“Urgent things are seldom important and important things are seldom urgent” – a great quote by General Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States (1953 – 1961) and Supreme Allied Commander during World War II.

However, important things remain important unless we take full responsibility for their implementation, whether it leads to success or failure. Just like a supreme commander would do.

Here comes a true story.

During World War II, General Eisenhower was appointed the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. He was responsible for the liberation of Nazi-occupied Western Europe.

His role included leading the largest amphibious assault in history in Normandy in June 1944, also known as Operation Overlord. The landing was an extremely large-scale operation of the combined forces of the United States, England and Canada. It was crucialfor the liberation of Nazi-occupied France and Western Europe. Over 5,000 ships, 160,000 men, 10 tank divisions, and 12,000 aircraft participated.

Eisenhower was responsible for making all the important decisions that determined the outcome of World War II, along with the fates of thousands of soldiers. He personally postponed the date of the invasion by one day due to worsening weather.

Fortunately, Operation Overlord was successful and was a turning point in World War II. It marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany and ultimately led to the final defeat of the Hitler regime.

Later on, it turned out that the supreme commander was not completely confident in the success of Overlord. Long after the large-scale landing, his aide found in Eisenhower’s shirt the text of a speech prepared in case of failure.

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foodhold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”