The Importance of History

 

When I was a very young child, I became enamored with history—particularly American history. I think it all began on my fourth birthday, when my father gave me a child’s gift of statuettes of all the U.S. presidents. Soon, I could rattle off the names in order of all U.S. chief executives (if you think that I am boring now, can you imagine me then?).

 

A few years later, when I discovered sports, I would place the presidents in a T-formation with current president, Dwight Eisenhower, as quarterback. My father thought it was hilarious and told me that Ike Eisenhower was the second-string quarterback when he was a cadet at the United States Military Academy.

 

Trips to the Old North Church, Bunker Hill, Paul Revere’s house and the Statue of Liberty continued to whet my appetite for American History. All through my school years it was my best subject and my early major in college until I was seduced by Economics.

 

Even then, my two favorite classes ever were Economic History and History of Economic Thought. The latter remains an important part of my daily regimen 50 years later.

 

It has always surprised me that people have no interest in history. In business, people tell me who cares about what happened 20 years ago or even five? I want to know what is happening now, they say. My response is generally something along the time-honored lines of how can you understand the present without understanding how we have gotten there?

 

So here are some of my rules as to why history is important:

 

1)  It helps you understand change. Most things in the media world evolve; they are not revolutionary. So, if you look at the past decade or two, you will see how things have moved and have a handle as to where they might go. I once presented to my team a lengthy update on cable TV with a two-minute summary of how it started back in 1948. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, a very strong negotiator blurted out “who cares about that. Even YOU were not born then.” Laughing, I stressed how the 120 second background sketch that I built would not hurt her and I proceeded. Yet, as talented as she was, she had no ability but to see right in front of her. The past and the future meant zero.

2)  Looking at history is inspiring. Just this morning, I discovered a new entry about how my first American ancestor came to Plymouth, Massachusetts approximately 10 years after the Mayflower dropped anchor. He was quite a character and I thought about what he had to overcome to get there and make his way in the new world. Study how entrepreneurs persisted and overcame one failure after another. You will find that there are very few overnight sensations in the world of commerce.

3)  Above all, when you study the history of your field you begin to see patterns. They are not all able to predict the future but as Mark Twain put it, “history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.”** As you get older, you often tell yourself “I have seen this movie before.” For me, it has been true of media, real estate, commodity, equity, and new product development arenas. Development follows patterns as do trends. This point is made wonderfully by hedge fund manager Ray Dalio is his new book, “Principles for Dealing with the New World Order, Why Nations Succeed and Fail” (Avid Reader Press, 2021). The book is a tour de force that takes you through several hundred years of economic history and global reserve currencies and makes some scary possible scenarios for the future. It is easy to read and really makes you think.

 

So, whatever you do, may I suggest that you embrace the history of your discipline. You may be surprised or you may be mortified but I doubt if you will be bored. And, it will likely help you get a handle on the future.

 

 

**I once used the Mark Twain quote to a group of university students. Most nodded but a student’s hand shot up and he said,  ”Who is Mark Twain?” That night a rare event occurred. I had a difficult time falling asleep as I worried about the future of our country.

 

 

If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com or leave a message on the blog.