20 Ducere Est Servire: THE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL OF DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, But he’ll remember, with advantages, What feats he did that day. Then shall our names, Familiar in his mouth as household words- Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester- Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red. This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered . . . . (IV.iii.51-61) Henry casts a vision of a compelling future based upon their courage this day. He speaks of the reward at home that will be theirs because they fought bravely against the French and against the odds. Their names will be remembered, and their stories told to the next generation. He allows them to see a compelling future of what could be and, in doing so, overcomes fear with visionary courage. Great leaders are vision-casters who understand what a Frenchman named Antoine de Saint-Exupery is credited with saying: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”40 Effective vision-casting is critical in leadership. Rotberg writes, “Successful leaders are consummate visionaries, know how expertly to mobilize followers and citizens behind their visions, and intuitively understand that to turn a vision and a mobilized following into a transformational force they, as leaders, must retain that difficult to define quality known as legitimacy.”41 Henry closes his speech with an appeal to brotherhood and sacrifice: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
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