Leadership Failures Precautionary

Tales and Prevention Strategies 1st

Edition Kate M Fenner Mark W
Reifsteck Peter Fenner
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmeta.com/product/leadership-failures-precautionary-tales-and-preventio
n-strategies-1st-edition-kate-m-fenner-mark-w-reifsteck-peter-fenner/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Curating in a Time of Ecological Crisis Biennales as

Agents of Change 1st Edition Felicity Fenner

https://ebookmeta.com/product/curating-in-a-time-of-ecological-
crisis-biennales-as-agents-of-change-1st-edition-felicity-fenner/

Sales Force Management Leadership Innovation Technology

13th Edition Mark W. Johnston

https://ebookmeta.com/product/sales-force-management-leadership-
innovation-technology-13th-edition-mark-w-johnston/

Transformative Leadership Primer Peter Lang Primer

Carolyn M. Shields

https://ebookmeta.com/product/transformative-leadership-primer-
peter-lang-primer-carolyn-m-shields/

Collective Leader Efficacy Strengthening Instructional

Leadership Teams 1st Edition Peter M. Dewitt

https://ebookmeta.com/product/collective-leader-efficacy-
strengthening-instructional-leadership-teams-1st-edition-peter-m-
dewitt/
Nutritional Health: Strategies for Disease Prevention
Norman J. Temple

https://ebookmeta.com/product/nutritional-health-strategies-for-
disease-prevention-norman-j-temple/

Servant Leadership 1st Edition Larry W. Boone

https://ebookmeta.com/product/servant-leadership-1st-edition-
larry-w-boone/

Safe and Healthy Schools Practical Prevention

Strategies 2nd 2nd Edition Jeffrey R. Sprague

https://ebookmeta.com/product/safe-and-healthy-schools-practical-
prevention-strategies-2nd-2nd-edition-jeffrey-r-sprague/

Leadership team coaching developing collective

transformational leadership Third Edition Peter Hawkins

https://ebookmeta.com/product/leadership-team-coaching-
developing-collective-transformational-leadership-third-edition-
peter-hawkins/

Leadership Theory and Practice 7th Edition Peter G

Northouse

https://ebookmeta.com/product/leadership-theory-and-practice-7th-
edition-peter-g-northouse/
“It is highly refreshing to read a book on leadership about cau-
tionary tales. The twenty vignettes gathered over many years of
the authors’ management and consulting experience, combined
with the seven leadership attributes to avoid such failures, have
important lessons for anyone who wants to shine as a leader.”

Shantha Mohan, Mentor, Carnegie Mellon

Integrated Innovation Institute; Author of
Leadership Lessons with The Beatles: Actionable
Tips and Tools for Becoming Better at Leading.

“Far too often, we share stories around the proverbial fire of

what worked in our leadership journeys. But what lessons are
missed when we can’t linger with the times where our grand
ambitions failed to come to fruition? In this book, the authors
do a masterful job walking through their own leadership
journeys at the point of failure, using those moments to cast a
light for all of us in our own work.”

Peter Boumgarden, Koch Professor of Practice for

Family Enterprise, Washington University in St. Louis

“Having spent 30+ years in the government in senior level

positions, retiring as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense,
and 12+ years in the private sector, this book on Leadership
Failures is a must read to avoid the frequent mistakes all of us
have made or witnessed in our careers. The book format cre-
ates an easy-to-visualize roadmap to facilitate self-reflection. I
was most impressed with the inspiring quotes, vignettes about
failures, and attributes for success to help you move forward.”

Robert F. Lentz, former Deputy Assistant Secretary

of Defense and CEO Cyber Security Strategies
“Brilliant. Simply brilliant. If you are tired of sports coaches
touting leadership principles of generals, generals touting
leadership principles of corporate CEOs, and corporate CEOs
using sports metaphors and touting the great leadership of
coaches, you need to read a book that is truly helpful, not
hackneyed. Leadership Failures is that book. Failure is a far
better teacher than fortuitous success – the lessons learned
from failure are seared into our minds. Told with humor,
pathos, and rock-solid analysis, Leadership Failures is the best
guide I know of to lead you to leadership success.”

Joseph L. Shaefer, Brigadier General, USAF, Retired

 Leadership Failures

Humans make mistakes. Many of us lose career ascendency

or risk destroying our institutions by doubling down on or
ignoring outcomes of our own poor decisions.
Good leaders learn and teach from their errors. Professions are
strengthened. Institutions thrive. Careers grow.
Through real-life stories that focus on senior/board leadership
from multiple walks of life, and brief discussions of significant
attributes, readers will be challenged to diagnose and turn
missteps into positive growth experiences.
The authors of this book have had extensive careers in
public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit settings, and
in independent and government-sponsored consulting,
development, academic, and clinical environments. Without
having any single leadership paradigm to push, they raise
questions about outcomes for institutions that are affected and
individual career paths.
Their cautionary tales ask readers to think through “next
steps” or prevent the need to get there; hence, this is an ideal
extra-assignment book in graduate management courses and
for managers seeking to work their way up toward higher
leadership roles. Board members also can learn from its non-
industry-specific target readership.
 Leadership Failures
Precautionary Tales and
Prevention Strategies

Kate M. Fenner • Mark W. Reifsteck • Peter Fenner

First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158

and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2022 Kate M. Fenner, Mark W. Reifsteck & Peter Fenner

The right of Kate M. Fenner, Mark W. Reifsteck & Peter Fenner to be identified as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permis-
sion in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

ISBN: 9781032303031 (hbk)

ISBN: 9781032302997 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003304371 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003304371

Typeset in Garamond
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
 To those who tried, failed, and tried again.
We have learned a lot from you.


Contents

Preface................................................................................... xi
Three Envelopes: An Important Opening Parable............ xi
Is This Book for You? Essential Elements........................ xiv
Prevention and Damage Control...................................... xix
Acknowledgments...........................................................xxiii
Author Bios........................................................................ xxv

Introduction.......................................................................... 1
Our View: Why Us?.............................................................. 1
Book Organization and How to Use................................... 5

Section 1 STORIES
1 Vignettes About Failures........................................11
Vignette 1: Well-prepared for the Wrong Role...................14
Vignette 2: Counter-cultural Leadership.............................18
Vignette 3: Well Qualified, But Lazy..................................20
Vignette 4: Sick Organization Syndrome (SOS).................23
Vignette 5: Large and In Charge.........................................27
Vignette 6: Weak Moral Compass......................................30
Vignette 7: You Can Stay Too Long....................................34
Vignette 8: Symbols and Behaviors Communicate
More Than Words...............................................................36
Vignette 9: A Single Source of Truth Needs to
be Verified.............................................................................39
vii
viii ◾ Contents

Vignette 10: Temper Tantrums Are for Two-Year-Olds.........42

Vignette 11: Rip off the Bandage.......................................45
Vignette 12: Keep the Personal Away from the
Professional.........................................................................47
Vignette 13: Leader’s Mind, But Not Brain, Is Lost............50
Vignette 14: Family Business or Business of
the Family?...........................................................................52
Vignette 15: Bureaucratic Success, Mission Leadership
Failure..................................................................................54
Vignette 16: Leadership Failure Cascade............................56
Vignette 17: Boards Bruise the Business............................59
Vignette 18: Don’t Confuse Activity with Productivity.........63
Vignette 19: Small Intervention But Huge Impact.............66
Vignette 20: The No-Bell Prize...........................................69
2 Essentials for Success.............................................73
Attribute 1: Honesty/Integrity.............................................76
Personal Leadership Questions (Honesty/Integrity)...........77
Institutional Leadership Questions
(Honesty/Integrity)......................................................... 77
Attribute 2: Self-Awareness.................................................78
Personal Leadership Questions (Self-Awareness)...........79
Institutional Leadership Questions (Self-Awareness).........79
Attribute 3: Emotional Maturity......................................... 80
Personal Leadership Questions (Emotional Maturity)........81
Institutional Leadership Questions
(Emotional Maturity).......................................................81
Attribute 4: Communicator.................................................82
Personal Leadership Questions (Communicator)...........85
Institutional Leadership Questions (Communicator).........85
Attribute 5: Decisiveness.................................................... 86
Personal Leadership Questions (Decisiveness)............. 88
Institutional Leadership Questions (Decisiveness)........ 88
Attribute 6: Intelligence.......................................................89
Personal Leadership Questions (Intelligent)...................91
Institutional Leadership Questions (Intelligent).............91
 Contents ◾ ix

Attribute 7: Resilience.........................................................92
Personal Leadership Questions (Resilience)...................95
Institutional Leadership Questions (Resilience).............95

Section 2 AND NOW WHAT?

3 Planning for Orderly Organizational Succession....... 99
4 Modeling Career Growth as a Part
of Succession.........................................................103
5 Reframing for the Future.....................................107
6 The Final Admonition........................................... 111

Appendix: Tracking Matrix.........................................113

Annotated References.................................................. 117
Index...........................................................................127
Preface

Three Envelopes: An Important Opening Parable

You can’t coach height

– A basketball metaphor meaning that you
should go with your strengths

This is an old, worn parable of leadership. If you’ve heard it

multiple times, it is only because it is such an apt metaphor
describing the arc of a senior leader’s tenure in many orga-
nizations. We have heard, seen, and participated in organi-
zations where the three-envelope parable was applicable.
Please read knowing the validity of the underlying principle:
Everything is temporary.
A new CEO enters her office on the first day. Opening the
desk drawer, she finds three envelopes clipped together with
a brief cover note from her predecessor stating, “Open one
envelope whenever you are in an impossible situation that
appears career ending.” She smiles, places the envelopes aside,
and launches into her new role with enthusiasm.

xi
xii ◾ Preface

Inevitably, a huge and seemingly intractable problem arises

with devastating outcomes. She racks her brain attempting to
deduce a possible solution. Finally, she recalls the envelopes
and opens the one marked “#1.” It states, “Blame me for what-
ever occurred.” She follows the instructions, giving her Board
the explanation for failure as residing with the previous CEO,
and life resumes apace.
Sometime later, a second crisis with a miserable outcome
occurs. Once again, she selects an envelope, this time, marked
“#2,” opens it and reads “Hire and blame a consultant.” She
proceeds as instructed, after which life returns to normal and
moves on.
Following a peaceful period, a third seemingly intractable
crisis hits. In need again, she opens the envelope marked “#3.”
Inside is a simple statement – “Prepare three envelopes.”
The parable is amusing, and to experienced leaders a bit
too familiar. The core message is to understand that regardless
of time spent in the role, all leadership positions are tempo-
rary; there is no permanence to the vast majority of senior
roles even if one has been successful for years. In fact, long
tenure frequently is too long: It can mean that there isn’t con-
tinuous development of new knowledge and skills.
Often a long tenure indicates risk aversion, stagnation,
and a tendency to “play it safe.” If this security-seeking, long-
tenured person is in a critical senior position, the organiza-
tion can suffer from strategic stasis – not changing to meet the
demands of the marketplace or to take advantage of emerging
technology.
We have lived this three-envelope parable, sometimes
without even recognizing that the process was in play. We
are without any purpose in this book beyond sharing a bit of
hard-earned wisdom and hoping the stories entertain and edu-
cate. We have also watched this process and advised others
on how to cope with each stage. Sometimes you receive more
 Preface  ◾ xiii

than three chances at leadership crisis resolution, often not.

