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Microlearning Strategy
Complete Self-Assessment Guide

The guidance in this Self-Assessment is based on Microlearning Strategy best practices and
standards in business process architecture, design and quality management. The guidance is also
based on the professional judgment of the individual collaborators listed in the
Acknowledgments.

Notice of rights

You are licensed to use the Self-Assessment contents in your presentations and materials for
internal use and customers without asking us - we are here to help.
All rights reserved for the book itself: this book may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.

The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis without warranty. While every
precaution has been taken in the preparation of he book, neither the author nor the publisher
shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or
alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the
products described in it.

Trademarks

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are
claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was
aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark.
All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion
only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark.
No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation
with this book.

Copyright © by The Art of Service

http://theartofservice.com
service@theartofservice.com
About The Art of Service

The Art of Service, Business Process Architects since 2000, is dedicated to helping
stakeholders achieve excellence.

Defining, designing, creating, and implementing a process to solve a stakeholders challenge

or meet an objective is the most valuable role… In EVERY group, company, organization and
department.

Unless you’re talking a one-time, single-use project, there should be a process. Whether that
process is managed and implemented by humans, AI, or a combination of the two, it needs to
be designed by someone with a complex enough perspective to ask the right questions.

Someone capable of asking the right questions and step back and say, ‘What are we really
trying to accomplish here? And is there a different way to look at it?’

With The Art of Service’s Standard Requirements Self-Assessments, we empower people who
can do just that — whether their title is marketer, entrepreneur, manager, salesperson,
consultant, Business Process Manager, executive assistant, IT Manager, CIO etc... —they are
the people who rule the future. They are people who watch the process as it happens, and ask
the right questions to make the process work better.

Contact us when you need any support with this Self-Assessment and any help with
templates, blue-prints and examples of standard documents you might need:

http://theartofservice.com
service@theartofservice.com

Included Resources - how to access

Included with your purchase of the book is the Microlearning Strategy Self-Assessment
Spreadsheet Dashboard which contains all questions and Self-Assessment areas and auto-
generates insights, graphs, and project RACI planning - all with examples to get you
started right away.

How? Simply send an email to

access@theartofservice.com
with this books’ title in the subject to get the Microlearning Strategy
Self Assessment Tool right away.

You will receive the following contents with New and Updated specific criteria:
• The latest quick edition of the book in PDF
• The latest complete edition of the book in PDF, which criteria correspond to the criteria in...
• The Self-Assessment Excel Dashboard, and...
• Example pre-filled Self-Assessment Excel Dashboard to get familiar with results generation
• In-depth specific Checklists covering the topic
• Project management checklists and templates to assist with implementation
 INCLUDES LIFETIME SELF ASSESSMENT UPDATES

Every self assessment comes with Lifetime Updates and Lifetime Free Updated Books.
Lifetime Updates is an industry-first feature which allows you to receive verified self
assessment updates, ensuring you always have the most accurate information at your
fingertips.

Get it now- you will be glad you did - do it now, before you forget.

Send an email to access@theartofservice.com with this books’ title

in the subject to get the Microlearning Strategy Self Assessment Tool
right away.

Purpose of this Self-Assessment

This Self-Assessment has been developed to improve understanding of the requirements and
elements of Microlearning Strategy, based on best practices and standards in business
process architecture, design and quality management.

It is designed to allow for a rapid Self-Assessment to determine how closely existing

management practices and procedures correspond to the elements of the Self-Assessment.

The criteria of requirements and elements of Microlearning Strategy have been rephrased in
the format of a Self-Assessment questionnaire, with a seven-criterion scoring system, as
explained in this document.

In this format, even with limited background knowledge of Microlearning Strategy, a

manager can quickly review existing operations to determine how they measure up to the
standards. This in turn can serve as the starting point of a ‘gap analysis’ to identify
management tools or system elements that might usefully be implemented in the
organization to help improve overall performance.
How to use the Self-Assessment

On the following pages are a series of questions to identify to what extent your Microlearning
Strategy initiative is complete in comparison to the requirements set in standards.

To facilitate answering the questions, there is a space in front of each question to enter a
score on a scale of ‘1’ to ‘5’.

1 Strongly Disagree
2 Disagree
3 Neutral
4 Agree
5 Strongly Agree
Read the question and rate it with the following in front of mind:

‘In my belief,
the answer to this question is clearly defined’.
There are two ways in which you can choose to interpret this statement;
1. how aware are you that the answer to the question is clearly defined
2. for more in-depth analysis you can choose to gather evidence and confirm the answer
to the question. This obviously will take more time, most Self-Assessment users opt for
the first way to interpret the question and dig deeper later on based on the outcome
of the overall Self-Assessment.

A score of ‘1’ would mean that the answer is not clear at all, where a ‘5’ would mean the
answer is crystal clear and defined. Leave emtpy when the question is not applicable or
you don’t want to answer it, you can skip it without affecting your score. Write your score
in the space provided.

After you have responded to all the appropriate statements in each section, compute
your average score for that section, using the formula provided, and round to the nearest
tenth. Then transfer to the corresponding spoke in the Microlearning Strategy Scorecard
on the second next page of the Self-Assessment.

Your completed Microlearning Strategy Scorecard will give you a clear presentation of
which Microlearning Strategy areas need attention.
Microlearning Strategy
Scorecard Example

Example of how the finalized Scorecard can look like:

Microlearning Strategy
Scorecard

Your Scores:
BEGINNING OF THE
SELF-ASSESSMENT:
Table of Contents
About The Art of Service7

Included Resources - how to access7

Purpose of this Self-Assessment9
How to use the Self-Assessment10
Microlearning Strategy
Scorecard Example12

Microlearning Strategy
Scorecard13

BEGINNING OF THE
SELF-ASSESSMENT:14
CRITERION #1: RECOGNIZE15

CRITERION #2: DEFINE:27

CRITERION #3: MEASURE:43

CRITERION #4: ANALYZE:58

CRITERION #5: IMPROVE:74

CRITERION #6: CONTROL:91

CRITERION #7: SUSTAIN:104

Microlearning Strategy and Managing Projects, Criteria for Project Managers:129
1.0 Initiating Process Group: Microlearning Strategy130

