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Creating a People-Centric Culture

L A R R Y P E T E R S
s e c o n d e d i t i o n
The Simple Truths About Leadership
 Larry Peters

The Simple Truths

About Leadership
Creating a People-Centric Culture

Second edition
Larry Peters
Neeley School of Business
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, TX, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-03957-8    ISBN 978-3-030-03958-5 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03958-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018965489

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole
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not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective
laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
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give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions
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 Preface

I am a student of effective organizations. From both my academic perch and

consulting experience, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it
comes to organizational effectiveness. It always amazes me that there is so
much “bad and ugly”…and how often it is earned! Every now and then, I
come across a truly effective organization and marvel at the underlying sim-
plicity that seems to define and sustain its success. As I encountered more
examples of truly effective organizations, in large and small companies alike,
I have come to understand the few Simple Truths that seem to underlie and
help explain their sustainable success.
After two decades of studying, consulting with, and talking about effective
organizations, I’ve decided to share my ideas and insights to a business world
that needs them now more than ever. In this book, I will speak about 10 Simple
Truths that have always mattered for engaging the heads and hearts of people,
and argue why they are so important today. In doing so, I will use examples
from my consulting experience and share brief stories from several great compa-
nies (e.g., Southwest Airlines) that bring these Simple Truths to life.
Leaders who embrace these Simple Truths can produce what I call a People-­
Centric culture. It is one that puts the responsibility for long-term success—
in a turbulent business environment where it belongs—on the people who
have to embrace and enact new visions, strategies, business models, technol-
ogy, and reorganizations if the business is to prosper. After developing these
ideas, I will speak about the kind personal leadership necessary to earn the
right to lead others in this direction. The last chapter of the book focuses on
building a People-Centric culture and a call to action to those who are now
clear about the “what” and “why” of a People-Centric culture. I will end the
book by looking at a true People-Centric culture and leader. This company,

v
vi Preface

Beryl, has produced spectacular business results that are arguably closely con-
nected to its culture. You will get the chance to learn from Paul Spiegelman,
the founder and first CEO of Beryl, as he talks about his efforts to build a
culture that gets the best from his people every day.

Why This Book? Why Now?

Our businesses have suffered serious harm during the middle of the last
decade due to the worldwide economic slowdown and great recession. In
the process of staying the course, business leaders have made a number of
decisions and have taken a number of actions that have done harm to their
relationships with their employees. They’ve essentially rewritten the psycho-
logical contract with their people in ways that many will have a hard time
forgetting and leaders will have a hard time reversing. The new psychologi-
cal contract tells employees that their leaders are in it for themselves, for
their owners and stockholders, for positive reports from Wall Street, and for
their customer base—for every stakeholder group other than the people
who work there! This is the seedbed for serious problems. It cast a shadow
on how willing employees had become to trust their leaders and, maybe,
more importantly, on their willingness to commit to the long-term success
of the business going forward.
Why now? This is the perfect timing for such a book. A return to a more posi-
tive business cycle gives leaders a reprieve, and they need to take full advantage
of it before the business cycle reverses itself and they remain stuck in old ways of
thinking and old ways of acting. Economists tell us that we’re now closer to the
next recession than to the last one. It is in those down times that businesses need
their people most…and leaders must start earning that support starting now.
This book will provide an understanding of why this is a critical business issue
and how leaders and their organizations need to change so that old patterns of
dysfunction end and new patterns of effectiveness take root.

Purpose
I had several purposes for writing this book. First, I wanted to provide
hope for business leaders who are currently struggling with getting the
best their people have to offer. It is not surprising that surveys show
American workers to be so disengaged, mistrusting of their leaders, and
uncommitted to the success of their business. It doesn’t have to be that
 Preface vii

way! Disengagement, lack of trust, and low commitment need to be

replaced with heart, energy, and real commitment—where all people act
as real partners in the business. I will describe what this alternative looks
like and why it matters in turbulent and uncertain times. I will exemplify
this purpose with examples from great companies like Southwest Airlines
and Beryl, and other companies that have paved the way to this new
understanding.
Second, I wanted to provide a roadmap for creating a more engaged and
committed workforce. I will do this by addressing what I call the Simple Truths
about creating and sustaining a successful business. These 10 Simple Truths
are ones that many people seem to understand and agree with, but nonethe-
less seem to undervalue. Business leaders continue to look for some sort of
secret sauce rather than the straightforward ways that great companies have
always produced an engaged workforce and long-term success.
Third, I wanted to address how leaders can move in the direction of making
these Simple Truths a part of their lives. In doing so, I point out that we, as
business leaders, create most of the people problems we struggle with, and
then need to address. When business leaders understand how their actions
weaken and even break the psychological contract with their people, they can
finally see, understand, and get on a new path to prosperous futures. The
insight here is not in identifying and discussing each Simple Truth, but, rather,
in speaking to why, as a set, they create the only path forward that assures the
support of the very people who can make a company successful.
Fourth, I looked at People-Centric leadership from four viewpoints.
First, I discuss what it takes to become a People-Centric leader. This
involves being fully respectful of the people we lead—to all of our people,
all of the time. I focus on a broader meaning of “respect,” and talk about
several components that can serve as a guide to leaders who want to step
up to this personal challenge. Second, I speak to what leaders can do to
earn the right to lead others toward adopting a more People-Centric per-
spective. This is essentially a discussion of what it means to be a living
emblem of People-Centric leadership; to model the way. Third, I discuss
how leaders can help develop others, so that they become more effective
leaders. When we can grow the next generation of leaders to be more
People-Centric, we are on a path toward creating a more People-Centric
culture. That’s the end-point in a journey—one that starts with you,
moves to others, and ends with impacting the entire organization. Finally,
I challenge readers to step up to move themselves, others, and their orga-
nization toward a more People-Centric way of being.
viii Preface

A Final Note
I far too often run into people who proclaim that they have little ability to
influence their circumstance, and as a result fall victim to it…or, said more
accurately, fall victim to their thought process. If we truly believe we cannot
change anything, we will be right! Our actions follow our thoughts. Don’t fall
victim to old ways of thinking. We can, and do, create our future, and it
doesn’t have to be a linear extension of our past. We can make new choices;
create new realities.
If you are not getting the best from your people, read this book with the
goal of turning that around. If your people are disengaged and non-­committed,
don’t just blame them. After all, you helped to create the circumstances that
led to disengagement and non-commitment. Begin by changing how you
think about your people and about your leadership. Chose to value your peo-
ple, and then, act as though this were really important to you. If you do this
in ways that truly show your respect, you will have taken the first step in turn-
ing your people into your partners.
This can be a difficult first step for many who believe that leaders need to
be strong and people need to be pushed to get the job done. That’s old think-
ing, and old thinking gets old results. In a new world, this is dangerous. So, I
am asking you to fight this older, more traditional view of how we lead and
what little to expect from our people. It reflects a bygone era. Today’s business
challenges require us to get the best from our people…and they choose
whether to give it or not! New ways of thinking; new ways of leading.
Change your mindset and you are on the path that leads to a sustainable,
positive future. Change others’ mindsets and you are on the path to building a
culture where everyone has a responsibility to each other and to the company.
It starts with you. Enjoy the journey.
Larry Peters
Website: http://www.SimpleTruthsLeadership.com
Email: Larry@SimpleTruthsLeadership.com

Fort Worth, TX, USA Larry Peters

 Acknowledgments

I am happy to share a revised, updated, and expanded version of my first

book, The Simple Truths About Leadership. I decided to write a second edition
based on the feedback I’ve received from dozens of readers. They loved it…
and they told me they wanted more on:

• what partnership is all about

• how to help others understand and adopt a more People-Centric mindset
and leadership style
• what it means to have a People-Centric culture
• how to bring about a People-Centric culture, and
• how these ideas work in a “real world” setting

This revision will do all that while maintaining the integrity of the ideas that
make it distinctive from other books on leadership. The biggest change was to
connect the dots from leadership to corporate culture. The second edition will
underscore the role of corporate culture as a way to leverage the impact of lead-
ers. To that end, I’ve expanded the ideas around culture and gone into more
detail on how to shift toward a more People-Centric culture that can deliver
the kind of results that are needed to adapt quickly to changing business reali-
ties. I still focus on the need, and path, for turning our people into our part-
ners, and now speak about how to embed these ideas into the culture. I hope
you like this shift in focus and find value in it for serving your needs.
I would like to thank Marcus Ballenger, commissioning editor at Palgrave
Macmillan, for shepherding my proposal to final acceptance, and Jacqui
Young, my editorial assistant at Palgrave Macmillan, for her responsiveness to
my many questions during the manuscript preparation process. I also want to

ix
x Acknowledgments

thank decades of MBA students who shared stories about their organizations
and leaders, who challenged my ideas with tough questions, and who pro-
vided critical feedback. As a result, they helped sharpen my thinking and
build my confidence that I was bringing an important message into the world.
I want to say thank you to Cynthia Young and Paul Spiegelman, who for over
a decade have come to my MBA classes to talk about their businesses—Beryl
and Southwest Airlines—and help teach my students the real applications of,
and real business results that come from, living these Simple Truths in their
organizations. A special thanks to Paul for graciously allowing me to interview
him and share his story about a great People-Centric culture and business. I
have always admired Paul and regard his story as a great example of what can
be created and sustained by a true People-Centric leader. Finally, I want to
thank my wife Dawn for encouraging me to bring newer ideas into written
form and complete the work I started with her support a few years ago.
Please reach out to me with your thoughts, feedback, questions, and ideas
for future editions. I listened to your feedback when deciding what needed to
be added to this edition. Perhaps you can help shape the third edition…or
other works that build on this foundation.
Feel free to contact me at Larry@SimpleTruthsLeadership.com.
 Praise for The Simple Truths About Leadership