Sometimes a leader can surmount a crisis without opening an
envelope, but often the parable applies.
Our leadership journeys are complete, we have no more
mountains to climb and no services to sell, so here and
now we can be candid, without agenda except perhaps to
enlighten a bit. We share a sampling of leadership crises that
led to the final envelope for many folks, and hope also to
share meaningful advice about how to meet and surmount
each crisis.
Readers should note that we have chosen to focus on
leadership failure – in fact, frequently spectacular incidents of
failure that usually led to organizational expulsion whether by
choice or by directive. Our focus on failures, as opposed to
examples and examination of successes, is founded on several
reasons.
First and foremost, there are multiple excellent, research-
based tomes dedicated to leadership success, from Peters and
Waterman, to Collins, and to Covey. They and other great
minds have analyzed success and delineated reasons and prin-
ciples for readers to consider. This is well-plowed ground and
did not merit our meager abilities for attention.
Secondly, failures are as instructional and informative
as successes, and abundantly more present. We have spent
decades as consultants helping organizations and individual
leaders cope with the detritus of failure: We have ample mate-
rial for commentary. We also were able to extract useful les-
sons for future application and failure prevention which we
share here.
Finally, failure observed but not experienced can be
mildly entertaining, much like watching the dapper dandy
slip on a banana peel: Observing the hubris that frequently
precedes a fall can provide some sense of divine justice how-
ever fleeting.
xiv ◾ Preface

Is This Book for You? Essential Elements

Failures can be midwives to the birth of successful leadership

– Anonymous

This book is intended to serve as a cautionary story. No one

starts a leadership career by saying: “. . .hoping to develop a
destructive leadership style.” Poor leaders don’t just suddenly
emerge: They develop over time.
Leaders rarely exhibit a sudden devolution to incompe-
tence. Frequently, small errors, lapses, and misjudgments
signal the beginning of a slide toward incompetence. A small
“white lie” allows the leader to cover a lapse in decision-mak-
ing. He or she succeeds in that instance and learns to manipu-
late the truth to cope with difficult situations. Soon, being less
than truthful becomes a pattern until the inevitable usually
occurs: Reality has caught up with the need for candor, and
manipulating the truth no longer works.
The vignettes we’ve included illustrate the culmination of
an evolution in behavior – whether by instinct, inner deficits,
or simply expeditious response to external pressure. Through
deficits in personality, competence, or just learning that there
is an easier path, poor leadership builds over time and doesn’t
emerge whole cloth.
Though perhaps difficult to self-assess, one can examine
one’s own leadership style to detect attributes of strength and
potential vulnerabilities that lead toward leadership deficits.
We ask the reader to approach this text with an attitude of
introspection. What can be gleaned from these leadership fails
that can be used to inform your leadership development?
Our experience in leading and consulting to complex
organizations informs this book. We have not engaged in a
series of empirical research projects for this work, but have
 Preface  ◾ xv

retrospectively analyzed a multitude of cases, assignments, and

crises to arrive at an experientially based paradigm of success-
ful leadership.
Analysis of this experiential base reveals seven common
and critical attributes that cut across all successful leaderships.
These are introduced here for context and are explored more
thoroughly for definition later. These attributes include the
following:

1. Honesty/integrity: Truth-telling is critical, particularly

when talking to yourself.
2. Self-awareness: Know thyself, and the rest will be easier.
3. Emotional maturity: Children, whether large or small,
shouldn’t occupy leadership roles.
4. Communicator: If you can’t convey your message, then
your effectiveness is also muted.
5. Decisiveness: The road to hell is paved in indecision.
6. Intelligence: Though contemporary politics might seem
to indicate that any fool with a megaphone can succeed,
leaders should be able to think critically, analyze, and
make decisions on as much empirical evidence as is avail-
able. Learning is elemental to leadership, and intelligence
drives these learnings into desired paths.
7. Resilience: Being able to get up again and return to the
fray even after a knockdown blow.

Rarely (never in our experience) does one encounter a leader

who possesses all seven critical attributes in depth. Everyone
has strengths and limitations. Moreover, even if you possess
several attributes in abundance, say intelligence and integrity,
rarely will those attributes be present in equal amounts in
multiple situations. Attribute strengths wax and wane, push-
ing forward on some occasions and diminishing in presence at
other, perhaps critical, times. It is imperative to have a realistic
perspective on which attributes you have in abundance, which
xvi ◾ Preface

are adequate, and where your limitations are; then, you can
better pay attention to developmental needs and when it is
best to rely upon the strengths of others.
Good leaders build teams; complex organizations rarely
achieve any lasting goals on the efforts of one “hero.” You do
encounter the rare situation where someone saved the day,
invented the key process for success, bagged the big account,
or pioneered the market-moving product. This is quite rare,
seldom serially replicable, and upon examination reveals that
others contributed mightily to the achievement. Effective orga-
nizations are run by a constellation of people with different
skill sets, abilities, and contributions.
Building an effective team is a key attribute of excellent
leaders. Frequently, we are attracted to folks like ourselves,
people with our attributes, attitudes, and decision-making
style. Though understandably comfortable, this can be a fatal
leadership flaw. Building from and toward a diversity of attri-
butes, thinking styles, perspectives, and experience is a base
to an effective team. A baseball team composed solely of
skilled catchers would not win often. Neither does a team of
homogeneous thinkers with similar preparation and experi-
ence. Smart leaders seek to balance their own strengths and
weaknesses when recruiting colleagues to assure a multitude
of perspectives for input. Of course, the leader must be recep-
tive to such critical inputs.
If you are exceptionally strong at communication, able to
convey thoughts, and ably convince folks to follow, that’s a
great skill. You don’t need to build a team of colleagues with
similar skills. But it is imperative to have colleagues with
complementary skills, balancing your deficits and not merely
reinforcing your assets.
For example, perhaps financial management is not your
strength. That suggests recruiting talent with great financial
analytical skills. Build a team thinking of a balanced set of
critical attributes, perhaps overlapping but able to compensate
 Preface  ◾ xvii

for each other’s limitations and depend on each other’s

strengths. Diversity is a deservedly well-regarded value for
organizational leadership. We need to reach beyond our com-
fort zones to recruit and listen to people of different back-
grounds, races, genders, and abilities.
The three of us have spent decades in organizations as
Managers, Directors, Deans, VPs, and CEOs. Later, we have
logged millions of air miles and years of service advising
organizations from Universities to Health Systems, publicly
held companies to closely owned investment houses. Along
this path, we have had the privilege of working for, and with,
many exemplary leaders – people who were able to bring the
best out of their teams, accomplish remarkable success, and
achieve stature and recognition in return for their incredible
work.
We have also witnessed many organizational problems,
tragedies, and farcical outcomes as leaders mismanaged,
miscommunicated, and generally missed everything. We have
been engaged to help steer organizational turnarounds, pro-
vide interim leadership to remedy incredible messes, support
redesign, and encourage renewal after devastating decision
implementation. We have been part of remarkable organiza-
tional rebirth after phenomenal leadership failures or simple
malpractice. Each engagement, initiative, and interim role per-
mitted us the opportunity not only to assist but also to learn.
Some of our experiences were gained during organizational
positions where we were able to witness and occasionally be
the victim of truly inept leaders. Later we served as consul-
tants frequently engaged to “bat in cleanup roles” or support
significant change initiatives. We gained insight, learned what
not to do in the face of emergency, and most of all had the
privilege of working with scores of truly talented, wise, and
ethical leaders.
There are many excellent tomes on the essence of leader-
ship. This book is pointed in a different direction. Our aim is
xviii ◾ Preface

to tell cautionary tales, outline disasters great and small, and

perhaps indicate the path to avoid. There are entertaining
stories to be told along the way, some humorous, some with
tragic outcomes for individuals and organizations. We have
seen great organizations corrupted by greed, led to the brink
of closure by ineptness, and revivified by new leadership.
We present cautionary tales for consideration and informa-
tion. The reader is invited to read on two levels or perhaps
with two goals in mind: One is interest and entertainment; the
other is an opportunity for self-evaluation. Good stories about
failure that are read and not experienced are interesting. But
applying those same stories to one’s own life can be instruc-
tional. Reading about how someone else touched the hot
stove allows one to learn to avoid that pain without the actual
experience. Errors are part of learning, why not avoid some by
viewing others’ pratfalls?
We also ask the reader to walk a mile in the shoes of the
leaders herein described and the teams that experience the
impact of failed leaders. Again, this text should entertain and
educate. But to accomplish the latter, you as a reader will need
to engage in a bit of introspection as you join the tales of
“leadership fails.”
The question “Could this ever be me?” is a first step in
learning to avoid these pitfalls. You will read repeatedly that
we focus on experience and episodic failures, rather than
intending to set a single model for success or for failure. The
bibliography can lead you to several examples of models for
success by cited authors.
Many of the leaders reflected here can serve as role models
of what not to do. Faculty frequently refer to the opportunity
for a “negative teach,” letting students experience an unhappy
outcome as a way of learning. This book contains many
examples that can serve as negative teaching moments, with
the included stories depicting flawed decision-making, charac-
ter, or judgment. The reader is invited, with the addition of a
 Preface  ◾ xix

bit of our experience-based commentary, to use these stories

to help shape future behaviors, as cautions of pitfalls to avoid,
and habits of mind to eschew.
We hope that you’ll agree that while there is entertainment
here, there is also useful learning.

