Why our generals were more successful in World War II than in Korea, Vietnam or Iraq/Afghanistan

Why HN readers recommended it

Used in hiring and management debates as an analysis of fast evaluation, quick dismissal without stigma, and the cost of keeping underperformers.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel

UC Berkeley Events

Topic

military leadership accountability

Format

lecture

Level

general

HN recommenders in dataset

3

HN mentions in dataset

6

Recommendation years in dataset

2018–2024

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

• Possibly the best analysis of this I have yet seen is the video Why our generals were most successful in World War II that in Korea, Vietnam or Iraq/Afghanistan: [VIDEO] Essentially, the answer is the hiring methodology. If someone seemed like a best fit for …

• Never joke about firing people, but don't hesitate to do it. That is the complete advice. Joking about firing people never brought anything good; firing people when needed, that is essential for organizations. There is a lengthy explanation in this: "Why our generals were more …

• This is a interesting talk held on UC Berkeley about the culture of firing officers during WWII: [VIDEO] Thomas E. Ricks main hypothesis is that the US failures in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq can be attributed to the culture of firing under-performing disappearing. It mirrors …