1.1 Project Charter: Microlearning Strategy132

1.2 Stakeholder Register: Microlearning Strategy134

1.3 Stakeholder Analysis Matrix: Microlearning Strategy135

2.0 Planning Process Group: Microlearning Strategy137

2.1 Project Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy139

2.2 Scope Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy141

2.3 Requirements Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy143

2.4 Requirements Documentation: Microlearning Strategy145

2.5 Requirements Traceability Matrix: Microlearning Strategy147

2.6 Project Scope Statement: Microlearning Strategy149

2.7 Assumption and Constraint Log: Microlearning Strategy151

2.8 Work Breakdown Structure: Microlearning Strategy153

2.9 WBS Dictionary: Microlearning Strategy155

2.10 Schedule Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy157

2.11 Activity List: Microlearning Strategy159

2.12 Activity Attributes: Microlearning Strategy161

2.13 Milestone List: Microlearning Strategy163

2.14 Network Diagram: Microlearning Strategy165

2.15 Activity Resource Requirements: Microlearning Strategy167

2.16 Resource Breakdown Structure: Microlearning Strategy169

2.17 Activity Duration Estimates: Microlearning Strategy171

2.18 Duration Estimating Worksheet: Microlearning Strategy173

2.19 Project Schedule: Microlearning Strategy175

2.20 Cost Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy177

2.21 Activity Cost Estimates: Microlearning Strategy179

2.22 Cost Estimating Worksheet: Microlearning Strategy181

2.23 Cost Baseline: Microlearning Strategy183

2.24 Quality Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy185

2.25 Quality Metrics: Microlearning Strategy187

2.26 Process Improvement Plan: Microlearning Strategy189

2.27 Responsibility Assignment Matrix: Microlearning Strategy191

2.28 Roles and Responsibilities: Microlearning Strategy193

2.29 Human Resource Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy195

2.30 Communications Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy197

2.31 Risk Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy199

2.32 Risk Register: Microlearning Strategy201

2.33 Probability and Impact Assessment: Microlearning Strategy203

2.34 Probability and Impact Matrix: Microlearning Strategy205

2.35 Risk Data Sheet: Microlearning Strategy207

2.36 Procurement Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy209

2.37 Source Selection Criteria: Microlearning Strategy211

2.38 Stakeholder Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy213

2.39 Change Management Plan: Microlearning Strategy215

3.0 Executing Process Group: Microlearning Strategy217

3.1 Team Member Status Report: Microlearning Strategy219

3.2 Change Request: Microlearning Strategy221

3.3 Change Log: Microlearning Strategy223

3.4 Decision Log: Microlearning Strategy225

3.5 Quality Audit: Microlearning Strategy227

3.6 Team Directory: Microlearning Strategy230

3.7 Team Operating Agreement: Microlearning Strategy232

3.8 Team Performance Assessment: Microlearning Strategy234

3.9 Team Member Performance Assessment: Microlearning Strategy236

3.10 Issue Log: Microlearning Strategy238

4.0 Monitoring and Controlling Process Group: Microlearning Strategy240

4.1 Project Performance Report: Microlearning Strategy242

4.2 Variance Analysis: Microlearning Strategy244

4.3 Earned Value Status: Microlearning Strategy246

4.4 Risk Audit: Microlearning Strategy248

4.5 Contractor Status Report: Microlearning Strategy250

4.6 Formal Acceptance: Microlearning Strategy252

5.0 Closing Process Group: Microlearning Strategy254

5.1 Procurement Audit: Microlearning Strategy256

5.2 Contract Close-Out: Microlearning Strategy259

5.3 Project or Phase Close-Out: Microlearning Strategy261

5.4 Lessons Learned: Microlearning Strategy263

Index265
CRITERION #1: RECOGNIZE

INTENT: Be aware of the need for change. Recognize that there is an unfavorable
variation, problem or symptom.

In my belief, the answer to this question is clearly defined:

5 Strongly Agree

4 Agree

3 Neutral

2 Disagree

1 Strongly Disagree

1. What are the timeframes required to resolve each of the

issues/problems?
<--- Score

2. What is the problem or issue?

<--- Score

3. As a sponsor, customer or management, how important is it to

meet goals, objectives?
<--- Score

4. Have you identified your Microlearning strategy key performance

indicators?
<--- Score

5. What is the problem and/or vulnerability?

<--- Score

6. How do you recognize an Microlearning strategy objection?

<--- Score

7. Do you recognize Microlearning strategy achievements?

<--- Score

8. Do you need to avoid or amend any Microlearning strategy

activities?
<--- Score

9. Does the problem have ethical dimensions?

<--- Score

10. How do you identify the kinds of information that you will need?
<--- Score

11. Who are your key stakeholders who need to sign off?
<--- Score

12. What does Microlearning strategy success mean to the

stakeholders?
<--- Score

13. What resources or support might you need?

<--- Score

14. Are controls defined to recognize and contain problems?

<--- Score

15. What activities does the governance board need to consider?

<--- Score

16. How are the Microlearning strategy’s objectives aligned to the

group’s overall stakeholder strategy?
<--- Score

17. Are employees recognized for desired behaviors?

<--- Score

18. How do you recognize an objection?

<--- Score

19. Will new equipment/products be required to facilitate

Microlearning strategy delivery, for example is new software needed?
<--- Score

20. What vendors make products that address the Microlearning

strategy needs?
<--- Score

21. What extra resources will you need?

<--- Score

22. Did you miss any major Microlearning strategy issues?

<--- Score

23. Are there any revenue recognition issues?

<--- Score

24. What are the minority interests and what amount of minority
interests can be recognized?
<--- Score

25. Why is this needed?

<--- Score
26. Who needs what information?
<--- Score

27. What are the stakeholder objectives to be achieved with

Microlearning strategy?
<--- Score

28. How do you assess your Microlearning strategy workforce

capability and capacity needs, including skills, competencies, and
staffing levels?
<--- Score

29. Do you have/need 24-hour access to key personnel?

<--- Score

30. What prevents you from making the changes you know will make
you a more effective Microlearning strategy leader?
<--- Score

31. Do you know what you need to know about Microlearning

strategy?
<--- Score

32. Why the need?

<--- Score

33. How can auditing be a preventative security measure?

<--- Score

34. Are problem definition and motivation clearly presented?

<--- Score

35. Do you need different information or graphics?

<--- Score

36. What are the Microlearning strategy resources needed?

<--- Score

37. Will a response program recognize when a crisis occurs and

provide some level of response?
<--- Score

38. What situation(s) led to this Microlearning strategy Self

Assessment?
<--- Score

39. To what extent would your organization benefit from being

recognized as a award recipient?
<--- Score

40. Will Microlearning strategy deliverables need to be tested and, if

so, by whom?
<--- Score

41. What tools and technologies are needed for a custom

Microlearning strategy project?
<--- Score

42. What are the expected benefits of Microlearning strategy to the

stakeholder?
<--- Score

43. What do employees need in the short term?

<--- Score

44. How are training requirements identified?

<--- Score

45. What is the extent or complexity of the Microlearning strategy

problem?
<--- Score
46. How much are sponsors, customers, partners, stakeholders
involved in Microlearning strategy? In other words, what are the risks,
if Microlearning strategy does not deliver successfully?
<--- Score

47. For your Microlearning strategy project, identify and describe the
business environment, is there more than one layer to the business
environment?
<--- Score

48. Are there recognized Microlearning strategy problems?

<--- Score

49. Where is training needed?

<--- Score

50. Is it clear when you think of the day ahead of you what activities
and tasks you need to complete?
<--- Score

51. Is the need for organizational change recognized?

<--- Score

52. Is the quality assurance team identified?

<--- Score

53. What should be considered when identifying available resources,

constraints, and deadlines?
<--- Score

54. Would you recognize a threat from the inside?

<--- Score

55. To what extent does each concerned units management team

recognize Microlearning strategy as an effective investment?
<--- Score
56. Are your goals realistic? Do you need to redefine your problem?
Perhaps the problem has changed or maybe you have reached your
goal and need to set a new one?
<--- Score