“Tremendous! Dr. Peters has written an engaging and accessible book on leadership
that achieves that rare combination of being truly insightful while simultaneously
being extremely practical. His advice on how to create a People-Centric culture really
hits the mark, and his 10 truths might indeed be simple but they clearly are pro-
found—and they can have a significant impact on you and your leadership. I highly
recommend this wonderful book.”
—Stephen M.R. Covey, co-founder, FranklinCovey Speed of Trust Practice;
NYT best-­selling author of The Speed of Trust and co-author of Smart Trust

“Dr. Peters writes from long and unique experience as he helps us become not just
better leaders, but better people. Investing in this wonderful volume is like engaging
Peters as your personal mentor—you’ll never get a better ROI!”
—Joseph Grenny, co-chairman, VitalSmarts; NYT best-selling
author of Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change

“The lessons in this book are critical for the new talent era. Employees as partners and
investors in the ideas, purpose, product, and processes of our organizations is exactly
what is needed in today’s fast-paced, changing talent landscape where employees are
incentivized by an entirely new set of operating principles. Larry brings forth in pow-
erful conversation the thing that excites and inspires us all: partnership. A must read
top winner for any leader’s bookshelf—start treating your employees as partners or
someone else will!”
—Louis Carter, CEO, Best Practice Institute; author of In Great Company: How to
Spark Peak Performance by Creating an Emotionally Connected Workplace

“We all know that a company can only be as great as its people make it. The question
is, how can you create a culture in which your people want to create a great business
as much as you do? Larry Peters shows you the way in Simple Truths. He speaks spe-
cifically to the role that leaders play in getting the best from their people, and cultures
that can sustain a great business.”
—Bo Burlingham, contributing writer, Forbes; best-selling author of
Small Giants and Finish Big

“I have witnessed the impact of the Simple Truths that Peters discusses in my years at
Beryl. We have been a very profitable business and are regularly acknowledged as an
employer of choice. That has everything to do with our culture and the kind of leader-
ship we foster throughout our business. As I look back on our journey, we have not
only embraced these Simple Truths, but we have brought them to life in ways that I
did not imagine possible when I started this company. I think this is a must read book

xi
xii Praise for The Simple Truths About Leadership

for everyone who wants to be intentional about getting the best from their people,
who want partners and not just employees.”
—Paul Spiegelman, founder and former CEO, The Beryl Companies; co-founder,
Small Giants Community; NYT best-selling author of Patients
Come Second: Leading Change by Changing the Way You Lead

“At Southwest Airlines, these Simple Truths were alive for all of us, all the time. People-
Centric Leadership captures what we called Servant Leadership, and it was vital to our
long-term success. It was simply part of our DNA; it was part of who we were, because
the Simple Truths were so embedded in our culture. As Larry shares in the book,
benchmarking visitors to Southwest Airlines often didn’t ‘get it’—they wanted the
recipe for the ‘secret sauce.’ They thought it had to be complicated, when it’s really
simple in principle. But the truth is that we’re all capable of creating a People-Centric
culture by living these Simple Truths. You don’t have to be Herb Kelleher or Colleen
Barrett to create that culture, but you have to want to embrace Peters’ Simple Truths
to be on that journey. If you do, be prepared to see the best of your people.”
—Cynthia Young, chief of staff, UT-Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

“Few books on leadership actually create a clear context for their discussion about
and recommendations for leading. Peters’ book does this and more. We are clearly
living in a time of increasingly rapid change, one that has strong implications for
what we need from our people. It is the clarification of those implications that make
Peters’ thinking about leadership so relevant. In a world that demands nimble, fast,
and empowered behavior, business leaders need people to become partners, not just
followers. The time has gone when people can be expected to wait for marching
orders to do what is necessary. It has been replaced by the need for people to step up
and do what is needed, when it is needed. It is more than empowerment, but reflects
a way of contribution that can distinguish a business from its competitors. As Peters
points out, leaders need to earn this level of partnership, and his RESPECT model
for becoming a People-Centric leader clearly depicts what it takes to earn that part-
nership. I love that he doesn’t stop there, but talks about what it takes for leaders to
develop new People-Centric leaders and how to embed a more People-Centric
approach into the company culture.”
—Dr. Karie Willyerd, chief learning officer, VISA International; author of
Stretch: How to Future-Proof Yourself for Tomorrow’s Workplace

“Larry Peters does an outstanding job of painting a path forward for what it takes to
truly be a People-Centric leader. His 10 Simple Truths are the building blocks for any
leader interested in awakening the sleeping giant of human potential in their organi-
zation. His insights on what creates a People-Centric culture are invaluable!”
—Jim Haudan, chairman and co-founder, Root Learning, Inc.; best-selling author
of The Art of Engagement and co-author of What Are Your Blind Spots?
 Praise for The Simple Truths About Leadership xiii

“Finally, a current, practical, insightful book that I would have assigned as required
reading for each of my graduate and executive students. In addition, I would have
regularly both borrowed from it and recommended it as reading for both my strategy
and change leadership clients. Larry pulls together wisdom from many recognized
sources, combines it with his own personal experience, and presents it in a clear con-
cise manner valuable for leaders in our rapidly changing times. The Application
Activities he presents provide leaders with the tools required to make his ideas tan-
gible and drive them down through their organization. Good read—Great book!”
—Edward J. O’Connor, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Management
and Health Administration, University of Colorado Denver;
retired founder and principal, the Implementation Institute

“Simple Truths is motivating, meaningful and shares a fresh look at real leadership.
Dr. Peters connects how seemingly small decisions and actions can build to long-term
lasting impact. His stories and examples provide real-life situations to help us incor-
porate these Simple Truths into our life. This is a must read for leaders who have
purpose and want to have impact in the world around them.”
—Patti Johnson, CEO, PeopleResults; author of Make Waves:
Be the One to Start Change at Work and in Life

“Leadership is often thought of and discussed in terms of a powerful individual direct-

ing passive, powerless followers. Larry Peters understands what so many others do not:
(a) that a good leader must first be able to effectively lead himself or herself, and (b)
true leadership cannot exist without mutuality between a leader and proactive follow-
ers. Perhaps every good leader ultimately comes to similar conclusions on his or her
own, but as anyone who has tried and failed knows, the path to effective leadership is
challenging, often non-intuitive, and never-ending. Simple Truths About Leadership is
unique in that it provides practical and actionable guidance for navigating the path to
better leadership—for oneself, others, and the organization. I am already sharing with
students and managers the developmental approach presented in this book. I am also
building many of Larry Peters’ ideas into my own People-Centric research.”
—Dr. Hettie Richardson, chair, Department of Management and Leadership,
Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University

“Peters gets it. The problems and issues I see when consulting with senior leaders are
often of their own making…and they don’t see it, and, therefore, appear doomed to
repeat them. This easy to read and powerful book captures the root cause of this sort
of drama and not only helps leaders see their role in creating the problems they face
but also shows how to avoid them in the first place. My consulting often addresses
giving leaders the skill to deal with their messes, when the real skill involves how they
think and act every day in support of those on whom they depend. This small book
is packed with big ideas for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders.”
—Simon Lia, president, GEMS Consulting, Inc.; master consultant
and trainer; author of Gapocrisy and CEO Psycho
 Contents

1 Setting the Stage   1

2 Times Are a Changing – And So Is Everything Else   9

3 Our Mindsets: The Answer Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight  23

4 What Does It Mean to Be a Partner?  35

5 Balance Matters  45

6 Corporate Culture: It Takes More Than Donuts!  63

7 Leading Culture Change: Moving from Here to There  73

8 Leading Self and Others to a More People-Centric Being  97

9 Growing the Next Generation of People-Centric Leaders 117

10 Leading a Culture Change Revolution: Your Leadership

Challenge 131

xv
xvi Contents

11 Corporate Culture and People-Centric Leadership at Beryl:

An Interview with Paul Spiegelman 139

References 153

Index157
 List of Figures

Fig. 3.1 Empowerment survey 33

Fig. 5.1 The Circle of Growth®55
Fig. 5.2 The Circle of Growth®61

xvii
 1
Setting the Stage

I was part of a team of consultants that worked with senior leaders at a defense
contractor that was attempting to win a very big government contract against
long odds and strong competition. These leaders were well versed on what it
took to win this contract—technical perfection in engineering design of a
technologically complex defense product and an organization that could be
counted on to deliver on requirements surrounding cost, quality, and sched-
ule. Government auditors had made it clear—being technically perfect was
only half the battle. All competitors for this contract had the engineering
expertise to create a winning prototype. Their challenge was creating a culture
where people would do all the things necessary to meet the cost, quality, and
schedule requirements. That turned out to be a very big challenge.
Hard working leaders. Smart people. Great decision makers. Talented
problem solvers. Disciplined in doing their work.
But…that was not enough.
This was new territory for them, one for which the company’s future hung
in the balance. It was about creating a new state of being, a new culture, rather
than addressing a big problem or making a tough decision. Everything they
knew that made them a great management team worked against them—they
acted like this was just another problem to solve, another decision to make, and
another opportunity to prove their experience would carry them forward.
Culture doesn’t change as a result of great decision making and great prob-
lem solving. Culture permeates throughout an organization and its subunits
and impacts everyday thought and action. Changing thought and action is
about our identity as an organization, and culture change, therefore, is never
a problem to solve or a decision to make. It involves a process that few under-

