Understanding history is trying to deeply know what the stakes were like for the people most impacted by an event, what was their life like, and how were decisions made.

I feel that way when I look at a piece of music - understanding the composer’s life, the times the piece was written in, who it was for, what it was for, and how someone might have come to decide to write what they wrote.

I feel that way about leadership - understanding the sensitivities of the teams I lead, what was at stake for them when they decided to take this job, or how they historically made decisions.

History is more than books and long lectures. It’s culture. It’s embedding yourself deeply in the statement, “people like them did things like this.”

Past is prologue.