57. What needs to be done?

<--- Score

58. What is the Microlearning strategy problem definition? What do

you need to resolve?
<--- Score

59. What problems are you facing and how do you consider
Microlearning strategy will circumvent those obstacles?
<--- Score

60. How are you going to measure success?

<--- Score

61. Who defines the rules in relation to any given issue?

<--- Score

62. Are there Microlearning strategy problems defined?

<--- Score

63. Whom do you really need or want to serve?

<--- Score

64. What Microlearning strategy problem should be solved?

<--- Score

65. How do you take a forward-looking perspective in identifying

Microlearning strategy research related to market response and
models?
<--- Score
66. Are there regulatory / compliance issues?
<--- Score

67. Which needs are not included or involved?

<--- Score

68. What is the smallest subset of the problem you can usefully solve?
<--- Score

69. Think about the people you identified for your Microlearning
strategy project and the project responsibilities you would assign to
them, what kind of training do you think they would need to perform
these responsibilities effectively?
<--- Score

70. Does your organization need more Microlearning strategy

education?
<--- Score

71. What else needs to be measured?

<--- Score

72. What are your needs in relation to Microlearning strategy skills,

labor, equipment, and markets?
<--- Score

73. Are employees recognized or rewarded for performance that

demonstrates the highest levels of integrity?
<--- Score

74. Which information does the Microlearning strategy business case

need to include?
<--- Score

75. Does Microlearning strategy create potential expectations in

other areas that need to be recognized and considered?
<--- Score

76. Who needs to know?

<--- Score

77. What creative shifts do you need to take?

<--- Score

78. How does it fit into your organizational needs and tasks?
<--- Score

79. Are losses recognized in a timely manner?

<--- Score

80. Who else hopes to benefit from it?

<--- Score

81. What training and capacity building actions are needed to

implement proposed reforms?
<--- Score

82. What information do users need?

<--- Score

83. Are there any specific expectations or concerns about the

Microlearning strategy team, Microlearning strategy itself?
<--- Score

84. What Microlearning strategy events should you attend?

<--- Score

85. Who needs to know about Microlearning strategy?

<--- Score

86. Where do you need to exercise leadership?

<--- Score

87. Looking at each person individually – does every one have the
qualities which are needed to work in this group?
<--- Score

88. Are you dealing with any of the same issues today as yesterday?
What can you do about this?
<--- Score

89. Who should resolve the Microlearning strategy issues?

<--- Score

90. Who needs budgets?

<--- Score

91. Consider your own Microlearning strategy project, what types of

organizational problems do you think might be causing or affecting
your problem, based on the work done so far?
<--- Score

92. What would happen if Microlearning strategy weren’t done?

<--- Score

93. How do you identify subcontractor relationships?

<--- Score

94. Can management personnel recognize the monetary benefit of

Microlearning strategy?
<--- Score

95. What Microlearning strategy capabilities do you need?

<--- Score

96. Is it needed?
<--- Score
 Add up total points for this section: _____ = Total points for this section

Divided by: ______ (number of statements answered) = ______ Average score for
this section

Transfer your score to the Microlearning strategy Index at the beginning of the Self-
Assessment.
CRITERION #2: DEFINE:

INTENT: Formulate the stakeholder problem. Define the problem, needs and objectives.

In my belief, the answer to this question is clearly defined:

5 Strongly Agree

4 Agree

3 Neutral

2 Disagree

1 Strongly Disagree

1. Is the team adequately staffed with the desired cross-functionality?

If not, what additional resources are available to the team?
<--- Score

2. What is the definition of Microlearning strategy excellence?

<--- Score

3. What are the Microlearning strategy use cases?

<--- Score

4. What are the compelling stakeholder reasons for embarking on

Microlearning strategy?
<--- Score

5. How do you catch Microlearning strategy definition

inconsistencies?
<--- Score

6. Is there a completed SIPOC representation, describing the

Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers?
<--- Score

7. What is the context?

<--- Score

8. Has the improvement team collected the ‘voice of the customer’

(obtained feedback – qualitative and quantitative)?
<--- Score

9. Has everyone on the team, including the team leaders, been

properly trained?
<--- Score

10. Where can you gather more information?

<--- Score

11. What system do you use for gathering Microlearning strategy

information?
<--- Score

12. Have all of the relationships been defined properly?

<--- Score

13. How do you keep key subject matter experts in the loop?
<--- Score

14. What are the record-keeping requirements of Microlearning

strategy activities?
<--- Score

15. What Microlearning strategy requirements should be gathered?

<--- Score

16. Are approval levels defined for contracts and supplements to

contracts?
<--- Score

17. Do you have a Microlearning strategy success story or case study

ready to tell and share?
<--- Score

18. What was the context?

<--- Score

19. Are the Microlearning strategy requirements complete?

<--- Score

20. Is special Microlearning strategy user knowledge required?

<--- Score

21. What happens if Microlearning strategy’s scope changes?

<--- Score

22. Is there a critical path to deliver Microlearning strategy results?

<--- Score

23. Are the Microlearning strategy requirements testable?

<--- Score

24. Is the work to date meeting requirements?

<--- Score

25. Has the Microlearning strategy work been fairly and/or equitably
divided and delegated among team members who are qualified and
capable to perform the work? Has everyone contributed?
<--- Score

26. Is the current ‘as is’ process being followed? If not, what are the
discrepancies?
<--- Score

27. What is out-of-scope initially?

<--- Score

28. How do you gather Microlearning strategy requirements?

<--- Score

29. What is the scope of the Microlearning strategy work?

<--- Score

30. Has a Microlearning strategy requirement not been met?

<--- Score

31. What is the scope?

<--- Score

32. How is the team tracking and documenting its work?

<--- Score

33. Why are you doing Microlearning strategy and what is the scope?
<--- Score

34. Are task requirements clearly defined?

<--- Score

35. Do you have organizational privacy requirements?

<--- Score

36. How was the ‘as is’ process map developed, reviewed, verified and
validated?
<--- Score

37. Is there regularly 100% attendance at the team meetings? If not,

have appointed substitutes attended to preserve cross-functionality
and full representation?
<--- Score

38. How would you define the culture at your organization, how
susceptible is it to Microlearning strategy changes?
<--- Score

39. What are the boundaries of the scope? What is in bounds and
what is not? What is the start point? What is the stop point?
<--- Score

40. What would be the goal or target for a Microlearning strategy’s

improvement team?
<--- Score

41. How do you manage scope?

<--- Score

42. Is Microlearning strategy required?

<--- Score

43. Is the Microlearning strategy scope complete and appropriately

sized?
<--- Score

44. What are the rough order estimates on cost savings/opportunities

that Microlearning strategy brings?
<--- Score

45. What sort of initial information to gather?

<--- Score
46. How does the Microlearning strategy manager ensure against
scope creep?
<--- Score