© The Author(s) 2019 1

L. Peters, The Simple Truths About Leadership,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03958-5_1
2 L. Peters

stand because it involves not only senior leaders and formal leaders through-
out the hierarchy, but everyone else as well.
Even if these executives truly understood this assertion, they had never
lived it. This was new territory for them. They had read all the books. They
knew what to say and they said it well. We didn’t have to teach them much
about effective organizations or culture or change. They were experts!
And they were lost…and they knew it.
They understood the challenge they faced was more than change. It was
creating a new order of things in an organization that struggled with simulta-
neously achieving cost, quality, and schedule goals in their past. Their history
with change made it clear that they needed to change how they led change efforts.
It was for this reasons that we were brought in. They wanted help.
They needed help.
Despite conversations in which they stated that they understood how to
lead this change effort, they had never attempted change on anything of this
type, scale, or scope before. Their choice of words suggested that they believed
it would be impossible. They had a history of hiring consultants, creating
plans, delegating assignments, and pushing programs forward—and going
nowhere.
The time frame for the change effort was over two years out. Prototypes,
plans, and government audits would fill that time, as the countdown began
toward the final decision. Early on, we talked continuously about leadership,
about their leadership, and about change. We talked about what it meant for
them to show up as effective, trustworthy people first, and then as effective
leaders. We talked about how culture can shift. We talked about their role and
how it would have to evolve to lead this type of change effort. We talked about
change strategy. We talked a lot about organizational conditions (e.g., work
design, structure, metrics, and HR systems to include pay and rewards) that
conflicted with their change goals. And, importantly, we talked about their
workforce.
The workforce at this company was neither engaged nor committed to
company success. They did what they had to do, and some of them, some of
the time, went out of the way to make things worse (i.e., deliberate sabotage).
Their union–management problems were long-term, deep-rooted, and well-­
documented. There was no cooperation on anything. Their functions fought
each other, and in the aftermath, winners and losers alike left the organization
less able to meet company objectives and work goals. They struggled to attract
young people or keep those they were able to hire. Their turnover rate among
their best employees, and thus their “brain drain,” was alarming. The people
there made pejorative reference to their executives who worked in what they
 Setting the Stage 3

euphemistically called the palace—offices that conveyed a majestic status

magnified by the drab surroundings and aging furniture and computers that
others had throughout the organization.
It was no surprise that this executive team knew that winning this contract
would require a deep change in everything to do with their people. It also
came as no surprise that they believed that it would take a miracle to reinvent
this culture in a two-year time frame.
Over time, these executives started to understand the role that their work-
force needed to play in securing their future. The epiphany came when we had
them conduct focus groups with their own people and they came away shak-
ing their heads as they reported stories they heard from a cynical workforce
that was in pain. They heard stories about their own decisions and actions that
lead to this pain. This executive team finally understood the role they played
in creating the conditions that led to a culture that now made change all that
more difficult.
Had they experienced this epiphany several years earlier, they might have
started to create a more People-Centric and effective workplace where their
current change challenge would be neither as daunting nor so seemingly
impossible. They finally understood the need to make their people partners in
creating their future. Easily said, but a miracle indeed in a company where
leaders had spent decades harming their relationship with the very people
who now were needed to secure this company’s future.
This was my key learning from this engagement: The organizational con-
ditions these leaders created became the very problems that they had to
overcome. A famous 1970s’ syndicated comic strip (see Kelly 1971) had a very
insightful cartoon character, Pogo, looking into the distance and proclaiming,
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” That same thing was at work here.
These executives created their challenge. Had they better understood what
it meant to treat their workforce as a critical stakeholder every day, cost, qual-
ity, and schedule would be everyone’s responsibility, and not just those who
managed these metrics. Had they worked to create a real shared future with
their people, that workforce would have been more readily on board for
change when change was needed. Had they turned their people into their
partners, the culture change that seemed so daunting to formal leaders would
have been everyone’s responsibility to produce.
This learning point has stuck with me throughout the subsequent years. I
began to see examples of and heard stories about executive teams and other
leaders who managed to harm their relationship with their people and, as a
consequence, experienced the blunt end of their power when their cooperation
was most needed. Espousing values about how important people are is not
4 L. Peters

enough to secure the real support that people must add in all modern organiza-
tions. Support like that takes time to earn, and it is easy to lose.
When we don’t understand the critical role that our people play, we can’t
lead and manage in ways that truly make them our partners. We can’t (or
won’t) see how we have to protect this stakeholder group’s allegiance. We will
never see the Simple Truths I describe or understand the type of leadership
that we need to live every day for all of this to happen, the foundation stones
that help engage people in and commit them to an organization’s cause. We
will never create the corporate culture where shared responsibility and change
are just what people do every day.
In this book, I will describe 10 Simple Truths that, when taken together,
arguably lead to more effective organizations and cultures that sustain that
effectiveness. They are axiomatic. They are what it takes to create and sustain
organizations where people not only perform up to their capabilities, but also
show up when we need them most, in times of change.
I have presented these Simple Truths dozens of times to leaders, managers,
and students who nod their heads in real understanding and agreement…and
who also wonder out loud whether they are able to lead and manage in ways
consistent with the principals they reflect. Simple does not mean easy.
For some, years of mental habits will make this mindset feel unnatural and
uncomfortable. For others, prior success in older ways of thinking will make
acceptance of some of these Simple Truths challenging. Still other readers will
be excited to see a path to goals that they care about for their business. Don’t
let prior mental habit and prior approaches get in the way of seeing this pos-
sibility. Allow yourself to become excited about a new path that can produce
the results you want most—a sustainably successful business that can weather,
and thrive in, the turbulent times that all businesses face.
I suspect that some of you might believe it would be hard to implement
these Simple Truths in your business. In the company described above, these
leaders spent decades dipped in a culture that made these truths hard to see
and accept, and even harder to make come alive. They seemed too simple to
be real; too simple to work. And yet we can find examples of organizations
that live these Simple Truths every day…and who thrive.
Southwest Airlines is a well-known example. Even here, my friend Cynthia
Young, former Director of Internal Customer Care for a decade, tells me that
people find it hard to believe the Simple Truths that underscore Southwest’s
long-term success. She would regularly make presentations on, or host visitors
who come to learn about, the Southwest way, only to hear people repeatedly
ask, “Cynthia, what do you really do to get your people to buy in so much to
Southwest’s culture?” So simple they can’t be real; too simple to work!
 Setting the Stage 5

The Simple Truths work because of leaders who are People-Centric at their
core—in their mindset, their heart-set, and their behavior. They work because
of People-Centric leaders who infect others with this approach, and who help
embed these truths into their culture. They work because the culture it pro-
duces is one where people are engaged and committed to serving each other,
their customers, and the business well. They work because it is a path to some-
thing that serves all stakeholders—a place to serve and to be served, a place to
be supported, to grow, and be honored for contributions…and a place where
everyone can prosper.
What form does this leadership take? It is leadership based on true respect
for all people these leaders touch (employees, customers, stockholders, suppli-
ers, distributors, etc.), built on a foundation of the Simple Truths.
Too simple to be true; too simple to work.
Imagine what could result if your organization culture produced engage-
ment, commitment, and contribution from all of your people. Now imagine
the consequences that would follow if you didn’t try to bring about this level
of engagement, commitment, and contribution to your business. Then ask,
where are we now? What direction are we headed in and what does our score-
card look like? Are your people highly engaged, committed, and contributing
to your business’ success? Is there a gap…and does that gap have anything to
do with failing to create the kind of culture that can create and sustain an
effective organization?
You will find application questions and activities at the end of every chap-
ter. Answer the questions and do the activities. I recommend that you bring
your leadership team together to discuss these questions and do these activi-
ties together. Effective organizations do not just happen…they require leader-
ship and sustained efforts at helping everyone in the organization (whether
100 people or 1000 people or 100,000 people) come to value and live these
Simple Truths. The outcome will be an organization that can win today and
tomorrow, that doesn’t struggle with creating the next order of things—either
inventing new ways of competing or quickly catching up with those that do.
For most of us, that means that personal development has to be on our
career journey. Indeed, as noted by Willyerd and Mistick (2016), personal
development has become a necessity in today’s changing reality. We cannot
fully predict what new business challenges will occur with changing tech-
nologies, global competition, geopolitical strife, government policies, regu-
lations and law, economic well-being, consumer tastes, and so forth. We
can predict that we, personally, will need to change to meet those chal-
lenges…or, like a bottle of milk that sits in your refrigerator, we will have
an “expiration date!” Growth is our challenge. Look at the ideas in this
book as an opportunity to see how you might need to grow to be more
6 L. Peters

effective in a rapidly changing work world. Look at these ideas as a growth

path toward your ability to get the best of your people in organizations that
will need the best their people can provide more now than ever.
Easy but difficult. Be patient with yourself as you start on the path toward
becoming a People-Centric leader. Be patient with others, as you attempt to
enroll them in a value system, maybe the only value system, that can promise
sustainable organizational effectiveness.

Application Activities
This chapter was designed to give you an introduction to the major themes of
this book. In this chapter, the questions were designed to create a baseline for
these themes. Consider this an early snapshot of your business, leadership,
and company culture. If you are part of a leadership team, do this together as
a team.
If it would be useful, collect information and data from within your busi-
ness. Use surveys or interviews or focus groups or social media to learn more
from people who are in a position to see things you might miss or undervalue.
Do so with an open mind…you may hear many things that you will not
believe (and some that should not be given great consideration), but you may
also learn about so much more than you have understood just because you’re
located in the midst of the fray, busily working to accomplish your full agenda.
As a leadership team, come to an agreement about where your company
is…where it’s going, and how ready you are to get there.
 Setting the Stage 7

Application Activity 1.1: Your Baseline

I gave you a peek at the senior leaders of a company that needed to create
significant change to win a government contract or face the likelihood of
going out of business. These leaders struggled with their people, and when
they needed them most, during a culture change, their people didn’t respond
well, and these leaders, in turn, didn’t know how to respond either. Culture
change is hard enough without having a broken relationship with the very
people who need to implement those changes.
Take a look at the questions below as they apply to your work setting—
whether it be a department, function, or the entire company. Can you see the
threads of the fabric that has already been woven into your company’s
culture?
Answer the following questions. If it would be useful, discuss them with
your team. It might lead to an interesting discussion.