Prevention and Damage Control

You cannot make this stuff up!

Many of the tales we tell here are entertaining … if it doesn’t

happen to you! The amount of abject stupidity and complete
lack of insight that occurs can seem amazing, fictional even. Yet,
we assure that these episodes are not only real but have hap-
pened (and like events are happening now) multiple times in
the course of organizational life. Fantastical, ridiculous, and just
plain stupid are apt descriptors of many of the events here told.
Yet these leadership failures are encountered all too frequently
in the trajectory of a career. Our intent is to record the failures
we have witnessed, participated in, and cleaned up after, and to
give a forewarning on avoiding, coping, or escaping such situ-
ations. But first, let us differentiate management and leadership
to better understand the impact of leadership failure.
John Kotter, an éminence grise of leadership theory, clari-
fies management as the functions that make a system work,
while leadership builds or transforms the system. Think of
managers as occupying a box of responsibility with defined
boundaries, known limits, and clear expectations. The man-
ager succeeds by performing acceptably within the box.
Leaders push the boundaries, expand the box, and build new
boxes or functions for organizations.
Many folks who function well for decades within the man-
agement role are never tempted to exceed the box in which
xx ◾ Preface

they work. This is fine! Knowing your goals, preferences, and

limitations, and choosing to stay within that framework is
admirable. Not everyone should be “moving up” as an ambi-
tion. Family, community, and outside personal interest may all
create the need to stay within a circumscribed role. It is admi-
rable to know one’s priorities and respond according to same.
People focused on leadership, however, tend to examine
boundaries for opportunities to exceed same, look for new,
better, and different experiences. Great leaders do not neces-
sarily spring from good managers, though frequently first hav-
ing a manager role is the path to a leadership role. Leadership
is not an innate trait that simply emerges when the situation
demands same. Though there are abilities and talents that
favor leadership emerging, say being more extroverted or hav-
ing a disciplined attitude toward work, these don’t comprise a
leader. Just as one learns any discipline, one learns leadership.
Know that good managers frequently cannot succeed as
leaders; the absence of boundaries, rules, and regulations
can create untenable tension. Too often good managers are
promoted with an expectation of evolving to higher leader-
ship roles, then fail simply not only because the expectation
is beyond their preparation or ken, but also because those
expectations were never clearly defined by supervisors above
them.
Moreover, finding a good leader often reveals much “time
in grade” – a succession of increasingly more responsible roles
that build leadership capabilities one layer or attribute upon
another. Leadership is acquired through practice, develop-
ment, experience, and, if one is fortunate, good mentorship.
Having a title doesn’t confer a leadership ability; many folks
designated as formal leaders in organizations are miserably
prepared for the role and then fail, too many publicly and
spectacularly.
Leadership failures tend to produce a cascade of organi-
zational impacts – the detritus of failure. When a leader fails
 Preface  ◾ xxi

spectacularly, the failure impacts many other parts of the

organization. Like a stone thrown into a calm pool, the ripples
play out across the company. The higher the leader’s role, the
greater the impact.
We have seen complete organizational collapse after CEO
failure. We’ve participated in organizational rescue from “Near
Death Experience” (public story memorialized while in a con-
sulting role*). The human toll of leadership failure extends far
beyond the impact on the person involved. It not only scars
the leader but can hobble the entire enterprise.
Part of the purpose of this book is to give the reader a
forewarning and to provide the opportunity to prevent the
deleterious impact of impending leadership failure from nega-
tively hitting your career, work life, or organization. At the
minimum, knowing what failure resembles will permit you to
prepare when you see it rolling your way. One can explore
career options, prepare an exit strategy, or hunker down and
shelter in place if forewarned of the cascade that flows from
leadership failure. Think of using an umbrella in a downpour:
You may be damp and uncomfortable, but you don’t have to
be drenched.

* Fenner, K., 2009.

Acknowledgments

Perhaps the most thanks belong to the many colleagues and

clients whom we have known and with whom we have shared
bread – among various libations in some cases – over the
years, but whom, for reasons that should be obvious we can-
not acknowledge. When we have acted and reacted in ways
that we remain convinced were correct, ethical, and accurate,
many (most?) are still identifiable as friends and colleagues.
We are proud of their achievements and reactions to advice
proffered when it was essential for their continuation in place
and growth. Experiences we have shared with them often
could be described as “owners’ sleepless nights.”
In addition, there have been a few standout critical readers
and, in a few cases, anecdotal contributors whose efforts we’d
like to acknowledge with thanks. You know how you have
improved this work of ours even while we take full respon-
sibility for the accuracy of reportage: While it seems a better
road to follow to not tie you to particulars, we also accept the
blame for errors of fact or judgment that remain.
Among those whose contributions to our stories or as
reviewers remain undesignated are included with much appre-
ciation: Peter Boumgarden, Nancy Barone, Robert S Brown,
Thom Helm, T. Doug Lawson, and Gary L. Sharpe. While
we accept full responsibility for what we have put between

xxiii
xxiv ◾ Acknowledgments

the covers of this work and regret any errors in fact or judg-
ment, we also are clear that without the help of those named
above and the unwitting help given by thousands with whom
we have worked over our decades of service and consequent
learning, this book could not have been written.
Finally, Kristine Medansky and her colleagues includ-
ing Carly Cassano at Taylor & Francis, and especially Bryan
Moloney at Deanta Global, have steered this work through
the labyrinth of publishing to get the final product into your
hands. Our thanks to them all.
Author Bios

This week I achieved unprecedented levels of

unverifiable productivity
– Dilbert

Kate M. Fenner, RN, PhD

Having immersed herself in issues, innovations, and solutions
relevant to today’s dynamic business, healthcare, and higher
educational organizations, Kate has the rare ability to problem-
solve with humor and deep analysis, communicating at all
levels of an organization – from frontline staff to the Board –
even when their goals seem unaligned. Aside from her former
CEO and Managing Director roles in the consulting world,
where she used her talents to help organizational clients meet
clinical, financial, and cultural goals, she has also held leader-
ship roles for over a quarter century, including being a uni-
versity Professor, Dean of Nursing, and Vice President, while
also serving on national and state boards and committees
focused on the advancement and support of education. She
has applied proven leadership and development strategies to a
wide range of hospitals, health systems, and academic medical
centers, providing clients with creative, effective solutions to
their most pressing organizational concerns, particularly focus-
ing on leadership, organizational optimization, performance
xxv
xxvi ◾ Author Bios

improvement, and regulatory compliance. A model mentor for

graduate students and a regular keynoter throughout the coun-
try, Kate authored a leading college text on law and ethics in
healthcare, wrote numerous journal papers and blogs, and
coauthored other professional works.

Mark W. Reifsteck, MHA, LFACHE

Mark has over 30 years of consistent leadership achieve-
ment in complex, value-based organizations and boutique
consulting firms. His record includes excellent working rela-
tions with physicians, highlighting his skills in performance
improvement methods to achieve strategic and operational
results – especially where oppositional contentiousness had
been entrenched. In not-for-profit hospital administration,
he had increasing responsibilities starting at a 150-bed acute
care general hospital, through assignments as SVP and COO
at a top-10 integrated healthcare system, to Division President
and Chief Executive at a 15-hospital system with $1.7 billion
in net revenues, 14,000 employees, and 4000 physicians. He
focused on improvements in market share, financial results,
contracting, and clinical outcomes. In the for-profit sector, he
worked through becoming Managing Director and President
responsible for considerable corporate growth and systems
improvements, while implementing improvements dedicated to
activating the potential of healthcare organizations around the
country. He is currently engaged in voluntary board work and
other activities to advance his interests in philanthropy and
healthcare innovation and constructive disruption. His publica-
tions reflect his awareness of industry changes and relevance
of risk-taking.

Peter Fenner, PhD

Peter has decades of professional leadership experience within
healthcare, higher education, corporate, and community envi-
ronments. Heading various nationally funded research and
 Author Bios  ◾ xxvii

organizational projects was a good background for later cor-

porate leadership roles that also allowed him deep involve-
ment in committees and boards of international, national,
state, regional, and local associations. With early publications
as a scientist, he mentored many doctoral learners and pub-
lished dozens of journal articles and books as well a similar
number of up to book-length proprietary reports. As Academic
Vice-Chancellor within a Big-Ten System institution, a long-
term Dean of Environmental and Applied Sciences, also with
faculty roles in regional, state, and Ivy-league institutions, and
having served as Executive Director of one of the U.S. College
Commissions, and a corporate consulting leader, his abilities
to work within a realm of competing and diverse interests
allowed successful negotiation of difficult pathways. He has
acted as lead consultant on a variety of projects involving
communication systems, information systems/technology opti-
mization, strategic planning, and management development
initiatives. Current writing reflects his interest in leadership,
linguistics, general semantics, and research methodologies.
Introduction

Our View: Why Us?