47. Is data collected and displayed to better understand customer(s)

critical needs and requirements.
<--- Score

48. What baselines are required to be defined and managed?

<--- Score

49. What are the dynamics of the communication plan?

<--- Score

50. Has anyone else (internal or external to the group) attempted to

solve this problem or a similar one before? If so, what knowledge can
be leveraged from these previous efforts?
<--- Score

51. Has the direction changed at all during the course of

Microlearning strategy? If so, when did it change and why?
<--- Score

52. How often are the team meetings?

<--- Score

53. What is the scope of Microlearning strategy?

<--- Score

54. In what way can you redefine the criteria of choice clients have in
your category in your favor?
<--- Score

55. What sources do you use to gather information for a

Microlearning strategy study?
<--- Score
56. Has a high-level ‘as is’ process map been completed, verified and
validated?
<--- Score

57. What critical content must be communicated – who, what, when,

where, and how?
<--- Score

58. What scope to assess?

<--- Score

59. How do you gather requirements?

<--- Score

60. When are meeting minutes sent out? Who is on the distribution
list?
<--- Score

61. What information do you gather?

<--- Score

62. Scope of sensitive information?

<--- Score

63. Who defines (or who defined) the rules and roles?
<--- Score

64. Who approved the Microlearning strategy scope?

<--- Score

65. Are there any constraints known that bear on the ability to
perform Microlearning strategy work? How is the team addressing
them?
<--- Score
66. How do you manage unclear Microlearning strategy
requirements?
<--- Score

67. Are audit criteria, scope, frequency and methods defined?

<--- Score

68. Have the customer needs been translated into specific,

measurable requirements? How?
<--- Score

69. Is there a Microlearning strategy management charter, including

stakeholder case, problem and goal statements, scope, milestones,
roles and responsibilities, communication plan?
<--- Score

70. Is it clearly defined in and to your organization what you do?

<--- Score

71. What are the Roles and Responsibilities for each team member
and its leadership? Where is this documented?
<--- Score

72. What is a worst-case scenario for losses?

<--- Score

73. How do you think the partners involved in Microlearning strategy

would have defined success?
<--- Score

74. Is there a clear Microlearning strategy case definition?

<--- Score

75. When is/was the Microlearning strategy start date?

<--- Score
76. What are the requirements for audit information?
<--- Score

77. Are different versions of process maps needed to account for the
different types of inputs?
<--- Score

78. What gets examined?

<--- Score

79. What are the Microlearning strategy tasks and definitions?

<--- Score

80. What knowledge or experience is required?

<--- Score

81. Who is gathering Microlearning strategy information?

<--- Score

82. Is Microlearning strategy currently on schedule according to the

plan?
<--- Score

83. What Microlearning strategy services do you require?

<--- Score

84. Is the Microlearning strategy scope manageable?

<--- Score

85. How do you manage changes in Microlearning strategy

requirements?
<--- Score

86. What constraints exist that might impact the team?

<--- Score
87. What is in scope?
<--- Score

88. What are the core elements of the Microlearning strategy

business case?
<--- Score

89. Have specific policy objectives been defined?

<--- Score

90. Is there a completed, verified, and validated high-level ‘as is’ (not
‘should be’ or ‘could be’) stakeholder process map?
<--- Score

91. What are the tasks and definitions?

<--- Score

92. How do you gather the stories?

<--- Score

93. How can the value of Microlearning strategy be defined?

<--- Score

94. Is the improvement team aware of the different versions of a

process: what they think it is vs. what it actually is vs. what it should
be vs. what it could be?
<--- Score

95. Will a Microlearning strategy production readiness review be

required?
<--- Score

96. What intelligence can you gather?

<--- Score

97. Is Microlearning strategy linked to key stakeholder goals and

objectives?
<--- Score

98. Are all requirements met?

<--- Score

99. Does the scope remain the same?

<--- Score

100. What is in the scope and what is not in scope?

<--- Score

101. How and when will the baselines be defined?

<--- Score

102. What specifically is the problem? Where does it occur? When

does it occur? What is its extent?
<--- Score

103. How do you build the right business case?

<--- Score

104. Who are the Microlearning strategy improvement team

members, including Management Leads and Coaches?
<--- Score

105. Is there any additional Microlearning strategy definition of

success?
<--- Score

106. What defines best in class?

<--- Score

107. Are roles and responsibilities formally defined?

<--- Score
108. Who is gathering information?
<--- Score

109. What is the scope of the Microlearning strategy effort?

<--- Score

110. Has/have the customer(s) been identified?

<--- Score

111. What is the definition of success?

<--- Score

112. What customer feedback methods were used to solicit their

input?
<--- Score

113. How did the Microlearning strategy manager receive input to

the development of a Microlearning strategy improvement plan and
the estimated completion dates/times of each activity?
<--- Score

114. If substitutes have been appointed, have they been briefed on

the Microlearning strategy goals and received regular
communications as to the progress to date?
<--- Score

115. When is the estimated completion date?

<--- Score

116. What is the worst case scenario?

<--- Score

117. Do you all define Microlearning strategy in the same way?

<--- Score

118. Does the team have regular meetings?

<--- Score

119. Has a project plan, Gantt chart, or similar been

developed/completed?
<--- Score

120. Are customer(s) identified and segmented according to their

different needs and requirements?
<--- Score

121. How will the Microlearning strategy team and the group
measure complete success of Microlearning strategy?
<--- Score

122. How will variation in the actual durations of each activity be

dealt with to ensure that the expected Microlearning strategy results
are met?
<--- Score

123. Are there different segments of customers?

<--- Score

124. Have all basic functions of Microlearning strategy been defined?

<--- Score

125. How are consistent Microlearning strategy definitions

important?
<--- Score

126. Do the problem and goal statements meet the SMART criteria
(specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound)?
<--- Score

127. What key stakeholder process output measure(s) does

Microlearning strategy leverage and how?
<--- Score
128. How have you defined all Microlearning strategy requirements
first?
<--- Score

129. Has a team charter been developed and communicated?

<--- Score

130. What information should you gather?

<--- Score

131. What are (control) requirements for Microlearning strategy

Information?
<--- Score

132. Has your scope been defined?

<--- Score

Add up total points for this section: _____ = Total points for this section

Divided by: ______ (number of statements answered) = ______ Average score for
this section

Transfer your score to the Microlearning strategy Index at the beginning of the Self-
Assessment.
CRITERION #3: MEASURE:

INTENT: Gather the correct data. Measure the current performance and evolution of the
situation.

