Since the foundation of America we have been very bad at simply doing nothing, even when it has been to our benefit. Not a bad thing to consider leading teams either.
A State Department friend of mine once gave a briefing to [Lyndon] Johnson. The subject was a Latin-American country where it looked as if one of our military juntas was about to be replaced by a liberal non-Communist regime. Johnson was distraught. ‘What, what,’ he cried, ‘can we do?’ To which one of his advisors—whose name must be suppressed, though his wisdom ought to be carved over the White House door—replied, ‘Mr. President, why not do nothing?’” -Gore Vidal, interview, 1969