I refuse to join any club that would have me…

Telegram response to invitation to join Friar’s Club
– Groucho Marx

As noted previously, the three of us have logged over 100

years of leadership experience in organizations from Health
Systems to Universities to Corporations. We have served as
company chief executives, health system leaders, and uni-
versity officers. We’ve survived the myriad crises that befall
companies, hospitals, and universities: Some inflicted by
external events, many the result of poor, incompetent, or ill-
informed leadership, occasionally even ours!
Since leaving institutional leadership we have applied
the expertise (and the earned scar tissue) gained from these
experiences to roles as strategic consultants to myriad com-
plex organizations. Whether guiding CEOs, assisting with
critical strategic change, or supporting leadership transitions,

DOI: 10.4324/9781003304371-1 1
2 ◾ Leadership Failures

we have had a privileged perch for observing the errors that

cost organizations progress, reputation, and sometimes even
existence.
Along this journey, we have witnessed and participated in
spectacular leadership. We have also assisted organizations
and surviving leaders in recovery from even more spectacular
leadership failures. We have witnessed good, smart people
foolishly execute dumb strategy and dull, unimpressive folks
succeed spectacularly. Sometimes plain dumb luck is a key
factor in leadership success or failure. Do not underestimate
the role of chance in make-or-break leadership tenure. But to
paraphrase Einstein, chance favors the prepared mind.
Can one increase the positive role of good luck in success?
We think “yes,” and will say more about that in the discussion
of Leadership Attributes (see Chapter 2). But suffice it here to
say that continuous attention to growth and development as a
professional and as a person is a factor that favors better luck.
One is never finished growing; whether working on a new
skill, staying abreast of the latest knowledge, staying involved
in community or professional organizations, all plow the
ground for openness to new ideas and enhance the chances
of good things happening.
From University Presidents who ignore the irresistible force
of change to hospital Chief Executives who turn tone-deaf to
input from key constituents to corporate managers unable to
view the world through any but their own paradigms: There
are many ways to fail but a few common threads to failure.
Those common threads are teased out, identified, and defined
to assist you, dear reader, in prevention and intervention in
potential leadership fails.
The pleasure of being part of an effectively led organiza-
tion and the techniques for emulating same have been well
documented in myriad leadership texts. Such an experience
provides a rich opportunity to learn and emulate the key char-
acteristics of successful leaders. It can be a joy to be a team
 Introduction ◾ 3

member in an organization with clarity of purpose, clear strat-

egy, dedication to execution, and accountability for results.
There are common attributes of good leadership that can
be learned and emulated. Storied leaders have transformed
their experiences into multiple volumes of texts that yield
observations of commonalities to achieve success.
We wanted to flip the paradigm and examine the character-
istics of leadership failures, documenting the unique attributes
of each, and suggest strategies for avoiding participating in,
and much less, leading such disasters. Paraphrased: Success
has many parents; failure is an orphan. We would add that
the orphan has many cautionary tales to tell that inform and
advise, sometimes more than success. Studying the orphans’
stories lets us deduce commonalities of causation and routes
to prevention.
We want to shine a light on the horrendous cost of
failed leadership. This cost is not measured in dollars alone,
although we do live in a society that monetizes almost every
move, decision, or outcome. Failed leadership costs organi-
zations resources, productivity, human capital/satisfaction,
and even survival. We should also be appalled by the more
important impact on people’s lives, health, and at times actual
existence.
Failure reverberates within an organizational system,
impeding and destroying the ability to grow, function, and
sometimes even exist. It also impacts members of the orga-
nization, the clients served, and the community where it
exists. Leadership failure may seem to be an individual event,
destroying career prospects or even ending a career. But the
circle of influence is much larger – whether realized in eco-
nomic or personal terms. Entire industries and communities
have fallen victim to the errors of leaders. The pain of poor
leadership is rarely simply felt by the so-called leader in ques-
tion. In fact, that leader might effectively escape the results
of poor decision-making, failed strategy, inept execution, or
4 ◾ Leadership Failures

moral timidity, and go on to inflict those poor skills elsewhere

while innocent – or at least less powerful – people experience
the poor outcomes of that failed leadership. We have seen
spectacularly incompetent leaders transition to new roles with-
out accountability for past impact; much like head lice work-
ing their way across a kindergarten classroom, there are few
ways to totally eliminate the impact of poor leadership.
Thus, this text – a compendium of leadership fails, an
analysis of each and a framework for diagnosing and perhaps
intervention in each. We will help the able reader avoid such
fails. Minimally we give good guidance on when to bail out of
a failing situation when control or influence over impending
failure is minimal or nonexistent. We give guidance on how to
diagnose impending inevitable failure and plan an exit strat-
egy to avoid same. In the worst cases, perhaps we can assist
with the identification of warning signs and permit preparation
for failure and perhaps recovery in its aftermath.
Who are we to dole out leadership wisdom? After a suc-
cession of increasingly more complex healthcare manage-
ment roles, Mark has served as Chief Operating Officer at a
large, complex multi-hospital system, later as regional CEO for
another system, and graduating from that experience he has
applied his earned expertise to multiple consulting assign-
ments. Peter is a veteran higher education leader, first as sci-
ence faculty, then college Dean, and later as vice-chancellor in
a state university system. Life after academe includes founding
and selling a successful consultancy. Kate has been a hospital
vice president, university faculty and Dean, and later university
vice president before joining Peter (in life and business).
So why listen to us? Several reasons pop to mind. First and
foremost, we are done with the journey, retired with no axe to
grind, engagement to sell, or agenda to forward. We have had
a fascinating set of careers, experienced brilliant leadership,
and watched what leadership failure can do to an organiza-
tion. Our only goal is to share this accumulated experience
 Introduction ◾ 5

with the hope that the reader can avoid the same, change as
needed, or at least temper a bad situation with a bit of fore-
sight. Learn from our experiences, use the stretch marks we
have earned to avoid that scar tissue, there will be plenty of
other challenges to surmount.
Take the experience and use it or simply be entertained
by the idiocy of others or design and implement a different
idiocy. We have earned age and sagacity, use us to vicari-
ously walk through the failures and learn from our time in the
trenches. We do not have to temper our thoughts with con-
sideration for the impact on our consulting portfolio, we are
not promoting a paradigm for adoption that will lead potential
clients to our door. In short, we are free of the financial and
institutional constraints that bar many from revealing real atti-
tudes and experiences. We are casting a look back over long
and hopefully productive careers and sharing that view.
We anchor our leadership thoughts on a set of attributes
that we believe are core to effective leadership. These attri-
butes constitute our center of leadership necessities, the fun-
damental components that provide a baseline for success, and
the absence of any provides the hole in the dike that allows
the first trickle of water to begin to undermine the enterprise.
In short, these attributes – honesty, self-awareness, emotional
maturity, communication abilities, decisiveness, intelligence,
and resilience – are core, are required, and constitute the
North Star of successful leaders.

Book Organization and How to Use

This is a collection of short stories. Each one serves as an
illustration of one or more serious leadership failures. Our goal
is not to memorialize what might be considered “stupid leader-
ship.” Rather, we seek to depart from the leadership literature
that wants to impress readers with the newest or historical best
6 ◾ Leadership Failures

paradigm for leadership, with a litany of steps to be taken to

follow as a formula to achieve leadership success. Our focus is
on real-life situations that happen.
We’ll assume that some combination of skills, experience,
and good intentions have placed you into a leadership role.
Or you may be succeeding in a manager or practitioner role
and evaluating the possibility of advancing to leadership in
your discipline or organization: You may be seeking a larger
portfolio. You may realize that a blunder is visible in your
rear-view professional mirror (or have been caught at making
same). Times and circumstances may have changed, regardless
of why your shining star has lost its luster.
Although names, places, and professional settings may have
been changed to protect identities and reputations, they all
reflect real situations. The stories (vignettes) are of situations in
process or beyond prevention. Remediation, damage control,
and resetting of reputation may now be your focus.
Our vignettes, then, set the stage, define one or more sig-
nificant failures, and in boxed comments offer some thoughts
about prevention, damage control, or “nexts.”
Each of the vignettes starts off with a pithy epigraph per-
haps to remind readers of why they are reading ahead! The
graphic that follows is intended as a “do-it-yourself exercise” to
help you focus on how various leadership (failure) traits may
or may not be impacting you as a leader, or your organization
through your leadership. Each ends with an attempt to reflect
usefully on the story’s history, outcomes, and relationship to
your future.
Vignettes and other content need not be read in the
sequence presented. Sections may easily be skipped or read
out of turn. Each section should stand on its own merits.
Following the vignettes section, you will find essays that
peer more closely at each of the seven attributes that we
consider essential to avoid failure. These should be in your
 Introduction ◾ 7

headlights as you move beyond your “troubles” of the past or

plan on strategies for avoiding future challenges.
The graphic serves as a reminder of how others’ failures
can be tied to their embrace or disdain of traits highlighted.
The challenge is essentially a thought-provocation to deter-
mine how you, personally, and your organization, specifically,
would relate to the attributes as exemplified in behaviors, pro-
cesses, and outcomes that might parallel the stories told in our
vignettes. Fill them in with check marks or comments as you
contemplate; they may be helpful in plotting your own “next”
actions.
The concluding text (Chapter 5) serves to summarize
lessons learnable, as well a very important component of
leadership – important for the individual and the institution,
and any desired legacy of successes: Succession.
STORIES 1
The stories that follow are real, perhaps amusing in hind-
sight, and instructive for application to other settings. We have
encountered, helped correct, and survived all of the situations
that follow.
The limitations and leadership defects that these stories
illustrate are not unique, were predictable, and probably pre-
ventable given a hint of self-awareness (we’ll discuss leader-
ship attributes such as self-awareness later).
Please read these stories both for amusement and instruc-
tion. If you recognize yourself, excellent! This will give you
an opportunity to reflect, consider corrective actions, and
apply lessons to your own career. If you recognize behaviors
exhibited within your team, you’ll have the opportunity to
coach others, prevent poor outcomes, and support growth. If
you recognize behaviors of a superior leader, then you need
to decide if this is a “kiss of death” potential problem; or, is it
something that you can manage to work around?
If you note the applicability of these lessons to your orga-
nization and the behavior is outside your control (i.e., another
division, or reflected in a superior), you have serious choices
to make. Is this behavior in contrast to organizational pol-
icy? Is this behavior potentially destructive of organizational
aims? Is this behavior correctable with coaching or other

DOI: 10.4324/9781003304371-2
10 ◾ Leadership Failures

intervention? Am I in a position to impact change positively?