• When you think about what business results are possible in your work area
(department, function, or business), where do you stand? Describe any gap
between what is possible and what you commonly observe.
• Do your current results, especially the gaps you identified, have anything
to do with your people and their contributions? Explain.
• How would you describe the relationship between formal leaders and the
people who report to them? …how about the relationship with those who
report up to you?
• Have formal leaders in your area (department, function, or business) earned
the trust and respect of their people every day? Explain. Have you earned
the trust and respect of your people every day?
• Having answered these questions, is there a real opportunity for improve-
ment in the way people are treated, their contributions, and business results
you get? Explain.

References
Kelly, W. (1971, March 21). “Pogo” (comic strip). New York: Post-Hall Syndicate.
Willyerd, K., & Mistick, B. (2016). Stretch: How to future-proof yourself for tomorrow’s
workplace. Hoboken: Wiley.
 2
Times Are a Changing – And So Is
Everything Else

It’s true today, now more than ever, that change is everywhere. It has invaded
our nightly news on global, national, and local scenes. Everyone is surprised
with some of what we witness. No one is surprised that we’re witnessing some-
thing. Just in the first six months of 2018, for example, we’ve seen television,
print news, and internet news site stories about the Mueller investigation into
Russian interference in the 2016 US elections, a Facebook scandal, a Royal
wedding, more global warming warnings, a porn star accusing the President
of covering up an affair, the “Me Too” movement, an accidental ballistic mis-
sile alert in Hawaii, genocide in Syria, a zero-tolerance policy at the US border
accompanied by separating children from their mothers, action toward imple-
menting Brexit, new highs on world stock markets, trade wars, mass shoot-
ings in Nevada, Florida, and Texas, deadly terrorist attacks around the world,
and what seems like daily drama by and about the US President! Whew, I’m
out of breath!
It’s news.1 It is unexpected, sometimes unthinkable, and always unstoppa-
ble. We have come to expect change, and yet we’re still surprised when we see
what form it takes. The unthinkable happens. We can’t stop it; we can’t even
slow it down.
The same holds true in businesses. Change is everywhere. Every day the
Wall Street Journal publishes stories that speak about change. Industries shift,
or disappear, as new technologies appear that make their offerings commodi-
ties…or irrelevant. Industries shift as consumer tastes reflect different, con-
flicting values or personal technologies inform them of alternatives to any
company’s products, services, and prices. Industries shift as governments
throughout the world address geopolitical threats, creating new opportunities

© The Author(s) 2019 9

L. Peters, The Simple Truths About Leadership,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03958-5_2
10 L. Peters

for some; new threats for others. Trade wars impact selected industries as
relaxed US government regulations and policies and reduced corporate taxes
boost business growth everywhere else.
All of this impacts what happens at the company level. Companies buy
other companies or merge with them to become strategically more capable of
competing. Companies change their business model or their strategy or their
scope or their reach. Companies change their processes, or their structure or
their systems…or their cultures. Companies adopt new technologies that are
supposed to impact their products, services, and way of doing work.
Companies respond to pressures and challenges by tightening their belts or
jettisoning weak product lines or shrinking their workforce. Companies
respond to new opportunities by mobilizing talent and resources to pursue
and capture these opportunities.
It comes down to this at the company level. New owners; change. New
senior leaders; change. New business challenges; change. The predictable hap-
pens, and we have to respond to it!

Simple Truth #1: The Only Constants Are Change, More Change, and
Faster Change
There was a time when reputation, brand, size, and customer loyalty guaran-
teed a prosperous future. Companies that figured out how to compete suc-
cessfully could expect more of the same. It was, metaphorically, as though
they sailed on calm waters that ran deep and straight. As James Champy, co-­
author of Reengineering Management, dubbed it, we lived in an “era of smooth
sailing.”

Today’s business reality is anything but smooth sailing. Winning today

does not guarantee winning tomorrow. Change should not only be expected,
but also expected to be disruptive. Now, we find ourselves in an “era of white
water.” Businesses can be surprised, the surprises can be dangerous, and they
always demand an immediate response. Winning today guarantees nothing
because the next white water bend is always approaching, and around that
bend, the need to respond is often inevitable.
There are always pressures for change that come from outside a business,
from its business environment. New global competitors using new technolo-
gies and creating new product features or entirely new products create the
crucible for intense competition. These new pressures to compete, coupled
with what can be dramatic consequences if a company cannot compete suc-
cessfully, put strong demands on businesses to act. The stakes are often so high
that companies are no longer just risking a point or two of their revenues,
 Times Are a Changing – And So Is Everything Else 11

For example, consider the print media industry. It wasn’t that long ago that
Borders went out of business. Borders! Why? Because electronic readers made
printed books less relevant! Is Barnes and Noble next! Own stock in a major city
newspaper? Same book, different chapter (pardon the pun). The Internet has
become the first option for an exponentially growing segment of people who
once would have turned to a printed newspaper first…not just for news, but for
consumer needs—for example, car ads, real estate ads, coupons. As online media
gobbled up consumers looking for new cars, houses, and coupons, they simulta-
neously shrank the advertising revenues that print newspapers depend on. Print
newspapers are on the same path as Borders, but with a window for change. The
print media industry will not reverse itself; the Borders of the world will become
old news. Print newspapers, however, still have time to change—to survive—if
their leaders react to industry changes in time, understand what a new future
can look like in a media-rich cyber world, and are able to mobilize their people
to move quickly to embrace changes that turn new vision into sustainable reali-
ties. And that is a critical challenge—we need to change inside our businesses at
the rate of change outside of our businesses, or we risk the business itself.

market share, or earnings, but rather, they are at risk. Look at RadioShack for
a recent example.
Bad decisions, slow decisions, or decisions that are not fully implemented
can create crisis. It is no wonder investors are nervous. Every day the stock
market can take sudden shifts as even the hint of such a pivot point leads to
immediate Wall Street reaction…to sell!
“Win or die” was the mantra that iconic CEO Jack Welch used to capture
this and to mobilize change at the General Electric Company when he took
over as CEO and Chairman in 1981. He understood, over three decades ago,
that you cannot rest on your laurels. Even the great GE had to adapt to chang-
ing realities.
This message still rings true today. For our businesses, particularly large,
established businesses, “change or lose” is the reality of that mantra. Adapting
to disruptive environmental changes takes more than a pronouncement of a
new strategy. It takes more than conceiving what has to happen. It takes
change—real change, meaningful change, and, importantly, sustainable
change.
When we fail to create real, meaningful, and sustainable change, we increase
the risk of our own obsolescence; of our demise. While this message is not
new, it remains central to the long-term success of all businesses today. When
the world outside changes faster than we can respond, we’re in trouble.
The real trouble for businesses today is that the world is changing faster
now than ever before.
12 L. Peters

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men…

Over the past several decades, in industry after industry, change has been at or
near the top of every business leader’s agenda. Changes in one’s business strat-
egy, business model, or scope were demanded as the environment shifted.
Mergers and acquisitions made sense as a path to competitive advantage.
Global reach was undertaken as a source of new customer markets and new
revenues. Invention in terms of technology, product, and process was seen as
the path to prosperity. For every one of these business changes, internal
changes in the organization itself are needed to realize expected benefits. No
vision of a better tomorrow, no matter how compelling, will implement
itself!
While continuous improvement has always been an important principle to
follow, the recent past has required much more. Staying competitive often
demanded the need for dramatic, sweeping organizational changes. Starting
in the mid-1980s, the most visible of these change efforts focused on total
quality management. More recently, the change agenda has included business
process reengineering, six sigma, and enterprise software solutions, in addi-
tion to, of course, large numbers of reorganizations, mergers, and acquisi-
tions. Each change was done to make the business more competitive in an
increasingly white water world. Each change was supposed to be a stepping
stone to a prosperous future.
When we look at the scorecard for changes of this sort, however, the results
are depressing: 70–80% of major change initiatives failed! They didn’t take, or
if they did, they took too long, reversed back to the status quo, were too
costly, and/or created a great deal of emotional upheaval in the workplace. It
is not surprising that many businesses struggled with becoming more com-
petitive when we look at these results.
To add insult to injury, there is no change that is the last change. The world
will keep moving forward. There will always be new challenges that someone
will meet. When our business meets those challenges, it puts pressure on our
competitors to adapt. When our competitors meet those challenges, we are
forced to catch up. Whether you are the prey or the predator, your business has
to be moving. It is the cycle that fuels companies to be better…or to disappear.
Like on the savanna in Africa, it is better to be the predator than the prey. In
either case, being nimble becomes the key attribute for survival. White water
is always changing, and it’s always dangerous to be catching up when the cur-
rent runs fast and large rocks are just below the surface. Being nimble helps,
but in practical terms, the everyday reality remains change or die.
 Times Are a Changing – And So Is Everything Else 13

