into lending their vehicles for the day. The name of their temporary train? The Liberty Limited.

Amtrak volunteered to transport the cars to D. C. – where they’d be coupled together for the round-trip ride to Philly – then back to their owners later.

Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to Lincoln Financial Field, for the game.

A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game – on the 50-yard line – and lunch in a hospitality suite.

And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for publicity, goodie bags for attendees:

From Woolrich, stadium blankets. From Wal-Mart, digital cameras. From Nikon, field glasses. From GEAR, down jackets.

There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too, since each was allowed to bring a friend or family member.

The Marines, though, declined the offer. “They voted not to take guests with them, so they could take more Marines,” says Levin, choking up at the memory.

Bennett’s an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he’d react to meeting the 88 troops and guests at D. C.’s Union Station, where the trip originated. Some GIs were missing limbs. Others were wheelchair-bound or accompanied by medical personnel for the day. “They made it easy to be with them,” he says. “They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce of self-pity from any of them. They’re so full of life and determination.”

At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game, recalls Bennett. Not even Army’s lopsided loss to Navy could deflate the group’s rollicking mood.

Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal – heroes get hungry, says Levin – before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda . “The day was spectacular,” says Levin. “It was all about these kids. It was awesome to be part of it.”

The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station.

“One of the guys was blind, but he said, ‘I can’t see you, but man, you must be beautiful!’ ” says Bennett. “I got a lump so big in my throat, I couldn’t even answer him.”

It’s been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling the day’s love. “My Christmas came early,” says Levin, who is Jewish and who loves the Christmas season. “I can’t describe the feeling in the air. Maybe it was hope.”

As one guest wrote in a thank-you note to Bennett and Vivian, “The fond memories generated last Saturday will sustain us all – whatever the future may bring.”

God bless the Levins.

Reading Business Books Is Sort of Like Listening to Good Sermons

I had breakfast with my blogging colleague Bob Morris this morning.  He reads more books than anyone I know.  You cannot talk about a business issue, a business idea, without him knowing the two or three books to read on that specific issue.  And in the midst of the breakfast, I had one of those moments of insight – you know, an “aha”  moment.

So – a little background.  I used to preach (I still do, occasionally, but only as a guest preacher).  I preached at least two new sermons a week – for about 20 years.  If you go to church, then you know the truth about sermons – after a few, they all deal with the same themes, the same issues, repeated a multitude of times, in whatever new and creative ways the preacher can come up with.

One homiletics textbook said that most preachers only have 5 sermons anyway (plus or minus), and then challenged preachers to make sure they were the right 5 sermons.

So what was my “aha” insight?  It is this:  Reading business books is a lot like listening to a steady diet of sermons.

Here’s a simple truth:  people who go to church and listen to sermons learn very little.  They are simply reminded of the basics, over and over and over again.

So it is with business books.  There are about five major themes (or maybe 7, or 10…the number is imprecise).  But the truth is clear.  Business books do more reminding than they do teaching.

Some of the themes that crop up over and over again are:

• be an ethical leader
• have the important conversations that you need to have
• treat your people well
• be a good team leader/player
• be sure that your product/eservice is top quality
• and, though you provide top quality, make it even better next year  (innovate, constantly!)
• and, use your time well (it disappears so very fast)
• study the successful companies/leaders, and emulate them
• study the unsuccessful companies/leaders, and do not repeat their mistakes
• plan well, execute better
• communicate! — openly, often — hide very little!

You could expand on this list.  But…  I think it really is true that after you’ve read a good initial stack of business books, you continue reading not to learn, but to be reminded.  Don’t you think?

So – how many books should you read a year.  It depends – how quickly do you forget to do what you know to do?  I suspect the answer to that question is… pretty quickly.  That is why preachers always encourage their folks to show up at church week after week.  Unfortunately, it takes regular reminders to “love your neighbor” to help you do a good job of actually loving your neighbor.  And, it takes regular reminders to lead well, to treat your people well, to keep getting better at what you do.

So, read more books.  Lots more books.  It takes a “business sermon” a week – just to help you remember.

And, by the way, some books are better than others.  Lots better.  So too, some sermons are better than others.  But it is better to read a mediocre book to help you remember than it is to not keep reading, and thus fail to remember.