Will intervention have blowback consequences on me and my
position?
All of these are complex questions, and answers require
careful thought and perhaps guidance from a very trusted
coach or mentor. Understand that pointing out the deficits of
others can have devastating consequences, particularly for
the person doing the pointing! Go carefully here, but do not
ignore your sense of responsibility. It is best to approach the
recognition of organizational or personal risk by first assuring
that your assessment is valid and then assuming the mantle
of a diplomat: How best to seek change without negative
blowback.
Chapter 1

Vignettes About Failures

What’s a vignette, you might ask? Well…it’s another word

for story…but a particular kind of short story…one designed
to offer meaning using provocative imagery. In this case,
the imagery is based on failure, specifically leadership fail-
ures. Why would we use stories of failures in a book about
leadership?
Failure is a popular topic in the business literature. Much
is written about technology companies, in particular mak-
ing a virtue of failure. Some companies create incentives to
encourage their employees to try, fail, iterate, and try again –
constantly improving a product until they get something that
the market will value. This is a phenomenon we’ve seen
referred to as “failing fast, failing forward.”
The type of failure we are referring to is different from
essentially a series of controlled experiments where you test
your hypothesis – see how it works and adjust till you get the
result you are looking for.
The kind of management failure we describe relates to a
failure of character or, as the lawyers might describe it, willful
negligence. This type of failure issues from a lack of poorly

DOI: 10.4324/9781003304371-3 11
12 ◾ Leadership Failures

formed leadership traits of honesty, self-awareness, and emo-

tional maturity, among the others, we describe in the text.
This type of failure consciously ignores advice or contrarian
data and leads to the pursuit of a path that ultimately ends in
harm to the organization, harm to other employees, and harm
to the executive pursuing that path in a word:Failure.
In the world of politics, we don’t think it should be con-
troversial to describe the Watergate debacle and the role of
Richard Nixon as a monumental leadership failure. The events
of Watergate resulted in multiple resignations, jail sentences,
and the resignation in disgrace of President Nixon himself.
In addition to the hearings held at the time, there have been
exhaustive historical accounts of what happened--describing
who did what and an attempt to frame why it occurred. An
inescapable conclusion is that a deeply flawed leader used
his considerable influence and authority to compel action that
ended in one of the biggest political scandals in the history of
our country.
In the business world, a similarly infamous series of lead-
ership failures resulted in the collapse of Enron and the
destruction of untold millions of dollars of value for leaders,
employees, and investors alike. Detailed forensic accounts
of what happened and who did what have been well docu-
mented. Careers were ruined, senior executives went to jail,
and countless numbers of investors lost their stake in the
company. We don’t think it is too simplistic to conclude that it
was a fundamental failure of leaders within Enron that led to
the events that resulted in the destruction of the company and
assuring the name Enron will forever be synonymous with
corrupt leadership and catastrophic failure.
The failures recounted here do not reflect the notoriety of
Watergate or Enron but were and are just as impactful for the
organizations involved. There are leadership lessons to be
drawn from headlines and applied to organizations. But there
are also myriad everyday examples of leaders behaving badly,
 Vignettes About Failures ◾ 13

without deep thought or moral compass that provide useful

instruction.
It’s not that we won’t fail. All professionals have some
stumbles on their career path. Anyone saying otherwise is dis-
assembling. But the key is what we learn from our failures and
from the failures of others, and how we incorporate lessons
and learnings from stumbles into our path moving forward.
The achievement is what we learn from those failures and
how we turn those lessons into success that is important.
Please recognize that the presentation of possible stories
that follow could seem endless. We’ve limited these to shorter
essays that are intended to be pointed, impactful, and lead to
positive introspection and – when necessary – change.
The stories we tell in the following section are intended to
help the reader learn from others’ mistakes in the hope that
they won’t make the same ones themselves. That’s a tall order
since we seemed programmed to think “that can’t happen
to me.”
In short, we hope our stories convince you “oh yes it can!”
Regardless, we trust you will find these stories of interest and
learning as you progress on your leadership journey.
14 ◾ Leadership Failures

Vignette 1: Well-prepared for the Wrong Role

Right Church; Wrong Pew

– Anonymous

Failed
Essential Self- Emotional
Attribute Honesty awareness Maturity Communicator Decisiveness Intelligence Resilience