In my belief, the answer to this question is clearly defined:

5 Strongly Agree

4 Agree

3 Neutral

2 Disagree

1 Strongly Disagree

1. What details are required of the Microlearning strategy cost

structure?
<--- Score

2. What does a Test Case verify?

<--- Score

3. How to cause the change?

<--- Score

4. What users will be impacted?

<--- Score

5. What are your customers expectations and measures?

<--- Score

6. What causes mismanagement?

<--- Score

7. What is the total fixed cost?

<--- Score

8. What causes extra work or rework?

<--- Score

9. Is there an opportunity to verify requirements?

<--- Score

10. Which Microlearning strategy impacts are significant?

<--- Score

11. Are there any easy-to-implement alternatives to Microlearning

strategy? Sometimes other solutions are available that do not require
the cost implications of a full-blown project?
<--- Score

12. Did you tackle the cause or the symptom?

<--- Score

13. Are supply costs steady or fluctuating?

<--- Score

14. How will you measure success?

<--- Score

15. How can you manage cost down?

<--- Score
16. How can you reduce the costs of obtaining inputs?
<--- Score

17. Are the units of measure consistent?

<--- Score

18. How will costs be allocated?

<--- Score

19. What are the strategic priorities for this year?

<--- Score

20. Have design-to-cost goals been established?

<--- Score

21. How can you measure the performance?

<--- Score

22. Are indirect costs charged to the Microlearning strategy program?

<--- Score

23. How can you measure Microlearning strategy in a systematic

way?
<--- Score

24. What measurements are being captured?

<--- Score

25. What is the cost of rework?

<--- Score

26. What are hidden Microlearning strategy quality costs?

<--- Score

27. How is performance measured?

<--- Score

28. Are Microlearning strategy vulnerabilities categorized and

prioritized?
<--- Score

29. Does the Microlearning strategy task fit the client’s priorities?
<--- Score

30. Do you have a flow diagram of what happens?

<--- Score

31. Who should receive measurement reports?

<--- Score

32. How do you measure variability?

<--- Score

33. What are the current costs of the Microlearning strategy process?
<--- Score

34. What is the total cost related to deploying Microlearning strategy,

including any consulting or professional services?
<--- Score

35. What are the operational costs after Microlearning strategy

deployment?
<--- Score

36. Are actual costs in line with budgeted costs?

<--- Score

37. Do the benefits outweigh the costs?

<--- Score

38. How frequently do you track Microlearning strategy measures?

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 “The simple habits of Mr. Lincoln were so well known that it is a
subject for surprise that watchful and malignant treason did not
sooner take that precious life which he seemed to hold so lightly. He
had an almost morbid dislike for an escort, or guide, and daily
exposed himself to the deadly aim of an assassin. One summer
morning, passing by the White House at an early hour, I saw the
President standing at the gateway, looking anxiously down the
street; and, in reply to a salutation, he said, ‘Good morning, good
morning! I am looking for a newsboy; when you get to that corner, I
wish you would start one up this way.’ In reply to the remonstrances
of friends, who were afraid of his constant exposure to danger, he
had but one answer: ‘If they kill me, the next man will be just as bad
for them; and in a country like this, where our habits are simple, and
must be, assassination is always possible, and will come, if they are
determined upon it.’”
A cavalry guard was once placed at the gates of the White
House for a while, and he said, privately, that “he worried until he got
rid of it.” While the President’s family were at their summer-house,
near Washington, he rode into town of a morning, or out at night,
attended by a mounted escort; but if he returned to town for a while
after dark, he rode in unguarded, and often alone, in his open
carriage. On more than one occasion the writer has gone through
the streets of Washington at a late hour of the night with the
President, without escort, or even the company of a servant, walking
all of the way, going and returning.
Considering the many open and secret threats to take his life, it
is not surprising that Mr. Lincoln had many thoughts about his
coming to a sudden and violent end. He once said that he felt the
force of the expression, “To take one’s life in his hand;” but that he
would not like to face death suddenly. He said that he thought
himself a great coward physically, and was sure that he would make
a poor soldier, for, unless there was something inspiriting in the
excitement of a battle, he was sure that he would drop his gun and
run, at the first symptom of danger. That was said sportively, and he
added, “Moral cowardice is something which I think I never had.”
 Colonel Halpine, while serving as a member of General Halleck’s
staff, had frequently to wait upon the President, both during official
hours and at other times. On one of these occasions, Mr. Lincoln
concluded some interesting remarks with these words: “It would
never do for a President to have guards with drawn sabres at his
door, as if he fancied he were, or were trying to be, or were
assuming to be, an emperor.”
“This expression,” writes Colonel Halpine, “called my attention
afresh to what I had remarked to myself almost every time I entered
the White House, and to which I had very frequently called the
attention both of Major Hay and General Halleck—the utterly
unprotected condition of the President’s person, and the fact that any
assassin or maniac, seeking his life, could enter his presence
without the interference of a single armed man to hold him back. The
entrance-doors, and all doors on the official side of the building, were
open at all hours of the day, and very late into the evening; and I
have many times entered the mansion, and walked up to the rooms
of the two private secretaries, as late as nine or ten o’clock at night,
without seeing or being challenged by a single soul. There were,
indeed, two attendants,—one for the outer door, and the other for the
door of the official chambers; but these—thinking, I suppose, that
none would call after office hours save persons who were personally
acquainted, or had the right of official entry—were, not unfrequently,
somewhat remiss in their duties.
“To this fact I now ventured to call the President’s attention,
saying that to me—perhaps from my European education—it
appeared a deliberate courting of danger, even if the country were in
a state of the profoundest peace, for the person at the head of the
nation to remain so unprotected.
“‘There are two dangers,’ I wound up by saying; ‘the danger of
deliberate political assassination, and the mere brute violence of
insanity.’
“Mr. Lincoln heard me through with a smile, his hands locked
across his knees, his body rocking back and forth,—the common
indication that he was amused.
 “‘Now, as to political assassination,’ he said, ‘do you think the
Richmond people would like to have Hannibal Hamlin here any
better than myself? In that one alternative, I have an insurance on
my life worth half the prairie land of Illinois. And beside,’—this more
gravely,—‘if there were such a plot, and they wanted to get at me, no
vigilance could keep them out. We are so mixed up in our affairs,
that—no matter what the system established—a conspiracy to
assassinate, if such there were, could easily obtain a pass to see me
for any one or more of its instruments.
“‘To betray fear of this, by placing guards or so forth, would only
be to put the idea into their heads, and perhaps lead to the very
result it was intended to prevent. As to the crazy folks, Major, why I
must only take my chances,—the worst crazy people at present, I
fear, being some of my own too zealous adherents. That there may
be such dangers as you and many others have suggested to me, is
quite possible; but I guess it wouldn’t improve things any to publish
that we were afraid of them in advance.’
“Upon another occasion I remember his coming over one
evening after dinner, to General Halleck’s private quarters, to protest
—half jocularly, half in earnest—against a small detachment of
cavalry which had been detailed without his request, and partly
against his will, by the lamented General Wadsworth, as a guard for
his carriage in going to and returning from the Soldiers’ Home. The
burden of his complaint was that he and Mrs. Lincoln ‘couldn’t hear
themselves talk,’ for the clatter of their sabres and spurs; and that,
as many of them appeared new hands and very awkward, he was
more afraid of being shot by the accidental discharge of one of their
carbines or revolvers, than of any attempt upon his life or for his
capture by the roving squads of Jeb Stuart’s cavalry, then hovering
all round the exterior works of the city.”
 XXI.
Judge Bates, the Attorney-General, was one day very severe
upon the modern deal school of art, as applied to historic characters
and events. He instanced in sculpture, Greenough’s “Washington,” in
the Capitol grounds, which, he said, was a very good illustration of
the heathen idea of Jupiter Tonans, but was the farthest possible
remove from any American’s conception of the Father of his Country.
Powell’s painting in the Rotunda, “De Soto discovering the
Mississippi,” and Mills’s equestrian statue of Jackson, in front of the
President’s House, shared in his sarcastic condemnation. He quoted
from an old English poet—Creech, I think he said—with much
unction:—

“Whatever contradicts my sense

I hate to see, and can but disbelieve.”

