TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1045316
The handshake duly holds you as firm- ly as those keen, unwavering eyes. Here, plainly, is a man you could turn to, any time you needed a little extra steel—ei- ther to do a job right or, because he con- siders this much the same thing, to do the right thing. After so many decades in the service of his country, his state, his sport, Bassett's counsel must be as sea- soned as any in the land. Sure enough, the telephone call he had to conclude while you were waiting— as he explains, purely in apology—had come from a certain candidate for high public office. Just seeking a little ad- vice, before meeting with an influential newspaper publisher. Bassett can trust you with their names, because he knows you'll want to prove worthy of the confi- dence. And that, right there, is a sample of his leadership style. If only every aspirant to power and re- sponsibility could have such a man in his or her corner; could absorb the precepts of leadership he learned in the Marine Corps, and applied to earn a Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation in the Pa- cific War. In each of the three main chal- lenges he subsequently embraced—with the Kentucky State Police, here at Keene- land, and with the Breeders' Cup—that grounding proved crucial. So how would he condense that ground- ing? "Take—care—of—your—men!" Each growled syllable accompanied by a fist on the table. "What that meant, in the Marine Corps, was this," Bassett expands. "They were fed first. They dug their holes first. Before you dug a hole, your men dug in, and you fed them. Because their welfare is absolutely essential to your