All of this means that today’s businesses need to meet two overarching
goals. First, businesses need to keep the promises they make to their current
customers. Being successful today means that you are successful today! This is
Management 101—identify and anticipate your customers’ needs, serve them
flawlessly, and recover from mistakes quickly. All companies should under-
stand their customers and meet their highest expectations to retain them. If
we’re not good at this, we have no future!
Even if we are good at serving customers’ current needs, however, we are
not done. Second, businesses also need to be constantly looking to the future,
and be ready to take on tomorrow’s challenges, by building a platform today
that allows them to meet the emerging set of business challenges and custom-
ers’ expectations down the road.
This is where it gets tricky. We cannot know what customers will want a
decade from now. We haven’t yet invented the new products and services that
we know will win in tomorrow’s marketplace. We don’t know what new tech-
nology is behind the curtain or how it will impact our business. We don’t
know what our competitors will do…where, across the globe, they will be
located…when they will strike.
Who, honestly, would have predicted Uber ten years ago? Really? Uber!
First, Walmart put a dent in small retail brick and mortar businesses, and
now Amazon has put a dent in small and large retail brick and mortar busi-
nesses. Anyone want to guess what will happen in the grocery business now
that Amazon has bought Whole Foods?
Change is everywhere and all the time—and when disruptive, it almost
always demands a response. Being able to lead a quick, successful response is
fast becoming a competitive advantage.
Win or die! Change or lose! Change now!
This means that we need to build an organization that can adapt to chang-
ing circumstances and does so quickly. Adaptive organizational forms are
needed not only to respond to the challenges that competitors bring to our
doorsteps, but also to allow businesses to move swiftly to bring the kind of
innovation that will force their competitors to react and respond. The com-
petitive advantage comes from creating a business where change is not a chal-
lenge but a way of life. When we can solve the adaptive organization puzzle,
we can win today and tomorrow.
Obviously, this will be a daunting task for many companies, especially for
those whose cultures are deeply rooted in preserving the status quo. They will
require a major change in how they are organized, managed, and led, if people
are to become willing to adopt, embrace, and realize the full benefit of the
best-laid plans of mice and business leaders! If we don’t take up this challenge,
14 L. Peters

eventually the changing business reality will make us the latest Wall Street
Journal headline. It won’t say Borders (or Radio Shack or Blockbuster or
Sports Authority or…) is going out of business; it will say “…(insert the name
of your company here) is going out of business!”

Simple Truth #2: All Organizations Are Perfectly Designed to Get the
Results They Are Currently Getting!
It should come as no surprise that some businesses have historically struggled
with change. They’re metaphorically frozen by more traditional, bureaucratic,
organizational forms, catalogs of formal policies, rules and procedures, and
metrics and reward systems that honor the status quo. Organizations of this
sort were invented at a time when the business environment was not so vola-
tile. They were built for calm waters. This organization form was its own self-­
fulfilling prophesy—built for stability; not change. Over time, they developed
cultures that glued them in place! Stability, not change, became the rule.