“Genius and talent,” said he, on another occasion, “are rarely found
combined in one individual.” I requested his definition of the
distinction. “Genius,” he replied, “conceives; talent executes.”
Referring to Mr. Lincoln’s never-failing fund of anecdote, he
remarked, “The character of the President’s mind is such that his
thought habitually takes on this form of illustration, by which the point
he wishes to enforce is invariably brought home with a strength and
clearness impossible in hours of abstract argument. Mr. Lincoln,” he
added, “comes very near being a perfect man, according to my ideal
of manhood. He lacks but one thing.” Looking up from my palette, I
asked, musingly, if this was official dignity as President. “No,” replied
Judge Bates, “that is of little consequence. His deficiency is in the
element of will. I have sometimes told him, for instance, that he was
unfit to be intrusted with the pardoning power. Why, if a man comes
to him with a touching story, his judgment is almost certain to be
affected by it. Should the applicant be a woman, a wife, a mother, or
a sister,—in nine cases out of ten, her tears, if nothing else, are sure
to prevail.”
 XXII.
Mr. Seward, whose conversation much of the time, while sitting,
was like that of a man soliloquizing aloud, told me on one occasion
two or three good stories. Referring to the numerous portraits
painted of him at different times, he said, that of all artists whom he
had known, Henry Inman was most rapid in execution. For the full-
length portrait, painted while he was Governor, for the city of New
York, Inman required but two or three sittings of an hour each, with
an additional quarter of an hour for the standing figure. This drew out
something from me in relation to Elliott’s whole length of him, painted
at the same period. “My experience with Elliott,” he rejoined, “who
was then in the beginning of his career, was a very different affair.
He seemed to think me like Governor Crittenden’s hen.” Laughing at
the recollection, he lighted a cigar, and continued: “One day the
Governor was engaged with his Council, when his little boy, of five or
six years, came into the chamber, and said, ‘Father, the black hen is
setting.’ ‘Go away, my son,’ returned the Governor; ‘I am very busy.’
The child disappeared, but soon returned, and putting his head in at
the door, repeated the information. ‘Well, well,’ replied the Governor,
‘you must not bother me now; let her set.’ The door was shut, but
soon afterward again cautiously opened, in the midst of a profound
discussion, and the words rang out, ‘But father, she is setting on one
egg!’ The Governor turned around, and looking into the dilated eyes
of the excited little fellow, replied dryly, ‘Well, my son, I think we will
let her set. Her time is not very precious!’”
Another was of General R——, formerly of the New York State
Senate. At the regular session one day, the General gave notice that
the following day he would introduce a bill providing a thermometer
for every institution of learning in the State. The next morning the
clerk was in his private office at the usual hour, reading the bills
aloud, and placing them on file for the business of the day. A
gentleman who prided himself upon his classical attainments was
present, and, as the clerk read the notice given by Senator R——,
he was informed that a word borrowed from another language
should, according to the rule, always be given its native
pronunciation. The original of thermometer, the gentleman said, was
a French term, which should be pronounced accordingly. By a
process of reasoning the clerk was convinced; and when the bill was
announced, he read it according to instructions. General R—— was
observed to look up from writing, and fix his eye upon the clerk. The
second reading passed, and he rose to his feet, bending forward
upon his desk, listening intently, his eyebrows gradually contracting.
“Third reading. Senator R—— gave notice of a bill to provide a
thermomētre for every institution of learning in the State.” By this
time the attention of the entire house was drawn to the General.
“Ther—what?” he demanded, in a stentorian tone. “Thermomētre”
quietly responded the confident clerk. “Thermometer! thermometer!
you —— fool; don’t you know what a thermometer is?” thundered the
enraged Senator, amid roars of laughter.
Speaking once of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, Mr. Seward
remarked, that, as statesmen, they could not well be compared;
“they were no more alike than a Grecian temple and a Gothic
church.”
I was much interested in an opinion he once expressed of
equestrian statues. He said a grand character should never be
represented in this form. It was ignoring the divine in human nature
to thus link man with an animal, and seemed to him a degradation of
true art. “Bucephalus,” in marble or bronze was well enough by itself.
Place “Alexander” upon his back, and though the animal gained a
degree of interest, the man lost immeasurably.
 XXIII.
Soon after the chalk sketch of my conception had been placed
upon the canvas, I attended one of the receptions given by the
Secretary of the Navy and Mrs. Welles. While standing as I thought
unobserved, near a corner of the room, Mr. Seward approached me,
and in a manner of more than usual warmth, said, “I told the
President the other day that you were painting your picture upon a
false presumption.” Looking at him in some surprise, I inquired his
meaning. “Oh,” he rejoined, “you appear to think in common with
many other foolish people, that the great business of this
Administration is the destruction of slavery. Now allow me to say you
are much mistaken. Slavery was killed years ago. Its death knell was
tolled when Abraham Lincoln was elected President. The work of this
Administration is the suppression of the Rebellion and the
preservation of the Union. Abolitionists, like the different religious
sects, have been chasing one idea, until they have come to believe
that their horizon absolutely bounds the world. Slavery has been in
fact but an incident in the history of the nation, inevitably bound to
perish in the progress of intelligence. Future generations will
scarcely credit the record that such an institution ever existed here;
or existing, that it ever lived a day under such a government. But
suppose, for one moment, the Republic destroyed. With it is bound
up not alone the destiny of a race, but the best hopes of all mankind.
With its overthrow the sun of liberty, like the Hebrew dial, would be
set back indefinitely. The magnitude of such a calamity is beyond our
calculation. The salvation of the nation is, then, of vastly more
consequence than the destruction of slavery. Had you consulted me
for a subject to paint, I should not have given you the Cabinet
Council on Emancipation, but the meeting which took place when the
news came of the attack upon Sumter, when the first measures were
organized for the restoration of the national authority. That was the
crisis in the history of this Administration—not the issue of the
Emancipation Proclamation. If I am to be remembered by posterity,”
he concluded, with much excitement of manner, “let it not be as
having loved predominantly white men or black men, but as one who
loved his country.”
Assenting to much that he had said, I replied, that with all
deference, I could not accept his conclusions regarding slavery.
Although more than a year had passed since the issue of the
proclamation, the Confederacy, founded upon it, was yet powerful
enough to threaten the destruction of the nation, though, for my own
part, I did not question the result of the conflict. I looked upon the
Declaration of Independence as the assertion that all men were
created free. Mr. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was the
demonstration of this great truth. Without slavery the Republic would
have been in no danger. That was the canker-worm gnawing away
the nation’s life. Not until the Administration was ready to strike at
the root and cause of the Rebellion, was there any reason to hope
for the success of the national cause. Without this step, however
grand or high the conception in the minds of men of the Republic, in
all probability it would have perished. Therefore, in my judgment, no
single act of the Administration could for one moment be compared
with that of emancipation. Granting the potential view, the
