On the day of his promotion to brigadier general on June 1, 1979, General Powell was given this quote by his friend, Stuart Purviance, then Secretary of Defense Harold Brown’s protocol officer. The quote is one part of a famous conversation between President Lincoln and a telegrapher for the Brigadier General of Fairfax Station and refers to the concern for the elements that matter most: “the horses, the soldiers, the employees, the clerks, the students, the faculty, whatever it takes to be successful in whatever it is you’re trying to achieve,” as Powell is quoted as saying in David Rubenstein’s book How to Lead.