The Downside of Single-Minded Commitment

David McCullough's The Path Between the Seas isn't just history—it's a masterclass in what makes or breaks innovation. I've been astounded by the lessons that modern-day leaders can glean from his account of the creation of the Panama Canal, so I thought I'd share a few here.

Let's start with the French attempt.

In 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps was an international hero, and for good reason. He had led the ten-year effort to achieve the impossible—to build the Suez Canal. With his newfound public stature and accompanying political influence, he turned his sights to Panama, where he planned to use his experience and force of will to repeat his success and cement his legacy.

There were competing opinions on whether it should be a sea-level canal or one with locks and dams to move ships across the isthmus. De Lesseps decided it must be the former, as a sea-level canal had worked in Egypt. What worked in Egypt's flat desert, however, was disastrous in Panama's mountainous jungle—but de Lesseps refused to see the difference. Worse, he would not tolerate any difference of opinion.

The French effort ultimately failed for many reasons, but chief among them was the leader's unwillingness to reconsider his position or alter his plans. It would be easy to write his behavior off as mere hard-headedness, but there was something deeper at play that could affect any of us. De Lesseps' prior canal success led him to internalize the hard-won lessons as universal truths that became part of his identity. When faced with evidence that his approach in Panama would not work, he rejected it not because it was wrong, but because it threatened who he was.

When evidence conflicts with identity, identity usually wins.

It recalls George Bernard Shaw's observation: "Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." Why does success tend to calcify our thinking? Because success doesn't just create blind spots. It creates sacred stories we're afraid to violate. When criticism becomes heresy, diverse opinions disappear, increasing the likelihood of an avoidable catastrophe becoming reality.

How many promising ventures today are failing not from lack of resources, but from leaders too committed to their original vision to adapt? Like any strength, single-minded commitment can be overplayed if we're not careful.