In reading “The Moralist,” a Woodrow Wilson biography, I observed the futility of bluffing. Early during World War I, Germany’s submarines sunk multiple British ships with many Americans on board.
President Wilson sent Germany letters and threatened them publicly, but the Germans believed, correctly, Wilson’s words were just a bluff.
The Germans became so brazen that they eventually sank nine ships off the coast of Rhode Island! Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed, “Instead of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, President Wilson spoke bombastically and carried a dish rag.”
Ecclesiastes 5:5 teaches, “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.”
In business, many are driven to making empty threats or promises to suppliers or employees, but the wise person carefully weighs each promise made.