This
vignette

Management and leadership require discipline, knowl-

edge, and an applicable skill set that can be studied and
practiced. Thus, effective leadership requires learning and
multiple skills. But most of all it requires the ability to “put
yourself out there,” to risk being wrong, looking a bit fool-
ish, and at times admitting that while you don’t have all
the answers, you will seek out help to find them. Two sto-
ries of overly well-defended egos have in the background
leaders who may be prone to indicating that they’ve never
made mistakes, cannot say, “I don’t know,” and are certain
that all failures should be attributed anywhere else but to
them.
One rarely, if ever, encounters a born leader. Common
myths often present the image of a “born leader,” the great
man born to the role of inspiring others to engage in the pur-
suit of a higher goal. In reality, leaders don’t arise without first
mastering the set of attributes inherent to the role.
Occasionally, an organization’s Board or senior leaders
will assume that if someone is a master of the work of the
organization they can lead in the organization. Too often,
this proves disastrous. Promoting a skilled professional to the
supervision of other professionals requires more than mas-
tery of the mission of the organization. Leadership requires
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
also in distress on account of the
famine. After that a widow had
an idea to go and search for food
for them. She said to the parents
of her husband: “I am going to
search for some mountain kalo
for food for us; do you prepare
the wood. You wait for me, and if
the day passes by without my
return, then you may conclude
that I am dead.” She then started
off to look for wild kalo. She
followed the course of a stream.
While going towards the
mountain not a kalo could she
find. It was already picked by
those who had gone [602]before.
She kept on until she came to
the tall woods when she found
some mountain kalo. Others who
had sought for food had not
gone as far as this. She
gathered enough for a large pile
which she bundled conveniently
for carrying. Then she kept going
mountainwards, following the
stream. She saw cane stretching
out on the ground and then rising
again, and bananas till they were
over-ripe. She hastened to break
some cane and to get some
bananas, thinking to take home
a bundle of sugar-cane. Kahuoi
o ka wi, a mahope mai, kupu ka
manao iloko o kekahi wahine
kane make e hele i ka imi ai na
lakou. Pane aku keia wahine i na
makuahonowai ona, oia hoi na
makua o ke kane: “E hele au i ka
imi aweu na kakou, e
hoomakaukau olua i mau wahi
wahie. E kali nae olua ia’u a i po
keia la ia’u, alaila manao ae
olua, ua make au.” O ko ia nei
hele aku la noia e huli aweu na
lakou nei. Pii keia ma kahawai, i
ko ia nei pii ana aole loaa iki ia ia
nei kau wahi ai, ua pau no i ka
poe pii mua. O ko ia nei pii wale
aku la no ia a hiki wale i [603]ka
laau loloa, loaa ia ia nei ke
aweu, aole i hiki loa aku ka poe
imi ai i uka loa, o ko ia nei uhuki
iho la no ia a ku ka paila, hana
ka haawe, pii hou aku la no keia,
o ko ianei pii aku la noia ma
kahawai, ike aku la oia i ke ko e
moe ana a ala mai, a me ka
maia ua hele a kapule. O ko ia
nei awiwi aku la no ia me ka
manao e uhaki la a ku ka pu-a,
alaila la hoi, lohe ana o Kahuoi i
ka uina o ke ko a me ka halulu o
ke kumu o ka maia i ke pahu
ilalo, hoomaka mai la o Kahuoi e
hele mai e hakilo, a ike oia i keia
heard the cane snapping and the
noise of the banana trees as
they were thrown down. So he
went along to see what it was,
and saw this beautiful woman.
When the woman saw the man,
she was afraid, and said to him:
“If this banana field and this cane
are yours, I beseech for pardon
before you for my wrong.”
Kahuoi answered and said: “Why
should it be wrong to take of the
eatables? One must indeed be
famished to search the source of
food.” And because he was
kindly disposed, the woman said:
“Perhaps you have a wife?” He
answered: “I have no wife; I
came alone from my country. My
parents were tired of me
because I would not do any
cultivating, therefore I was sent
away, and I found this place and
lived here, and now I have met
you.”
Then the woman said: “Will you
then be a husband to me, and let
me be your wife? Because I lost
my husband a few weeks ago.”
Then they lived as husband and
wife.
wahine maikai. I ka ike ana o ua
wahine nei i keia kanaka, ia
manawa kupu mai la ka manao
makau iloko o ua wahine nei, a
pane aku la i ua kanaka nei: “Ina
nau keia e-a maia, a me keia ko,
alaila, ke mihi aku nei au i kuu
hewa imua ou.” Pane mai la o
Kahuoi me ka olelo mai: “He
hewa auanei kahi oia i ka mea
ai, o ka make ai paha ia la ke imi
’la i kahi e loaa ai o ka ai.” A no
ke ano oluolu o ua kanaka nei,
pane aku ua wahine nei: “He
wahine no nae paha kau?” Pane
mai kela: “Aole a’u wahine, i hele
hookahi mai au mai ko’u aina
mai, no ka uluhua o ko’u mau
makua i kuu mahiai ole, nolaila,
kipaku ia mai au a loaa ko’u
wahi e noho ai oia keia, a launa
iho la me oe.” Olelo aku ua
wahine nei: “E aho hoi ha i kane
oe na’u i wahine au nau,
nokamea, o ka’u kane ua make
iho nei iloko o keia mau pule aku
nei i hala.” Noho iho la laua nei
he kane a he wahine.
 concerning the birth
of their children.
While they were living there, a
child was born to them, and it
was called Awahua, a son. After
him was born a daughter, and
she was named Ae-a. These
children were named after the
father, 81 not after the mother.
While they lived there, the
children grew big. The parents
went to their cultivating, while the
children went to the stream to
dig ditches. While so digging, the
sister’s ditch was broken
prematurely, and she was
carried along by the water
without the brother’s knowledge.
While the brother was digging
away at his ditch he happened to
glance around and the sister was
nowhere in sight, so he started
to hunt for her, thinking he could
find her quickly. He saw her at
Paliakoae, so he chased after
her. When he arrived there she
had got to Waiailio, 82 and thus
he followed after her until she
was finally carried out into the
ocean. At that time she threw her
ivory necklace upon the beach at
ka hanau ana o ka laua
mau keiki.
Ia laua nei e noho pu ana, hanau
mai la na laua nei he keiki, a
kapaia ka inoa o ua keiki nei o
Awahua, he keiki kane, a
mahope mai no ona, hanau mai
he kaikamahine kapaia ka inoa o
ua kaikamahine nei o ka Ae-a.
Ka inoa o keia mau keiki mamuli
wale no o ke kapaia ana o ka
inoa o ko laua makuakane, aole
ma ka inoa o ka makuahine. Ia
lakou nei e noho ana ilaila nunui
ae la ua mau keiki nei. Hoomaka
na makua e hele i ka mahiai, a
hoomaka no hoi na keiki e hele i
ka eli auwai; i ko laua nei eli ana
i auwai, noha e ka auwai a ke
kaikuahine, o ka lilo mai la noia
o ke kaikuahine, me ka ike ole
mai o ke kaikunane. I ke
kaikunane nae e nanea ana i ka
eli i kana auwai, i alawa ae ka
hana, aole ke kaikuahine, o ka
hoomaka mai la no ia o ke
kaikunane e huli me ka manao e
loaa koke mai la. Ike mai la ke
kaikunane i ke kaikuahine i
Paliakoae, o ka wa noia o ke
kaikunane i alualu mai ai
a place known as Waioaoaku,
and it is so named unto this day.
The brother was also carried
right along, and when he came
to this place he saw the necklace
of his sister there, so he threw
his loin-cloth, Puakai, 83 and it
landed by the ivory necklace of
his sister. They were taken by
the current until the sister was
landed at Honuaula, 84 Maui. The
brother landed at Puuloa, 85
[Oahu]. The brother married
Halawa, 86 while the sister
married Kahimanini, who
belonged here on Maui. [604]
the parents
wondered.
While the parents were at their
work cultivating, the father
thought of the children, and said
to the mother: “Go and see to
our children.” As the mother
went along and called out, there
mahope ona; hiki ke kaikunane i
Paliakoae hiki ke kaikuahine i
Waiailio, a pela laua i hele alualu
wale mai ai a hiki wale i ka lilo
loa ana o ke kaikuahine i ka
moana. Ia manawa, e kiloi ae
ana ke kaikuahine i ka lei palaoa
a kau ma kahakai, o ka inoa oia
wahi o Waioaoaku, oia mau no a
hiki wale i keia wa. Hoomaka hoi
ke kaikunane e lilo mai, ike e oia
i ka lei palaoa o ke kaikuahine e
kau ana, o ke kiloi aku la no ia i
ka malo Puakai, a waiho pu me
ka lei palaoa o ke kaikuahine; o
ko laua nei lilo mai la no ia a pae
ke kaikuahine ma Honuaula i
Maui nei; o ke kaikunane hoi,
pae ma Puuloa, a male ke
kaikunane ia Halawa, o ke
kaikuahine hoi, mare ia
Kahimanini ma Maui nei no. [605]
ka haohao ana o na
makua.
A ia i ka wa o na makua e nana
ana i ka laua hana, oia ka
mahiai, haupu ka makuakane o
olelo aku i ka wahine: “E hele
aku oe e nana i na keiki a kaua.”
I ka hele ana o ka wahine a
was no response from them. She
hunted here and there in the
banana field, but couldn’t find
them. Then she raised her voice
in wailing at the loss of their
children, and chanted this chant:
Beloved is the great noisy water
of the country,
Swirling along as it strikes
Kukuikee;
Divided is the water as it
descends the face of the cliff,
Pounding and foaming is the
water at Kauamanu, etc.
Kahuoi heard her lamenting for
the children, so when she
ceased he asked: “Why are you
wailing in that reciting 87
fashion?” “Why, indeed! Our
children have been taken by
water!” Her husband answered:
“Do not mind, they have been
taken by their grandparents.”
The ditches which the children
dug were named Waiohonu, that
was the name of the brother’s,
and Kahawaikukae was the
name of the sister’s ditch.
kahea aku, aole o laua nei pane
iki mai. Huli iho la kela mao a
maanei o ka e-a maia, aole nae
he loaa iki. O ka wa no ia o ka
makuahine i uwe kaukau aku ai i
ka nalowale honua ana o ka laua
mau keiki. A haku aku la oia i
kekahi mele, penei:
Aloha ka wai alelo nui o ka aina,
Hu-ai ka paena a ka wai i
Kuikuikee
Iho mahele lua ka wai i ke alo o
ka pali,
Ke ku-i kea ka wai i Kauamanu,
a pela aku.
A pau ko ia nei uwe ana no ka ia
nei mau keiki, lohe mai la o
Kahuoi a olelo mai: “He aha keia
au e uwe helu nei?” Pane aku ka
wahine: “He aha mai ka hoi kau,
o na keiki a kaua ua lilo i ka wai.”
Pane mai ke kane: “Mai manao
oe ia mea, ua lilo aku la no i na
kupuna;” kapaia nae ka inoa o
na auwai a laua nei i eli ai o
Waiohonu, oia ka inoa o ka
auwai o ke kaikunane, o
Kahawaikukae hoi oia ka inoa o
ka auwai a ke kaikuahine.
There are other matters, but that
is the story concerning the
banana field, and how the
famous places were designated.
In the eastern portion of this field
of bananas stands a large stone,
and it is called Pohakuhaele. 88
This stone was called by that
name because of the
wanderings of the person
referred to above. Piikea 89
brought it from Hawaii and left it
there, and it is there today. In the
northern portion of the banana
field are the canes of
Piimaiwaa. 90 They are there to
this day. The banana plants from
this field were planted in many
other places, some of them on
Hawaii, but I do not know their
story. Some of them on Oahu,
some on Kauai, and that is the
curly banana of Kaualehu; 91 but
the explanations concerning
these fields and persons I know
not. I have given the story of the
field of bananas as it has been
told me by older people. Another
thing: it is thought that this
banana was brought from Kahiki
by Ahuimaiaapakanaloa, 92 one
of the brothers of Pele. That is
perhaps where Kahuoi got his