Adaptive organizations are designed, managed, and led in ways that make
change in response to new pressures or new opportunities more likely. They
are organizational forms that challenge the way we have traditionally thought
of successful organizations. They not only seemed different, but also were
­different in important ways that make change not just more likely, but
inevitable.
The very term organization, itself, implies stability and predictability. We
organize to reduce surprises. We organize so that everyone knows his or her
roles; knows his or her job. We create organizational systems that reinforce
this predictability and then ensure predictability by building in control mech-
anisms. Thus, we create job descriptions that instruct our people on what they
are to do, and what they are not to do. We create performance management
systems tied closely to performing assigned duties, and create reward systems
tied closely to performance evaluations. We design a management hierarchy
that segregates the parts of this organizational machine to simplify account-
abilities and make sure that each part fits the grand plan. And, finally, we
assign everyone a boss to make sure that the people assigned these specific
roles in this rationally designed organizational machine do what is expected
and root out and address exceptions when they occur.
In pursuit of predictability and control, we simplify everything and
produce a complex organization!
What were we thinking?
I have no issues with creating job descriptions, conducting formal evalua-
tions, or rewarding those whose contributions are deserving of recognition
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 CONGESTION OF THE LIVER IN THE
HORSE.
Causes. Beside the general causes above mentioned, may be
specially named, musty, decomposed, and irritant fodders: those
which like green legumes, are easily fermented; and those which
contain stimulating volatile oils or carminative principles. They are
also especially exposed to such causes as severe and prolonged work
under a hot sun, the nervous atony which causes vaso-dilatation in a
hot climate, and such traumatisms as come from falls, kicks, goring,
and blows by shafts, poles and clubs. These especially induce active
congestion. The passive forms come mainly from obstruction in the
lungs, or heart (dilatation, right valvular insufficiency, pericarditis,
hydropericardium, myocarditis, fatty degeneration, endocarditis), or
in the posterior vena cava.
Lesions. The congested liver is enlarged and deeply colored with
blood. The weight of twenty to thirty pounds is often attained. While
the color is of a deep red throughout, there are spots of a still darker
hue indicating the seat of subcapsular or deeper seated hemorrhages.
The color varies according as the congestion is passive or active. In
the former the coloration is deeper in the centre of the acinus
(nutmeg liver) indicating congestion of the hepatic veins, while in the
latter the periphery of the acinus may be most deeply stained
implying congestion of the portal vein. The consistency of the organ
is diminished, and the more acute the attack the greater the friability.
In such cases there is a parboiled appearance indicating granular and
commencing fatty degeneration. Under the microscope the relative
distension of the intralobular, and interlobular veins and the hepatic
capillaries becomes more distinctly marked and the presence of
pigment and fatty granules and the lack of protoplasm and nuclei in
the hepatic cells indicate their progressive changes. When the
peripheral cells are pale from fatty granules the contrast between the
light margin and dark centre of the acinus, makes the mottled or
nutmeg aspect of the liver much more pronounced.
 In old standing cases of passive congestion the liver may be the
seat of fibroid degeneration, extending from the capsule inward in
bands or trabeculæ, and giving to the organ a firm resistant character
(sclerosis, cirrhosis).
Symptoms. The symptoms are general and suggestive rather than
pathognomonic. There are dullness, prostration, unsteady walk,
pendent head, with occasional jerking, semi-closed eyes, redness of
the conjunctiva, slight colicy pains, arching of the loins, muscular
tremblings and decubitus on the left side rather than the right. The
more definite symptoms are tenderness on percussion with the
closed fist over the last ribs (the liver) especially on the right side,
increase of the area of hepatic percussion dullness (which may be
rendered valueless by a loaded colon), the presence of a slight icterus
in the conjunctiva and urine, and an increase of the urine secreted
and an excess of the contained urea.
In passive cases however the obstruction to the escape of blood
from the liver prevents the development of icteric symptoms, of
uræmia and of polyuria. In all such cases however there follows a
general congestion of the portal system and if it persists for any
length of time gastro-intestinal congestion and catarrh and even
ascites may develop.
In all cases alike the history of the attack will help towards a
satisfactory diagnosis.
Prevention. A rational hygiene embracing daily work or exercise,
moderate laxative diet, green food in its season, pure cool air are
important precautions.
Treatment. A moderate supply of green or laxative food, the
withholding for the time of grain, and especially of maize, wheat or
buckwheat, saline laxatives daily, and a stimulating embrocation or
blister to the tender hypochondrium are the most important
measures. Exercise in a box stall, or still better in a yard or paddock
in the intervals between more systematic work forms an important
adjunct to medicine. As a laxative sulphate of soda is to be preferred
at first in a full cathartic dose and later in a daily amount sufficient to
relax the bowels. Given in a bucket of water every morning before the
first meal a very small dose will be effective.
 CONGESTION OF THE LIVER IN THE DOG.
Active congestion is very rare excepting in over-fed and indolent
family pets. Passive congestion induced by diseases of the lungs and
heart is however far from uncommon.
Lesions. True to their origin these usually appear as the spotted
nutmeg liver with the deep congestion in the centre of the acini. For
the same reason the fibroid degenerations shown in chronic cases,
show the firm fibroid neoplasm chiefly around the hepatic veins.
Granular, fatty and pigmentary degeneration of the cells are found as
in the solipeds.
Symptoms. These are as obscure as in the horse. There is always a
history of a sluggish, gourmandizing life, and in the early stages, a
manifestation of embonpoint which suggests a torpid liver. Further
suggestions may also be obtained from coexisting diseases of the
lungs, or heart, from gastro-intestinal catarrh, from piles, or ascites.
Then there is at times a slight icterus of the conjunctiva and urine.
Finally tenderness on percussion on the right hypochondrium,
decubitus on the left side, and an increased area of dullness on
percussion may afford useful hints for diagnosis.
Treatment. In the rare cases due to infection from the intestine, an
active saline purgative followed by antiseptics (salol, naphthalin,
naphthol, etc.,) daily will be of value. It is also desirable to keep up
the action of the bowels by morning doses of salines. In cases
consequent on chest disease attention must be given to such primary
trouble. In all cases a restricted laxative diet, and graduated but
increasing exercise in the open air are demanded.
 HEPATIC HÆMORRHAGE OR RUPTURE.
Causes: Mechanical injuries, falls, blows, kicks, degenerations, amyloid, fatty,
granular, congestion, neoplasms, glanders, tuberculous, myomatous, microbian
infection. In the horse, disease of liver, heart, lungs, hepatic artery, portal vein,
degenerations following overfeeding, idleness, foreign bodies, arsenic, phosphorus,
parasites, violent movements in colic, running, draught, leaping. In the dog,
pampering and traumatism. In cattle forced feeding, emaciation, microbian
infection. In birds, tubercle, tæniasis, microbian infection. Lesions: extravasation,
intracapsular, or through capsule into the peritoneal cavity. The extravasation
bulges of a deep black, covering a dark softened, pulpy, hepatic tissue, with light
colored fatty tissue around. Clots may be stratified from successive bleedings. Liver
usually enlarged. Symptoms: onset sudden, or preceded by stiffness, soreness and
other signs of hepatic trouble. Extensive rupture, entails weakness, unsteady gait,
perspiration, pallor of mucosæ, small weak rapid pulse, palpitations, dilated
pupils, rolling eyes, amaurosis, tremors, convulsion in case of survival, coldness,
œdemas. Death in five hours to five days. Risk of relapse in recovering cases.
Treatment: rather hopeless, rest, laxative, ergot, ferric chloride, tannic acid, witch
hazel, cold water, snow or ice to right side. In meat producing animals fatten.
Causes. Hemorrhage and rupture of the liver are closely correlated
to each other, the accumulation of extravasated blood in the
parenchyma in the one case leading to over distension of the capsule,
and the laceration of this capsule and of the adjacent substance of
the liver occurring in the other as a mere extension of the first. They
usually occur as the direct result of mechanical injury (falls, blows,
kicks) acting on a liver already softened and friable through disease.
These predisposing degenerations may be amyloid (Caparini, Johne,
Rabe), fatty (Julien, Gowing, Adam, Siedamgrotzky), granular
softening, hepatitis or congestion (Zundel), glander neoplasms
(Mathis), tubercles, angiomata (Trasbot), microbian infection
(Stubbe), tumors (Brückmüller).
In the horse predisposing conditions may be found in diseases of
the liver, heart or lungs, in embolism of the hepatic artery (Wright),
in obstruction of the portal vein (Pierre), in infarction of the liver, in
degeneration with softening, in sarcomatous, melanotic, glanderous
or cancerous deposits in its substance, in degenerations consequent
on over feeding, idleness, congestions, on the penetration of husks of
grains into the liver substance, on arsenical or phosphorus
poisoning. The presence of flukes, echinococci and other parasites
may also cause congestion and softening. To the immediate or
traumatic causes above named may be added the violent movements
attendant on a severe attack of colic, and violent exertions in
running, draught, leaping, etc. (Friend).
In the dog we must recognize all the pampering conditions which
predispose to congestion and degeneration, together with more
direct operation of kicks, blows, falls, fights, over exertion, etc.
In cattle a forcing regimen is especially predisposing, and yet the
loss of vigor resulting from a diametrically opposite treatment, must
be accepted as an occasional cause. Stubbe found in emaciated cows
miliary hemorrhagic infarcts of a dark red color which gradually
extended to an inch or more in diameter. These he traced to
microbian infection coming by way of the chronic intestinal lesions
which are common in old cows. The final result of such infarctions
was loss of hepatic substance and the formation of cicatricial tissue
with a marked depression on the surface of the organ.
In birds fatal hepatic hemorrhages occur in connection with local
tubercle (Cadiot), tæniasis of the liver, or microbian infection.
Lesions. The hemorrhage may take place into the substance of the
liver only, or the capsule may be lacerated so that the blood escapes
into the peritoneal cavity in considerable quantity.
In the horse it usually occurs in the right or middle lobe, rarely in
the left. There may be one or more hemorrhagic effusions varying in
size from a cherry to a duck’s egg, or even an infants’ head (Lorge).
This projects from the surface of the organ and its deep black
contrasts strongly with the white of the adjacent capsule. When laid
open the hepatic tissue is seen to be softened and pulpy, and its dark
color forms a striking contrast with any surrounding fatty liver. Any
form of degeneration may be revealed on microscopic or chemical
examination. Not unfrequently small clots of blood form under the
capsule raising it in the form of little sacs. Such clots are usually
stratified indicating a succession of small hemorrhages.
When the capsule is torn, the lesion may extend from one surface
of the organ to the other, and the edges, smooth, uneven or fringed,
are united together by a blood clot.
 In case of hemorrhagic infarcts the lesion usually has a distinctly
conical outline corresponding to the vascular distribution. These are
especially characteristic of cases supervening on heart disease.
The volume of the liver is usually increased and the weight may
reach 30 lbs. (Schmeltz), 34 lbs. (Lorge), or even 66 lbs. (Trasbot).
In other domestic animals analogous lesions are found modified
largely according to the size of the subject.
Symptoms. These may develop instantaneously without any
marked premonitory indication. In other cases tenderness on
percussion over the liver, stiffness or groaning under sudden
movements or turning, arching of the back, hanging of the head,
slowness in rising, costiveness, slight transient colics, and even
icterus may have been detected on close observation. The symptoms
of actual rupture are essentially those of internal hemorrhage. The
animal becomes weak, or unsteady upon its limbs, perspires, arches