proclamation was necessary, as the sign and seal of the
consummation.
“Well,” replied Mr. Seward, “you think so, and this generation
may agree with you; but posterity will hold a different opinion.”
Of course this conversation could not but attract the attention of
all in the immediate vicinity. A few moments later, Senator Morgan,
referring to the Secretary’s assertion that slavery was dead when the
Rebellion broke out, told me this characteristic incident of the
President, showing that he, at least, did not hold that view. Soon
after the issue of the proclamation, having official business, as
Governor of New York, which called him to Washington, Mr. Lincoln
remarked to him, speaking of his action upon this subject, “We are a
good deal like whalers who have been long on a chase. At last we
have got our harpoon fairly into the monster; but we must now look
how we steer, or with one flop of his tail, he will yet send us all into
eternity!”
 XXIV.
Mr. George Thompson, the English anti-slavery orator, delivered
an address in the House of Representatives, to a large audience,
April 6th, 1864. Among the distinguished persons present was
President Lincoln, who was greatly interested. The following
morning, Mr. Thompson and party, consisting of Rev. John Pierpont,
Oliver Johnson, formerly President of the Anti-Slavery Society of
New York, and the Hon. Lewis Clephane, of Washington, called at
the White House. The President was alone when their names were
announced, with the exception of myself. Dropping all business, he
ordered the party to be immediately admitted. Greeting them very
cordially, the gentlemen took seats, and Mr. Thompson commenced
conversation by referring to the condition of public sentiment in
England in regard to the great conflict the nation was passing
through. He said the aristocracy and the “money interest” were
desirous of seeing the Union broken up, but that the great heart of
the masses beat in sympathy with the North. They instinctively felt
that the cause of liberty was bound up with our success in putting
down the Rebellion, and the struggle was being watched with the
deepest anxiety.
Mr. Lincoln thereupon said: “Mr. Thompson, the people of Great
Britain, and of other foreign governments, were in one great error in
reference to this conflict. They seemed to think that, the moment I
was President, I had the power to abolish slavery, forgetting that,
before I could have any power whatever, I had to take the oath to
support the Constitution of the United States, and execute the laws
as I found them. When the Rebellion broke out, my duty did not
admit of a question. That was, first, by all strictly lawful means to
endeavor to maintain the integrity of the government. I did not
consider that I had a right to touch the ‘State’ institution of ‘Slavery’
until all other measures for restoring the Union had failed. The
paramount idea of the constitution is the preservation of the Union. It
may not be specified in so many words, but that this was the idea of
its founders is evident; for, without the Union, the constitution would
be worthless. It seems clear, then, that in the last extremity, if any
local institution threatened the existence of the Union, the Executive
could not hesitate as to his duty. In our case, the moment came
when I felt that slavery must die that the nation might live! I have
sometimes used the illustration in this connection of a man with a
diseased limb, and his surgeon. So long as there is a chance of the
patient’s restoration, the surgeon is solemnly bound to try to save
both life and limb; but when the crisis comes, and the limb must be
sacrificed as the only chance of saving the life, no honest man will
hesitate.
“Many of my strongest supporters urged Emancipation before I
thought it indispensable, and, I may say, before I thought the country
ready for it. It is my conviction that, had the proclamation been
issued even six months earlier than it was, public sentiment would
not have sustained it. Just so, as to the subsequent action in
reference to enlisting blacks in the Border States. The step, taken
sooner, could not, in my judgment, have been carried out. A man
watches his pear-tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the
fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit
and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls
into his lap! We have seen this great revolution in public sentiment
slowly but surely progressing, so that, when final action came, the
opposition was not strong enough to defeat the purpose. I can now
solemnly assert,” he concluded, “that I have a clear conscience in
regard to my action on this momentous question. I have done what
no man could have helped doing, standing in my place.”
Oliver Johnson, speaking, as he said, for the old Anti-Slavery
party, assured the President that they had fully appreciated the
difficulties and embarrassments of his position; but when they
realized the importance of the grand issue, and observed the
conflicting influences that were surging around him, they were in an
agony of anxiety lest he should somehow be led to take a false
position. If, in the months preceding the issue of the Emancipation
Proclamation, they had seemed impatient and distrustful, it was
because their knowledge of his character had not been sufficient to
assure them that he would be able to stand up manfully against the
opposing current. He thanked God that the result had shown that we
had a President who was equal to the emergency; and for his part he
was willing to sink all minor issues in the grand consummation he
believed then in sight!
A characteristic incident occurred toward the close of the
interview. When the President ceased speaking, the Rev. Mr.
Pierpont, impressed with his earnestness, turned to Mr. Thompson,
and repeated a Latin quotation from the classics. Mr. Lincoln, leaning
forward in his chair, looked from one to the other inquiringly, and
then remarked, with a smile, “Which, I suppose you are both aware, I
do not understand.”
As the party rose to take leave, the President remarked,
motioning toward me, “We have a young man here who is painting a
picture down-stairs, which I should be glad to have you see.” The
gentlemen expressed their acknowledgments of the courtesy, and
Mr. Lincoln led the way by the private staircase to the state dining-
room. In the passage through the hall he jocularly remarked to Mr.
Thompson, “Your folks made rather sad work of this mansion when
they came up the Potomac in 1812. Nothing was left of it but the
bare walls.” I do not remember the reply to this sally, save that it was
given and received in good part. Briefly going over the portraiture
and composition of the picture, then in too early a stage for criticism,
Mr. Lincoln presently excused himself, and returned to his duties.
And thus ended an interview doubtless indelibly stamped upon the
memory of each individual privileged in sharing it.
Upon referring to the date of the “Hodges” letter, it will be seen
that it was written April 4th, only three days before the visit of Mr.
Thompson and party. The coincidence of thought and expression in
that statement, and the President’s conversation on this occasion,
are noticeable; and are explained by the fact, that, with the language
of that letter still fresh in his mind, he very naturally fell into a similar
vein of illustration.
 XXV.
Dr. Holland, in his “Life of Abraham Lincoln,” I regret to observe,
has thought it worth while to notice the reports, which in one way and
another have obtained circulation, that the President habitually
indulged, in ordinary conversation, in a class of objectionable stories.
The biographer, it is true, attempts to palliate this, on the ground that
it was no innate love of impurity which prompted such relations, but a
keen relish for wit, in any form, the lack of refining influences in early
life, and his experience as a lawyer, which necessarily induced
professional familiarity with the foulest phases of human nature. The
fault is a common one with many men of otherwise unblemished
reputation, and cannot be too severely reprehended. The sooner,
however, such things can be forgotten, of neighbor, friend, or
President, the better. Weaknesses and blemishes are inseparable
from common humanity in the present stage of its development; and