He nui aku no nae; oia iho la nae
ke ano o keia e-a maia ame na
mea pana. Aia ma ka aoao
hikina o ua e-a maia nei, he
pohaku nui, ua kapaia ka inoa o
ua pohaku nei o Pohakuhaele. O
ke kuleana o ka mea i kapaia ai
o ka inoa o keia pohaku mamuli
no o ke kaihele mau ia ana o ka
mea a kakou i lohe mau iho nei,
oia na Piikea i lawe mai mai
Hawaii mai a waiho ia malaila, a
hiki i keia manawa ma ka akau
ponoi o ka e-a maia, na ko
Piimaiwaa a hiki no i keia
manawa, he nui aku no nae na
wahi i laha ai keia e-a maia; ua
laha kekahi ma Hawaii, aole nae
i loaa ia’u kona wehewehe ana.
Ma Oahu kekahi, ma Kauai no
hoi kekahi, oia ka e-a maia piipii
a Kaualehu, o na wehewehe ana
nae a keia poe, aole i loaa ia’u.
Ma ka’u e-a maia no i ike oia no
ka mea i haiia mai e ka poe
kahiko; aole hoi oia wale no, ua
manao ia ua loaa mai keia maia
mai Ahuimaiaapakanaloa mai,
mai Kahiki mai oia na kaikunane
o Pele, malaila mai paha i loaa
mai ai keia maia a Kahuoi, a i
ole ia nana iho no paha.
banana, and yet again it may
have been his own.
D. K. Kanakea.
THE STONE ADZE.
The adze 93 is a stone made into
such an instrument. This is the
adze of the olden time, before
the days of our grandparents. It
must be prepared skilfully, and
[606]great patience must be
exercised in its making. To
prepare it, it must be rubbed
against something else until it is
flat and smooth. The face of the
adze must be tied up as the
white man’s plane is fixed.
concerning the
handle to tie to.
The handle is an important part;
any kind of wood would not do.
Look for a piece of wood with a
crook at the end to which the
D. K. Kanakea.
NO KE KOI PAHOA.
O ke koi pahoa, he pohaku keia i
hana ia i koi; oia ke koi o ka
manawa kahiko o ke au i hala
aku nei o ka wa o na kupuna o
kakou, me ka noiau ame ka
hana malie [607]loa ka mea e
pono ai keia koi ke hana, ina he
hana ia, e anaanai me kekahi
mea e ae a palahalaha, a o mua
o ka maka o ua koi ’la; e hoa iho
o mua e like me ka hana ia ana
o ke koikahi a ka haole.
no ka laau e paa ai ua
koi la.
O ka laau kekahi mea nui aole
ma ke pono laau, e nana i laau
kekee ma kekahi welau e
kupono ana i ke koi pahoa, e
adze would fit. Peel off the bark,
leaving the wood. Then shape it
nicely and flat enough to fit the
stone, care being taken to try it
on the stone often to get a good
fit. When the wood fits the stone,
the work is done.
concerning the twine
with which to tie it.
There are two kinds of twine
which I will mention: the olona, 94
and the fiber of the coconut
twisted. Only olona which has
been twisted is used. The length
of the twines should be about
two fathoms; and with one of
these twines must the adze be
tied on to the handle. There is
much not obtained, but what I
have learned I am giving you.
G. H. D. Kalua.
HISTORY OF THE AWA.
maihi i ka ili apau o waho, a koe
iho ka iho o loko; alaila kalai a
maikai a palahalaha pono e
kupono ana i ka pohaku me ka
hoohalike aku o ka hana ana o
ua laau la me ke kii o ke koi. Ina
e like ana alaila ua kupono ka
laau me ka pohaku.
no ke kaula e paa ai.
O na kaula a’u e hai aku ai, elua
ano kaula i hilo ia, he olona me
ka aha, oia hoi ka puluniu. He
olona wale no i hilo. O ka loa o
keia mau kaula ma kahi o ka
elua anana ka loihi ame kekahi o
keia mau kaula e hauhoa ai a
paa. O ka nui aole i loaa, aka ma
kahi mea i loaa ia’u ka’u e hai
aku ai.
G. H. D. Kalua.
MOOLELO NO KA AWA.
This plant is plentiful in Hawaii
nei, and perhaps in other lands
also; it is large underneath, and
it has branches which are jointed
like the sugar-cane; it has large
leaves, though there are some
with small leaves.
where the awa 95 is
found.
It is said that this plant was
brought from Kahiki by
Oilikukaheana. He brought it for
fishing 96 plant. When he came
and landed at Kauai, he saw a
beautiful woman, Kamaile; she
became his wife, and the plants
were cared for by her.
Afterwards she threw them away
and they grew at Waialeale.
Some were pulled up by
Moikeha and brought by him
from Kauai; and without his
knowing the kinds of plants they
were, he planted them at
Halawa, on Oahu. When
Moikeha saw that the plants
grew he went and told the owner
of them, Oilikukaheana, who
said the name was Paholei.
Moikeha waited until the plants
He laau nui keia ma Hawaii nei
ame na aina e ae no paha, o
kona ano he nui olalo a he mau
lala maluna, he punapuna no hoi
e like me ke ko, a he lau nunui a
he lau lii no hoi kekahi.
kahi i loaa mai ai ka
awa.
Ua olelo ia no Kahiki mai keia
laau, na Oilikukaheana i lawe
mai he mau laau lawaia keia
nana. I kona holo ana mai a pae
ma Kauai, ike oia i ka wahine
maikai o Kamaile, o ka
hoowahine iho la no ia, a
malama ia ua mau laau nei e
Kamaile, a mahope kiola ia e
Kamaile a ku ma Waialeale, o
kekahi hoi haule a loaa ia
Moikeha, a lawe ia mai e
Moikeha mai Kauai mai, me
kona ike ole i ke ano oia laau,
lawe ia mai a kanu ia ma
Halawa, ma Oahu. A ike o
Moikeha i ka ulu ana o ua laau
nei, holo keia hai aku i ka mea
nana ka laau, oia hoi o
Oilikukaheana, hai mai ia he
paholei ka inoa. Noho o Moikeha
grew large, and because he had
forgotten the name, he went to
Ewa. This was the time when
Ewa and Halawa were living 97
separately; Halawa was not
available to every one, hence the
saying: “Halawa is not to be
seen; ’tis a land at the end of
Ewa,” etc.
He went to Ewa, and she told
him to go and get the plant. So
he went for some, and found that
the roots had grown large. So he
pulled up the plants, roots
[608]and leaves, and brought
them to Ewa. Ewa said: “Let me
first eat of this plant, and should I
die, do not plant it, for it would be
valueless; but should I not die,
then we will be rich.” When Ewa
ate it she became drunk and was
intoxicated all day. When she
awoke she called the plant
“awa”; from thence forward this
plant was called awa, the awa of
Kaumakaeha, the chief.
There are many other places
mentioned as to where awa
came from. It is said that birds
brought it and planted it in the
forests of Puna, Hawaii. Others
a ulu ua laau nei a nui, no ka
pohihihi iaia o ka inoa hele oia ia
Ewa, oiai e noho kaawale ana o
Ewa me Halawa, aole no hoi e
ike wale ia o Halawa, oia ka mea
i olelo ia ai: “Ike ole ia aku
Halawa la; Aina i ka mole o Ewa
la,” a pela aku.
O ko ia nei hele aku la no ia ia
Ewa, o ko Ewa olelo mai la no ia
e kii i ua laau nei. O ko ia nei kii
aku la no ia ua kolo ke a-a, ko
ianei huhuki mai la no ia o ke
kumu [609]o ka lau, ku ana imua
o Ewa, a olelo aku o Ewa: “E ai
mua au i keia laau a i make au,
alaila, mai kanu oe aohe waiwai,
aka ina aole au e make, alaila,
waiwai kaua.” I ka ai ana a ua o
Ewa, ona iho la ia a po ka la, ala
mai la ia a kapa mai la i ka inoa
he awa, mailaila mai ke kapaia
ana o keia lau he awa, o ka awa
a Kaumakaeha, ke ’lii. He nui
aku no na wahi i olelo ia no kahi
i loaa mai ai ka awa; ua olelo ia
he mau manu ka mea nana i
lawe mai a kanu ia ma ka
nahelehele o Puna, ma Hawaii.
O kekahi, he keiki ponoi no na
Hiilei, o na wahi wehewehe no ia
say that a son of Hiilei brought it.
But this is what I have been told
by friends as to the origin of the
awa.
how it is propagated.
It is said that the awa is
propagated from the joints, that
is, the branches; it is pressed
down and weighted with a stone
until the rootlets develop; then it
is taken to where it is desired to
be planted. Again, when the awa
roots are being dug up, that is,
when it is pulled, the branches
are chopped up and thrown back
into the holes from which the
roots have been taken, then
covered over with soil, and when
the sprouts appear, called
Nihopuaa, 98 they are taken and
planted. The method of planting
that I have seen is the same as
that followed in the planting of
cane.
names of various awa.
Papa, Makea, Mokihana: these
have white branches and large
leaves. Should the Papa be
i loaa ia’u no kahi i loaa ai ka
awa, mai na hoa mai.
o kona wahi e ulu ai.
Ua olelo ia o kona wahi e ulu ai
oia ka aka, oia hoi ka lala, aia a
kakiwi ia a kaomi ia me ka
pohaku, a kolo ke a-a, alaila
lawe e kanu i kau wahi e
makemake ai, a o kekahi i ka wa
e ka ia ai ka awa oia hoi ka
uhuki ana, poke ae no i ka lala a
hoolei iho iloko o ka lua o ka
puawa i huhuki ia ae ai, a kanu
apaa, a omaka ae, ua kapaia ua
omaka he nihopuaa, alaila lawe
e kanu. O ke kanu ana a’u i ike
he like me ke kanu ana o ke ko.
na inoa o na awa.
Papa, makea, mokihana; he
keokeo ko lakou mau lala, he
nunui ka lau. A ina e kanu ia ka
planted it would produce Papa
and the root Moi; these have
black skin on their branches.
There is also the awa root Hiwa.
These are the principal kinds
that I have learned of.
value of awa root, the
part from which the
branches sprout.
Awa was a valuable article in the
olden time; a great deal of it was
bought by the people for drinking
and for medicinal purposes. This
is what is done if for a sick
person: it is used as a medicine
together with a black pig for its
accompaniment. Awa is chewed
and placed in a container, and
when there is sufficient it is
mixed and strained and poured
into the cups; then the priest 99
prays to the guardian spirit,
sprinkling some awa for them.
Then drink of the awa, and eat of
the fat pig. This will cause one to
see things hazily 100 at night, and
to sleep heavily during the day.
So it is with those who are
possessed by the gods. When
the god comes on a visit and
papa, puka mai he papa ame ka
puawa moi, he eleele ka ili o
waho o kona mau lala. He
puawa hiwa, na puawa ano nui
iho la no ia i loaa ia’u.
Ka waiwai o ka puawa; oia hoi
kahi i ulu mai ai na lala. He nui
na waiwai o keia mea i ka wa
kahiko, he mea kuai nui ia e na
kanaka, i mea inu, i mea lapaau
mai. Penei e hana ai ina he mea
mai, o ka laau ihola no keia ame
ka puaa hiwa, i loaa ka pu-pu o
ka awa; e mama a loko o ke
kanoa, a nui a hoka, oia ke
kalana ana ae i na oka awa
oloko, apau ia hoo-hee aku iloko
o na apu, alaila, pule aku ke
kahuna i na aumakua a pi aku i
kekahi awa no lakou, o ka wala
aku la no ia, hoonuu mai na
poke puaa ae, hoonoenoe keia i
ka po, loaa ka mea e kunewa ai i
ke ao. Pela no hoi ka poe
hoonohonoho akua, ina e hoi
mai ke akua a noho iluna kena
sits 101 on one, awa is quickly
gotten ready for the deity; it is
hastily chewed, prepared and
drank up. And every time the
god visits the same process is
gone through until one gets
inflamed; and when you see
some one blear-eyed it reminds
you of the following saying:
“Inflamed! Inflamed! First go
down to Piheka. What food will
you have to eat? Awa.”
Again, if you have sinned against
your guardian spirit, with the root
of the [610]awa you could be
forgiven; 102 then the anger of the
guardian spirit would be
appeased. If you have a house
to move into do not forget the
awa root. The awa drinkers
desired their skin to be rough
just as if they had been daubed
over with poi and it had dried; it
then becomes: “Stained is the
white, the dark (black) has won.”
Again, if one has sworn not to
talk to another, and later they
wish to make up, they must use
some awa root. There are other
things where awa root is needed
and used. Another thing, it is not
koke i awa i ai na ke akua; o ka
mama iho la no ia o ka awa inu
aku la apau, pela aku ana no,
hele ia a ukolekole, nana aku oe
makole launa ole, ka mea hoi i
olelo ia:
“Makole! Makole! Akahi hele i kai
o Piheka, heaha ka ai e ai ai, he
awa.”
Pela no hoi, ina ua hewa oe i
kou akua me kahi huluhulu awa
e kala ai i ka hewa, [611]alaila na
ka huhu o ke akua, pela no hoi