the back, and shows a marked pallor of the visible mucosæ. The
pulse is small, thready, weak and accelerated, and the heart beats
violent or palpitating. The percussion dullness over the liver is
extended (Weber), the loins become insensible to pinching, and
there may be some distension of the abdomen. Dilatation of the
pupils, retraction or rolling of the eyes, amaurosis, tremors of the
muscles of the neck, lying down, or falling, and general convulsions
may precede death. This may occur in a few hours or it may be
delayed if the lesions are restricted. In case of survival, coldness and
œdema of the extremities and sheath have been observed. The lesser
hemorrhages may terminate in recovery if there is no attendant
incurable disease. In anthrax, glanders, cancer, tuberculosis,
septicæmia, etc., a favorable issue is not to be looked for.
Duration. Termination. In severe cases a fatal issue may be
expected in from five hours to five days. In the milder cases which
make a temporary recovery there is great danger of a second
hemorrhage from the new vessels in the tissue undergoing
organization or from the adjacent degenerate liver tissue. The course
of the affection may be altered by such complications as arthritis
(Dieckerhoff), pneumonia, pulmonary thrombosis (Leblanc),
enteritis or peritonitis (Cadeac).
Treatment is usually of no avail. Rest, and the administration of
laxatives and hæmostatics, have been especially recommended. Of
the latter, ergot by the mouth or ergotin subcutem, tends to
contraction of the blood-vessels and to check the flow. Ferric
chloride is also used, though apt to interfere with hepatic function.
Tannic acid, hamamelis, and other astringents may be used instead.
Cold water, snow or ice applied to the right hypochondrium may act
as a check to the hemorrhage. Unless in purely traumatic cases in an
otherwise healthy liver, a recovery is at best temporary, and the
already degenerate liver is liable to relapse at any moment. In horses
and dogs, therefore, recovery is by no means an unmixed good. Meat
producing animals that recover should be prepared for the butcher.
 HEPATITIS.
Forms of hepatitis: Parenchymatous hepatitis. Definition: Degeneration of
hepatic cells. Relation to enteritis and nephritis. In horse—causes:—as in
congestion, pampering, spoiled fodder, malt, inundated meadows, chill,
overfeeding, hot moist climate, hæmoglobinæmia, infection. In cattle—causes:—
forcing ration, hot weather, overwork, infection. In dog—causes:—infection from
alimentary canal. Lesions: Enlarged, softened liver, round edges, a week later
yellow atrophy, granular on section, bloodless. Acini with indefinite margins, cells
granular, nuclei lost. In dog centres of softening. Symptoms:—in horse: Attack
sudden, rigor, fever, dullness, prostration, yellowish red mucosæ, unsteady gait,
slight colic, anorexia, urine decreased, glairy, brownish red, groaning in defecation,
excited circulation and breathing, increased icterus by third day, fœtid, colorless
diarrhœa. Diagnosis: Coincidence of fever, prostration, icterus, painful defecation,
fœtid diarrhœa, light color of stools, tenderness and flatness on percussing hepatic
area. From influenza by absence of watering eyes and contagion. Prognosis in
horse: Very grave unless urine is free. Treatment in horse: Portal depletion,
calomel, ipecacuan, salines, diuretics, fomentation of loins, antiseptics, derivatives,
mineral acids, bitters. Careful laxative diet in convalescence. Symptoms in cattle:
Slower onset, anorexia, dullness, depression, drivelling saliva, grinding teeth,
icterus, constipation, later fœtid diarrhœa, pale colored stools, recumbency, groans
on rising, arching back, tender right hypochondrium, fever. Prognosis grave. Death
in five to six days. Treatment as in horse: Only saline laxatives. Symptoms in dog:
Muscular tremors, staring coat, hyperthermia, icterus, fœtid breath, ventral
decubitus, extreme prostration, anorexia, tender right hypochondrium, diminished
urine, death in two or three days. Treatment in dog: Calomel and jalap, diuretics,
laxatives, derivatives, germicides, in convalescence, mineral acids, bitters, careful
diet.
The different forms of inflammation of the liver are distinguished
according as they affect, especially the hepatic cells and tissue of the
acini (parenchymatous), as they result in suppuration (suppurative,
catarrhal, abscess), as they cause necrobiosis in nodular masses
(infectious or necrotic), as they lead to fibroid thickening under the
peritoneum and proper capsule (perihepatitis); or as they cause
general fibroid induration of the organ by increase of its connective
tissue (cirrhosis).
 PARENCHYMATOUS HEPATITIS, ACUTE
YELLOW ATROPHY OE THE LIVER.
The characteristic morbid lesion in this disease is the degeneration
of the liver cells, loss of their protoplasm and nuclei and of their
normal functions. It may be circumscribed to limited areas, or may
affect the liver, generally. As the hepatic functions, are so intimately
related to those of the bowels and kidney, the affection is usually
accompanied by inflammations of these organs as well.
Causes in horses. The same general causes which produce
congestion, may also determine the further morbid stage of
inflammation. Cadeac mentions a case which developed in a horse
kept alone and idle in the stable. He makes no mention of condition,
food, cleanliness nor ventilation. Haubner and Franzen have traced it
to a diet of malt or of hay harvested from inundated meadows.
Zundel records a case following exposure to extreme cold. More
commonly the disease is secondary to the overtaxing of the liver, by
heavy feeding in warm moist climates, or in hæmoglobinæmia, or to
the arrest of the micro-organisms of the food, or of infectious
diseases.
Causes in Cattle. These suffer rarely, but from essentially the same
conditions. It has followed aphthous fever (Eletti), and arisen under
a forcing ration, in hot weather (Callot, Cruzel), or under overwork
(Cruzel).
Causes in Dogs. Most cases result from infection by way of the
stomach and intestines, or by the transfer to the liver of the
ptomaines and toxins of such infections. It is thus related in its origin
to catarrhal jaundice and hyperæmia.
Lesions. In the earliest stage with albuminoid exudation into its
substance the liver may be greatly enlarged, its sharp edges rounded,
and its consistency softened. After a week’s illness atrophy may have
set in and the organ appears shrunken and of ocherous yellow. In the
early stages there may be sanguineous engorgement, the cut surface
may bleed freely, and small extravasations may show throughout the
liver substance, later the clay yellow hue, the granular aspect and the
absence of blood on the cut surface are characteristic. The margins of
the adjacent acini are indefinite or lost, and under the microscope
the hepatic cells are charged with granules (albuminoid, fatty and
pigmentary), while the nuclei are no longer demonstrable.
In cattle the liver may be double the normal size and at first of a
deep purple red, which may change later to the earthy yellow.
In dogs the liver is tumid and yellow, and marked by small pea-
like centres of softening. There is marked softening and the
microscope reveals the characteristic degeneration of the hepatic
cells.
Symptoms in the Horse. These resemble those of congestion
rendered more intense and therefore somewhat less obscure. The
attack is usually sudden, there may be rigor followed by
hyperthermia, dullness, pendent head, drooping eyelids, injected
conjunctiva with a yellowish tinge, unsteady gait and slight
indications of colic. There is anorexia, partial suppression of urine,
and what is passed is thick, glairy and brownish red, fæces are passed
with pain, and groaning, probably from compression of the liver, the
heart beats violently, while the pulse is small, breathing accelerated
and perspiration abundant. The temperature rises (101° to 106°) and
remains high throughout unless lowered through biliary intoxication.
Percussion over the liver and especially on the right side shows
increased area of dullness and marked tenderness. On the second or
third day the icterus usually increases, and a slight fœtid diarrhœa
may set in with marked fœtor of the pale or colorless discharges. The
jaundice is not, however, a criterion of the danger, as it may become
less marked or entirely disappear because of the extensive
degeneration of the hepatic cells and the arrest of the formation of
bile.
Diagnosis in the horse. The disease is recognized by the
coincidence of fever, with great depression, icterus, painful
defecation, constipation followed by a fœtid diarrhœa with lack of
color in the stools and by increased area of dullness and tenderness
in the region of the liver and especially on the right side. From
influenza which it resembles in many respects, it is distinguished by
the absence of watery discharge from the eyes, and by the entire
absence of all indication of contagion. The cases occur one at a time.
 Prognosis in the horse. The disease is exceedingly fatal. When the
kidneys remain active, the poisons are eliminated and there may be
hope of recovery, but when urine is suppressed an early death by
poisoning is to be expected.
Treatment in the horse. A most important indication is to secure
depletion from the portal system. Calomel 1 dr., aloes 4 drs.,
ipecacuan 1 dr. may be given in bolus, and followed by small daily
doses of sulphate and nitrate of soda with bitters, with or without the
ipecacuan. Action on the kidneys is essential to secure elimination of
the poisons which threaten a fatal poisoning if retained. To favor the
same action fomentations may be applied to the loins. The frequent
presence of pathogenic microörganisms either in the bowels or liver
suggests the use of germicides (salol, salicylic acid, salicylate of soda,
naphthalin, naphthol, beta-naphthol, etc.) as in catarrhal jaundice.
Sinapisms or blisters applied to the right side of the chest and over
the short ribs may be useful, and after the subsidence of the more
violent symptoms, dilute mineral acids and especially nitro-muriatic
acid may be resorted to in combination with diuretics and bitters.
When appetite returns succulent, laxative, non-stimulating food in
small quantity should be given. Wheat bran mashes, carrots, turnips,
potatoes, apples, fresh grass, ensilage may be adduced as examples.
Throughout the disease the ingestion of an abundance of pure water
should be encouraged.
Symptoms in the ox. These may appear more tardily than in the
horse, loss of appetite, staring coat, dullness, pendent head and ears,
unsteady movements, rigors, drivelling of saliva from the mouth and
grinding the teeth are usually noted. To these are added the more
diagnostic symptoms of slight (or severe) jaundice, constipation
followed by a fœtid light colored diarrhœa, a strong disposition to
remain recumbent, marked suffering attendant on rising, arching of
the back when up, and tenderness on percussion over the right
hypochondrium. The temperature gradually rises, though more
slowly than in the horse, and may again descend under a profound
poisoning.
Course. The disease reaches its acme in four to six days, and
generally has a fatal issue.
Treatment, is on the same lines as for the horse only as a
purgative, sulphate of soda may advantageously replace the aloes.
 Symptoms in the dog. The symptoms are those of congestion in an
exaggerated form. There are muscular tremors, erection of the hair,
followed by rising temperature up to 105° or 106°, an icteric hue of
the mucosæ, the pulse is accelerated, strong, irregular, respiration
rapid, panting, fœtid breath, ventral decubitus, and prostration
extreme. Appetite is completely lost, the bowels become relaxed, the
stools fœtid, the right hypochondrium painful on pressure or
percussion, and the urine greatly reduced and icteric or suppressed.
This feature of urinary suppression, determines a rapid poisoning
and death in two or three days.
Treatment must follow the same lines as in other animals, a
purgative of calomel and jalap, followed by diuretics, laxatives,
derivatives, and above all germicides. In case of survival mineral
acids, aqua regia, bitters, and a carefully regulated diet will be in
order.
 SUPPURATIVE HEPATITIS. HEPATIC
ABSCESS.
Causes in horse: pyæmia, omphalitis, thrombosis, infection, biliary calculi,
concretions or parasites, foreign bodies, hot, damp climates, strangles,
brustseuche, glanders, endocarditis. Lesions in horse: from parasites and
mechanical irritants, pea-like or hazelnut; embolic abscess, pin head to hen’s egg;
infection from strangles, foreign bodies, etc., may be of large size, and burst into
adjacent organs, the peritoneum or externally. Symptoms in horse: of pre-existent
malady, remitting fever, successive chills, intermittent icterus, hypochondriac
tenderness. Spontaneous recovery, aspiration, opening, antiseptics locally and
generally. Lesions in ruminants; secondary multiple abscesses, bean-like or (with
foreign body) very large, may extend into adjacent parts. Symptoms in cattle: fever,
chills, jaundice, tympany, diarrhœa, dysentery, wasting, tender right
hypochondrium. Treatment: as in horse. Causes in dog: foreign bodies, tumors,
infections, blows, traumas. Lesions: traumatic abscesses, single, large, infectious
abscesses multiple, small. Former fœtid. Symptoms in dog: hepatic congestion or