though, like the spots on the sun, they may serve to inspire in us a
feeling of kindred,—let the orb once set, never again to rise on the
world, and he who should remember the trifling defects in the
universal loss would certainly be considered, if not captious, at least
a most inopportune critic.
Mr. Lincoln, I am convinced, has been greatly wronged in this
respect. Every foul-mouthed man in the country gave currency to the
slime and filth of his own imagination by attributing it to the
President. It is but simple justice to his memory that I should state,
that during the entire period of my stay in Washington, after
witnessing his intercourse with nearly all classes of men, embracing
governors, senators, members of Congress, officers of the army, and
intimate friends, I cannot recollect to have heard him relate a
circumstance to any one of them, which would have been out of
place uttered in a ladies’ drawing-room. And this testimony is not
unsupported by that of others, well entitled to consideration. Dr.
Stone, his family physician, came in one day to see my studies.
Sitting in front of that of the President,—with whom he did not
sympathize politically,—he remarked, with much feeling, “It is the
province of a physician to probe deeply the interior lives of men; and
I affirm that Mr. Lincoln is the purest hearted man with whom I ever
came in contact.” Secretary Seward, who of the Cabinet officers was
probably most intimate with the President, expressed the same
sentiment in still stronger language. He once said to the Rev. Dr.
Bellows: “Mr. Lincoln is the best man I ever knew!”
 XXVI.
The 25th of April, Burnside’s command marched through
Washington, on the way from Annapolis, to reinforce the army of the
Potomac. The President reviewed the troops from the top of the
eastern portico at Willard’s Hotel, standing with uncovered head
while the entire thirty thousand men filed through Fourteenth Street.
Of course the passage of so large a body of troops through the city
—presaging as it did the opening of the campaign—drew out a
numerous concourse of spectators, and the coming movement was
everywhere the absorbing topic of conversation. Early in the
evening, Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, with a friend, came into
the President’s office. As he sat down he referred to the fine
appearance of Burnside’s men; saying, with much emphasis, “Mr.
President, if there is in the world one man more than another worthy
of profound respect, it is the volunteer citizen soldier.” To this Mr.
Lincoln assented, in a quiet way,—the peculiar dreaminess of
expression so remarkable at times stealing over his face as his mind
reverted to the thousands whose lives had been so freely offered
upon the altar of their country, and the myriad homes represented by
the thronging columns of the day’s review, in so many of which there
was henceforth to be weary watching and waiting for footsteps which
would return no more.
I took this opportunity to get at the truth concerning a newspaper
story which went the rounds a year or two previous, purporting to be
an account of a meeting of the loyal Governors in Washington, early
in the war. It was stated that the President laid the condition of the
country before such a council, convened at the White House, and
anxiously awaited the result. An oppressive silence followed. Curtin
was represented as having been standing, looking out of one of the
windows, drumming unconsciously upon a pane of glass. Mr.
Lincoln, at length addressing him personally, said: “Andy, what is
Pennsylvania going to do?” Turning around, Curtin replied: “She is
going to send twenty thousand men to start with, and will double it, if
necessary!” “This noble response” [quoted from memory]
“overwhelmed the President, and lifted the dead weight which
seemed to have paralyzed all present.”
I repeated this account substantially as here given; but both
parties smiled and shook their heads. “It is a pity to spoil so good a
story,” returned the President, “but, unfortunately, there is not a word
of truth in it. I believe the only convocation of Governors that has
taken place during the war,” he added, looking at Curtin, “was that at
Altoona—was it not?”
Subsequently the two gentlemen proposed to visit my room, and
Mr. Lincoln accompanied them. Sitting down under the chandelier on
the edge of the long table, which ran the whole length of the
apartment, swinging back and forth his long legs, passing his hand
occasionally over his brow and through his rough hair (his
appearance and manner come back to me most vividly, as I write),
he listened abstractedly to my brief explanation of the design of the
picture. When I ceased, he took up the record in his own way. “You
see, Curtin,” said he, “I was brought to the conclusion that there was
no dodging this negro question any longer. We had reached the
point where it seemed that we must avail ourselves of this element,
or in all probability go under.” He then went over the circumstances
attending the step, in much the same language he had used upon
the occasion of my first interview with him. Governor Curtin
remarked that the impression prevailed in some quarters that
Secretary Seward opposed the policy. “That is not true,” replied Mr.
Lincoln; “he advised postponement, at the first meeting, which
seemed to me sound. It was Seward’s persistence which resulted in
the insertion of the word ‘maintain,’ which I feared under the
circumstances was promising more than it was quite probable we
could carry out.”
The bill empowering the Secretary of the Treasury to sell the
surplus gold had recently passed, and Mr. Chase was then in New
York, giving his attention personally to the experiment. Governor
Curtin referred to this, saying, “I see by the quotations that Chase’s
movement has already knocked gold down several per cent.” This
gave occasion for the strongest expression I ever heard fall from the
lips of Mr. Lincoln. Knotting his face in the intensity of his feeling, he
said, “Curtin, what do you think of those fellows in Wall Street, who
are gambling in gold at such a time as this?” “They are a set of
sharks,” returned Curtin. “For my part,” continued the President,
bringing his clinched hand down upon the table, “I wish every one of
them had his devilish head shot off!”
 XXVII.
There was one marked element of Mr. Lincoln’s character
admirably expressed by the Hon. Mr. Colfax, in his oration at
Chicago upon his death: “When his judgment, which acted slowly,
but which was almost as immovable as the eternal hills when settled,
was grasping some subject of importance, the arguments against his
own desires seemed uppermost in his mind, and, in conversing upon
it, he would present those arguments to see if they could be
rebutted.”
In illustration of this, it is only necessary to recall the fact that the
interview between himself and the Chicago delegation of clergymen,
appointed to urge upon him the issue of a proclamation of
emancipation, took place September 13, 1862, more than a month
after he had declared to the Cabinet his established purpose to take
this step. He said to this committee: “I do not want to issue a
document that the whole world will see must necessarily be
inoperative, like the Pope’s bull against the comet!” After drawing out
their views upon the subject, he concluded the interview with these
memorable words:—
“Do not misunderstand me, because I have mentioned these
objections. They indicate the difficulties which have thus far
prevented my action in some such way as you desire. I have not
decided against a proclamation of liberty to the slaves, but hold the
matter under advisement. And I can assure you that the subject is on
my mind, by day and night, more than any other. Whatever shall
appear to be God’s will, I will do! I trust that, in the freedom with
which I have canvassed your views, I have not in any respect injured
your feelings.”
In further evidence of this peculiarity of his mind, I will state that
notwithstanding his apparent hesitation in the appointment of a
successor to Judge Taney, it is well known to his most intimate
friends, that “there had never been a time during his Presidency,
when, in the event of the death of Judge Taney, he had not fully
intended and expected to nominate Salmon P. Chase for Chief
Justice.” These were his very words uttered in connection with this
subject.