ina he komo hale aole e haule
kahi huluhulu awa, hele ia a me
he kanaka ala i hamo ia owaho o
ka ili i ka poi ka hele a nakakaka,
ka ka poe inu awa mea
makemake loa ihola ia, i hele ia
a: “Hapala ke ke-a, na ka ele ka
ai.”
A o kekahi; ina ua hoohiki kekahi
me kekahi aole laua e ike, aia a
makemake laua e ike, me ka
puawa alaila ike, ame ke kahi
mau mea e ae no, me kahi
huluhulu awa no e pono ai. Eia
proper to eat food before
drinking the awa; drink the awa
first, then eat the food; then one
becomes intoxicated.
Awa root is one of the valuable
things sold in our kingdom. You
can see the quarters
disappearing frequently evening
after evening, to secure that
which would cause profound
sleep at night.
the value of the
leaves.
The leaves are large and flat,
somewhat like those of other
plants. Here is the value: when
one is sick, spread the leaves
underneath and lay the patient
on them, and the illness will
disappear, provided it is such as
can be cured by that medicine.
places famous on
account of this plant.
At Kamaile, Kauai; at Halawa,
Oahu; at Maui are the awa roots
of Eleio, but I do not know where
kekahi, aole e pono e ai e
mamua o ka wa e inu ai i ka
awa, o ona ole ka oia, a pau ka
awa i ka inu alaila ai ka ai, alaila
ona.
O ka puawa nohoi kekahi mea
waiwai e kuai ia nei ma ko kakou
aupuni nei. Nana aku oe o ka
oiliili mau no ia o na wahi
hapaha, i kela ahiahi keia ahiahi,
i loaa ka mea hoomoemoe o ka
po.
ka waiwai o ka lau.
O ka lau he palahalaha nunui,
ane like no me kekahi mau laau
e ae, eia ka waiwai o ua lau nei;
aia a hiki i ka wa mai, haliilii ia ka
lau malalo alaila moe iho
maluna, he ola no i na no o ka
mai kupono ia laau.
na wahi pana no keia
laau.
Aia ma Kamaile i Kauai, ma
Halawa i Oahu, ma Maui nei o
na puawa a Eleio, aole nae au i
they grow; at Puna, Hawaii, if I
mistake not; whereat on Molokai,
I do not know. Another famous
place is Hakipuu, Oahu, at a
place called Hena; there is
located a stone awa container
and a stone awa cup. A man
named Kapuna went there and
drank some awa; and when he
came home he was drunk and
went to sleep, and died from the
intoxication of the awa; and
where he died there appeared
two ridges; the ridges were
joined at some place; those were
the legs; there is also a small hill
at the place; that was the head
of the man. That place is known
as Kapuna; this place is mauka
of Hakipuu, Oahu. This place is
also called Hena, where the awa
is noted for its intoxicating
quality.
This is what I have gleaned from
friends through inquiry.
John Mana.
ike i kahi i ulu ai; ma Hawaii,
Puna, ke ole nae au e kuhihewa,
ko Molokai aole i maopopo ia’u.
Aia no ia wahi pana ma Hakipuu,
ma Oahu, o Hena ka inoa, aia
no malaila he kanoa pohaku, he
apu pohaku, a i ka hele ana o
kekahi kanaka, o Kapuna kona
inoa, a inu i ka awa, a i kona hoi
ana, ona ia a moe a make loa i
ka ona o ka awa, a i kona make
ana malaila, kualapa ihola
malaila elua kualapa ua hui ma
kekahi wahi; oia ka na uha, a he
puu uuku kahi malaila, a oia ka
ke poo o ua kanaka nei; kapa ia
ia wahi o Kapuna, aia ma uka o
Hakipuu i Oahu. Kapaia ai keia
wahi o Hena, kahi o ka awa ona.
O kahi mea iho la no ia i loaa
ia’u, ame ka ninaninau ana aku i
na hoa.
John Mana.
 BUILDING CANOES.
This is one of the industries of
Hawaiians of ancient time, and it
is still carried on to this day. This
is how it is done: when a man
desires to go up to build a canoe
he must first prepare a pig, red
fish, black fish and various other
things. 103 And when these things
are ready he comes home and
courts dreams in his sleep. If
they are good he will go up, but if
they are unfavorable he will not.
In going up the mountain a
woman should not go along; that
would be wrong. Should a
woman go along, the canoe
would be cracked. Arriving at the
place where [612]the koa selected
for hewing into a canoe stands, a
fire is kindled in the imu 104 for the
things already prepared. When
the fire is kindled a man gets a
chip of the koa and burns it in
the imu; when all the things are
cooked prayers are offered to
the canoe-building gods: to
Kupulupulu, 105 Kumokuhalii,
Kuolonowao, Kupepeiaoloa,
NO KA HANA ANA O KA
WAA.
O kekahi oihana keia a na
kanaka Hawaii i ka wa kahiko a
hiki i keia manawa. Penei ke ano
o ka hana ana: I ka
hoomakaukau ana o ke kanaka
e pii e hana waa, hele mua oia i
ka puaa, ka ia ula, ka ia ele a me
kekahi mau mea e ae, a lako
keia mau mea hoi mai
hoomoemoe i ka po, a ina he
maikai, alaila, pii, aka, ina he
keakea aole e pii.
I ka pii ana aole e pii pu me
kekahi wahine o hewa. Ina e pii
pu ka wahine e naha ana ka
waa. I ka pii ana a hiki i kahi e ku
ana ke koa kupono no ke kalai i
[613]waa, alaila, ho-a ka imu o na
mea i hoolako ia; i ka a ana o ka
imu, kii aku ke kanaka i kekahi o
ka mamala o ke koa a ho-a pu i
ka imu; a moa keia mau mea,
alaila, kaumaha aku i na
aumakua kalai waa, oia o
Kupulupulu, Kumokuhalii,
Kuolonowao, Kupepeiaoloa,
Kuhooholopali, Kupaaikee,
Kanealuka, a he lehulehu aku no
Kuhooholopali, Kupaaikee,
Kanealuka, and various others;
then would he eat of some of
these things and throw some
away for the gods. And when all
these things have been attended
to, the tree is ready to be cut.
The axe used for cutting in the
olden times was a stone adze
ground until sharp, tied to a
handle; when cutting, dig and put
away the dirt so that the roots
would show, then hew it down. It
would take one man almost a
week to fell a tree; if many hands
at work it could be felled in two
days. Nowadays we have iron
axes, and because of their
sharpness a tree can easily be
cut down. A strong man can cut
down a koa tree 106 in half an
hour. When the tree is felled
some more prayers are offered
to the gods before shaping it into
a canoe. After shaping it up 107
and making it light it is hauled
down and placed inside of a
place prepared for it. After three
months or more, the finishing
touches are put on and the other
parts attached.
na mea i koe; alaila, ai iho la ke
kanaka i kekahi mau mea a
hoolei na ke akua kekahi, a pau
na mea i ka hana ia, hoomaka
ke oki.
O ke koi e oki ai i ka wa kahiko
he pohaku i anai ia a oi; i
hoopaa ia me kekahi laau; i ke
oki ana eli a kaawale ka lepo a
waiho ke aa, alaila, oki. Ua
aneane e hala ka pule ina na ke
kanaka hookahi e oki a hina; ina
ha nui ka poe nana e oki, alaila,
e hina no i na la elua, aka, i keia
manawa, ua loaa mai ke koi hao
a ua hikiwawe loa ka hina no ka
oi loa; ua hiki i ke kanaka ikaika
ke oki i ka koa i ka hapalua hora
a hina; i ka hina ana kaumaha
hou i na aumakua, alaila,
hoomaka ka hana ana a lilo i
waa. A pau ka hana, a ane
mama, alaila, kauo i kai a loko o
kahi i hoomakaukau ia nona. A
hala na malama ekolu a oi aku,
alaila, hoomaikai loa, a kapili i na
laau.
This is the way to build them: the
wood for these parts is the
ahakea; 108 four rims and two
rails. These are the names of the
rims to be hewn from the wood:
kiapuapu 109 rim, hoonolunolu 110
rim, oio 111 rim and unu 112 rim.
These rims are hewn so as to
conform to the rim of the canoe.
These pieces are tied on to the
canoe with the aha 113 or sennit.
When the canoe is finished then
perform the ceremony known as
lolo 114 with a pig. Should it be
performed without any
interruption then it is a solid
canoe, but should the ceremony
be interrupted the canoe is not
solid, or else trouble would come
to the owner of the canoe. After
this shape and tie on the
outrigger—the ama and the
iako 115—the knees 116 and the
covering boards.
Those people who are
accustomed to doing this work
are called the canoe-building
priests. 117 This occupation is a
hazardous one, often resulting in
death. I worked at it from the
time I was twelve years of age. It
is, however, a profitable industry
Penei e kapili ai: O ka laau e
kapili ai he ahakea; eha kupe
elua moo, a eia ka inoa o na
maha o ka laau e kalai ai. 1,
maha kiapuapu; 2, maha
hoonolunolu; 3, maha oio; 4,
maha unu, e like me ka maha o
ka waa, pela no ka maha o ka
laau i hana ia ai. O ka mea e
paa ai keia mau laau he kaula
aha; a paa i ka hana ia alaila lolo
ka puaa, ina maikai ka lolo ana
alaila, he waa paa ia, aka, ina e
hewa ka lolo ana, he waa paa
ole, a i ole ia he pilikia no ka
mea nona ka waa, apau keia, kii
ke ama e kalai me na iako a me
ka wae, ke kuapoi.
Ua kapa ia keia poe i maa ma ia
hana, he kahuna kalai waa. O
keia oihana, he oihana eha a he
oihana make. Ua hana no au i
keia oihana mai ko’u wa he
umikumamalua makahiki, aka,
he oihana waiwai no ina e
hoomau kekahi i ka hana
if one should persevere in
following it; because a canoe log
four fathoms or more, even
though not completed as a
canoe, could sell for $40.00. If
completed it would bring $80.00
for some, and more for others.
Koakanu.
Supplementary.—When the
canoe-making priests prepare to
go up to the mountain they
sharpen their stone adzes until
they are keen-edged; they sleep
in the night until they obtain a
good dream, then go up. If they
do not have a favorable
[614]dream they should not go up.
Here is another important thing:
on going up and reaching the
forest, if they should hear the the
alala 118 (Hawaiian crow), the
idea of building the canoe [from
that particular log] should be
abandoned, because it is evident
to them that the tree is rotten
inside. If they do not hear any
noise from birds until they come
to the canoe tree, those priests
would feel very glad.
Here is one prayer upon cutting
malaila; no ka mea, ina eha
anana ka loa o kekahi waa a oi;
aole i paa i ke kapili, alaila, e lilo
no i $40.00. Ina paa i ke kapili ua
loaa ke $80.00 kekahi a oi aku
kekahi.
Koakanu.
I ka hoomakaukau ana o na
kahuna kalai waa e pii i ke
kuahiwi, hookala mua i na koi
pahoa a oi; noho a po; moe i ka
po a loaa ka moe maikai, alaila
pii; ina aole [615]e loaa ka moe
maikai aole e hiki ke pii. Eia
kekahi mea nui. I ka pii ana o ua
mau kanaka nei a ka nahelehele
a lohe laua i ke kani o ka alala,
pau ka manao e pii e kua i ka
waa, no ka mea, ua maopopo
akula ia laua ua puha ka waa.
Ina aole laua e lohe i ke kani a
ka manu a hiki i kahi o ka waa,
olioli loa ua mau kahuna nei.
Eia kekahi pule no ke oki ana i
the trunk and its branches: “Hew
mountainward, hew seaward;
hew thither, hew hither. Pick out,
O Sun, a competent canoe
builder. Witness, ye heavens!
witness, ye earth, the hewing of
our canoe!”
Then would these men begin
cutting the tree until it falls. If the
canoe is for fishing purposes, a
different petition is offered for the
hewing of that canoe tree. If it is
intended for sale, another prayer
is used at its felling. There are
also separate divisions in the
prayer for cutting off the
branches, the trunk, for shaping
it, for hauling it down to the
beach, for the construction and
for launching it into the sea. The
only trouble is I do not know
them.
Kauwenaole.
THE MAILE.
ke kumu ame ka welau: “E kua i
uka, e kua i kai, e kua i o, e kua
ia nei, e nana e ka la, i kamana
waa; e ike e ko luna, e ike e ko
lalo nei i ke oki ana o ka kakou
waa.”
Alaila hoomaka akula ua mau
kanaka nei e oki i ka laau a hina
ilalo. Ina he waa lawaia ka waa i
manaoia, he pule okoa ana no
ko ke oki ana o ia waa; ina he
waa kuai aku me hai, he pule
okoa no ko ke oki ana o ia waa.
Ua mahele pono ia ka pule no ke
oki ana i ka welau, ke kumu, ke
kalai ana, ke kauo ana, ke kapili
ana, a me ka hooholo ana iloko
o ke kai. O ka loaa ole hoi ka
hewa.
Kauwenaole.
NO KA MAILE.