The Christmas Truce of 1914 and why we should all show more compassion

Compared to being in the trenches of WW I or 27 years of imprisonment our daily toils are trivial and mundane

As we are at the end of 2019, Christmas is coming, and a brand new decade beckons, I have been thinking a lot about what to share with you this week. My predictions for the next 10 years? A review of my past letters? Our latest lessons learned about SaaS metrics? No, I decided instead that I want to share thoughts about forgiveness, gratitude, and compassion.

On Christmas eve of 1914, roughly 100,000 British and German troops were involved in unofficial cessations of hostility along the Western Front when the Germans placed candles on their trenches and on Christmas trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols. The British responded by singing carols of their own. The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were excursions across No Man’s Land, where small gifts were exchanged, such as food, tobacco and alcohol, and souvenirs such as buttons and hats. The guns fell silent. The truce also allowed a brief spell where recently killed soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Joint services were held. In many sectors, the truce lasted through Christmas night, continuing until New Years day in other sectors. [Wikipedia]

When Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa, he invited several former adversaries, who had caused him much suffering, to his residence for lunch. One of them was Percy Yutar, a Lithuanian immigrant who became South Africa’s first Jewish state attorney, and who had headed the prosecution against Mandela and his co-accused. In 1963, during sentencing at the Rivonia trial, Yutar had argued that the full weight of the law should be brought to bear on the defendants, but did not specify whether he believed the defendants should be executed or sentenced to prison. Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment and was transferred to Robben Island where he spent 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment. According to records, after their lunch, which was kosher, Yutar spoke of Nelson Mandela as “a saintly man.”

If you were an army General at the time of Christmas 1914, you could have considered the obstinate behaviour of your troops as flagrant disregard of orders, or even treason. But in spite of the potential punishments, troops on both sides of one of the most horrific theatres of war ever decided to let the human speak. They decided to seek, for a limited time, friendship and brotherhood, across the most bloodied lines the world had ever seen.

Nelson Mandela decided to forgive his tormentors. He understood that they were instruments of the evils of apartheid. He, by himself, was a symbol. The state had to deal with the symbol rather than Nelson Mandela, the person.

Nelson Mandela decided to forgive his tormentors. He understood that they were instruments of the evils of apartheid.

Neither of these acts were simple, easy, or obvious. In the case of WWI, they seemed to erupt by chance during a horrific war, at the spur of the moment, driven from the bottom up by private soldiers. In the case of Nelson Mandela, he no doubt had plenty of years of imprisonment to think through and decide on his behaviour and course of action should he ever be freed. Nelson Mandela wasn’t perfect either, as history has shown, but that is what also makes him human.

As we go about our day-to-day business, it is very easy to get caught up in our own small problems and conflicts, whether these occur inside our companies, or with customers, partners, investors or whichever constituencies are important to us. When we have a quiet moment to reflect on the good and the less good of the past year, it is much easier to step back and look at the bigger picture, and think about how situations or conflicts could have been defused or avoided. I, myself, know that maybe, perhaps, I should think much more along the lines of compassion, forgiveness, and reconciliation in my day-to-day work. It is so easily forgotten in our everyday stresses. Compared to being in the trenches of WWI or suffering 27 years of imprisonment, our daily toils are trivial and mundane.

As we go about our day-to-day business, it is very easy to get caught up in our own small problems and conflicts, whether these occur inside our companies, or with customers, partners, investors or whichever constituencies are important to us.

When I was reading about these extraordinary feats of compassion and forgiveness, I could not help but think about our current world — so full of radicalisation, identity politics, tribalism, polarisation, and selfishness. At the core of our humanity is a desire for common good, the sharing of wealth, and social cohesion. When did this all disappear?

Entrepreneurs are some of the most successful, privileged, intelligent, and driven people on the planet. I know you feel deeply impassioned about your mission of building great businesses. In the process of doing this, you become symbols and role models, not only for your employees, but for many other people in your city, your community, your country, and your industry. Many of you advise or meet regularly with heads of state, ministers, and politicians.

If we all carry ourselves a bit more like the extraordinary people described in the opening paragraphs, and if we can add some more compassion, forgiveness, and reconciliation to our business dealings, we will do our part in making the world — and the next decade — better for all.