colic, then chills, prostration, irritability, tenderness of right hypochondrium,
nausea, vomiting. Treatment in dog: antiseptic aspiration, laparotomy.
Causes in the Horse. Hepatic abscess arises from a great many
primary morbid conditions. As a secondary abscess it is seen in the
different forms of pyæmia and especially in suppurative omphalitis
in young animals. It may start in thrombosis determined by clots or
septic matters carried from a distance through the portal vein or
hepatic artery, in biliary calculi or concretions, in parasites
introduced from the duodenum, in barbs or husks of the cereals that
have penetrated through the biliary ducts, or in bacteria or their
toxins which have been carried from the bowels, spleen or pancreas.
The government veterinarians have found it a comparatively
common lesion in the hot damp climate of Hindoostan, and a similar
frequency has been noticed in west Africa. Among general affections
it is liable to occur in strangles, contagious pneumonia, glanders,
endocarditis of the left heart and phlebitis with the formation of
thrombi in the lungs. In the two last named disorders, the affection
takes place by the simple transference of detached clots to the liver to
block its arteries or capillaries. Or it may be that micro-organisms
are transferred in the same way. With modern views of suppuration
the presence of the pyogenic organisms must be conceded.
Lesions in the horse. Cadeac distinguishes the different types of
hepatic abscess as: 1st biliary abscess in which suppuration
commences in the interior of the biliary ducts and usually from
parasites or mechanical irritants introduced or from calculi or
concretions formed within them: these rare abscesses contain biliary
salts, pigments, and epithelium and acquire the size of a pea or
hazelnut: 2d Metastatic abscesses which start in the arterial, portal,
or capillary vessels, by the arrest of infecting clots, which determine
a further clotting, the obstruction of the vessel, the accumulation of
leucocytes and the formation of abscess of the size of a pin head or
larger up to a hen’s egg, surrounded by a hæmorrhagic infarct
softening in the centre: these are numerously disseminated through
the liver: 3d Mechanical Abscess due to the penetration of foreign
bodies or parasites: 4th Infection as in strangles. These may attain a
large size, cause adhesion to adjacent organs, and rupture into the
chest, the colon, stomach or peritoneum. The pus may even escape
externally through the right hypochondrium.
Symptoms in the horse. These are always obscure and vary much
with the source of the malady. If there has been a pre-existing
hepatic malady the symptoms of that will be in evidence; if an
omphalitis its existence may still be recognizable; if pulmonary or
cardiac disease, that may be detected; if parasites, evidence of their
existence may perchance be found; if gall stone, a previous violent
hepatic colic with icterus may have occurred; and if intestinal septic
disorder, there may be the testimony of intestinal troubles. The more
diagnostic symptoms are a fever of a remittent type, one or several
violent shivering fits, a marked jaundice which like the fever shows
exacerbations, and a similar irregularity of the condition of the urine
which may be successively of a dark brown, a deep yellow, and a
transparent amber color. Tenderness and grunting on percussion of
the right hypochondrium would be an additional aid in diagnosis.
Treatment. Death has been hitherto considered as the inevitable
result, yet recoveries may ensue after rupture into the colon or
through the abdominal walls. If the seat of the abscess can be
ascertained its evacuation through an aspirator and the subsequent
injection of an antiseptic would be appropriate. The concurrent use
of antisuppurants like hyposulphite of soda, or sulphide of calcium
would also be in order.
Causes in Cattle. Hepatic abscess is much more frequent in cattle,
and is commonly a result of perforation by sharp pointed bodies
(needles, pins, nails, wires, etc.) from the reticulum and rumen, or of
parasites, or biliary calculi. Other cases are occasioned by the
presence of tubercles, actinomycosis, or omphalitis.
Lesions in Cattle and Sheep. Secondary abscesses are usually
multiple and disseminated through the organ, though Cadeac says
they are more common in the left half. They vary in size from a bean
to a pigeon’s egg, project often from the surface, and contain a viscid,
creamy, yellowish or greenish pus. Abscesses dependent on foreign
bodies often attain a great size, so as to contain a pint or quart of pus
(Landel). They may make their way through the diaphragm, rumen,
or abdominal wall leaving a thick cicatrix in the liver, or they may
become slowly absorbed and dry up into a putty-like or cretaceous
mass. Brusaferro found hepatic abscesses in lambs twenty to thirty
days old—probably of omphalic origin.
Symptoms in Cattle are usually very obscure. Fever, shivering fits,
jaundice, indigestion, diarrhœa or dysentery, emaciation, colics,
tender right hypochondrium, and peritonitis may all be in evidence
but the diagnosis is little better than a guess.
Treatment when possible at all would be on the same lines as for
the horse.
Causes in the dog. According to Cadeac these are mostly foreign
bodies (needles, pins, etc.) which have been swallowed, tumors of the
liver or adjacent organs, phlebitis and thrombosis of the portal vein,
pyæmia, septicæmia, and external injuries (kicks, blows, contusions,
falls, etc.)
Lesions in the dog. As in the other animals traumatic abscess is
usually solitary and large, secondary abscess multiple and small. The
pus developed around a foreign body is reddish, greenish and fœtid,
that of the metastatic abscess is usually whitish or yellowish and with
a sweet odor.
Symptoms in the dog are those of hepatic congestion, or violent
gall stone colic, followed by severe rigor, great depression, or
irritability, and tenderness over the right hypochondrium. Nausea
and vomiting is a marked symptom though not a diagnostic one.
Treatment. If the flaccid abdominal walls will allow of the locating
of the abscess it should be treated by aspiration and antiseptic
injections. It would even be admissible to perform laparotomy, stitch
the wall of the abscess to the external wound, and empty it under due
antiseptic precautions.
 INFECTED HEPATITIS. NODULAR
NECROBIOSIS OF THE LIVER.
In ox, sheep, pig, dog, horse. Necrotic areas projecting on surface of liver.
Causes: bacteria, toxins, from bowels, womb, navel. Lesions: In cattle dirty gray
nodules in brownish red liver, nodules firm, granular, necrotic, elements do not
stain, later leucocytes and fibro-plastic growth in periphery. In lambs the nodules
are white, common to the lungs and pleura, pathogenic to rabbit. In pigs nutmeg
liver, cells without nuclei, fatty, granular, pathogenic to rabbits, guinea pigs, rats
and young pigs. In dog, nutmeg liver, with violet areas, and white spots, 1–2 lines,
having granular, fatty cells without nuclei. Symptoms: fever, constant lying, tarry
fæces, icterus, tender right hypochondrium, and those of the primary disease.
Treatment: antisepsis of primary seat, and bowels, elimination by kidneys, general
antisepsis, stimulants, etc. Case usually hopeless. Prevention.
This has been observed particularly in cattle, but also in sheep, pig,
dog and horse. It is characterized by the formation of circumscribed
areas of gangrene, becoming hard, dry, yellowish and usually slightly
projecting beyond the adjacent surface. Its infected character is
shown by the presence in the lesion and adjacent parts of the hepatic
tissue of an abundance of bacteria, which, from the varied
description, appear to differ in different cases. The cause may
however be safely stated as one of the bacteria of gangrene. It is
alleged with some show of reason, that the lesion may be determined
by the action of toxins and ptomaines produced by bacteria in the
alimentary canal and carried to the liver with the portal blood
(Cadeac). The bacteria themselves commonly come from the same
source, (Stubbe), but also from the uterus (Berndt), the mammæ
(LeBlanc), and above all from the suppurating or septic umbilicus.
McFadyean in five cases found a long slender bacillus, Hamilton in a
single case in the horse found cocci, Rivolta in an infectious hepatitis
in sheep found bacterium subtilis agnorum, and Semmer found the
same condition in young pigs from micrococci introduced through
the diseased umbilicus.
Lesions. In cattle the liver has a general brownish red, or greenish
white color, and shows projecting, hard nodules of a dirty gray color
more or less tinged with yellowish brown. The margins of these hard
nodules are very sharply defined, and on section show a
homogeneous granular surface, devoid of areas of softening or of
connective tissue, and formed of the hepatic parenchyma in a state of
necrobiosis. The granules and nuclear elements do not stain like
those of healthy liver. As the disease advances the periphery of the
nodule may be invaded by leucocytes and become the seat of a fibro-
plastic hypertrophy (McFadyean) with the ultimate formation of
cicatricial tissue (Stubbe).
In lambs Rivolta found the necrosed nodules standing out as white
patches under the capsule of the liver, but similar lesions were met
with in the lungs and pleuræ, an observation which has been
confirmed by Hanbold. The affection was conveyed by inoculation to
the rabbit.
In pigs Semmer found nutmeg liver, deep red or grayish yellow,
hypertrophied, the hepatic cells swollen and divested of nuclei but
containing fatty and pigmentary granules. It was inoculable on
rabbits, guinea pigs, white rats and on young pigs.
In the dog, Courmont and Doyon found congested liver (portal
congestion) with projecting patches of a deep violet color and sharply
defined borders, and one to two lines in diameter, also salient white
spots with distinct outlines. In the white spots the hepatic cells had
lost their nuclei and were charged with fatty granules.
Symptoms. These are indications of hepatic disease. In parturient
cows, Berndt noted fever (102° to 104°), anorexia, stiffness, cough,
labored breathing, intense thirst, constant decubitus, and
constipation followed by lowering temperature, tarry fæces and
icterus. The region of the liver was very sensitive to pressure or
percussion. In the other animals the symptoms appear to be largely
over-shadowed by those of the primary disease, but the same general
indications of jaundice, hepatic tenderness and digestive disorder are
superadded.
Treatment when it can be intelligently adopted, consists largely in
evacuation and antisepsis of the seat of primary infection, and of the
prima viœ, and in maintaining elimination by the kidneys. In this
way, as in congestion and hepatitis, the concentration of the poison
is as far as possible counteracted, and an opportunity may
sometimes be furnished for the recuperation of the liver cells. As a
rule, however, the case is hopeless, and thus preventive measures, by
cleanliness, disinfection and antisepsis of the ascertained sources of
the infection are indicated.
 PERIHEPATITIS.
Inflammation of capsule of liver (external and Glisson’s). Causes: Traumas,
infective diseases, phlebitis of the portal vein, chill, distomatosis. Lesions:
Peritonitis and inflammation of the capsule in patches, yellowish gray exudate,
fibroid thickening or pus. Adhesions to adjacent objects. Thickening of trabeculæ.
Symptoms, tardy respiration and circulation, tender hypochondrium, colics,
diarrhœa, painful defecation, moan with expiration. Slight cases recover. Sequelæ:
compression of portal vein or bile duct, gastric catarrh, piles, etc. Treatment:
Salines, alkaline diuretics, mineral tonics, bitters.
This is inflammation of the external capsule of the liver and
Glisson’s capsule. It may arise from direct mechanical injury, or by
extension of inflammation from adjacent structures, such as the
peritoneum. It may also complicate contagious pneumonia in the
horse, tuberculosis in the ox, pneumoenteritis in pigs, and also
phlebitis of the vena portæ (Cadeac, Morot). It may follow a chill, or
distomatosis.
Lesions. These are essentially peritonitis circumscribed by the
liver, and extending to the proper capsule, and its vaginal
investments of the hepatic vessels. It is usually limited to certain
spots which become the seats of a yellowish gray exudation, with a
tendency to fibroid development and thickening, but sometimes
degenerating into pus. The deposits on the outer side of the hepatic
peritoneum may develop false membranes and fibrous adhesions to
surrounding objects, the diaphragm, omentum, stomach or intestine.
The deposits under the peritoneum lead to similar fibrous
development with hypertrophy or thickening of the capsule, the
trabeculæ extending thence into the liver and the vaginal sheaths of
the vessels. Such areas of thickening are revealed as depressed spots
or patches of a white color, and showing a firm fibrous, pearly
appearance when incised. Such lesions are not uncommon in the
livers of horses, cattle and swine. In the pig they may have a violet, or
brownish red color, but with spots of other colors—grayish or
brownish (Kitt).
Symptoms. Dopheïde, who has studied the disease in cows and to
a less extent in horses, found a reduction in pulsations (26 per