October 25, 2005

Leading by example sends powerful message, Merrill tells Troy University students

TROY —Retired Army Maj. General Thomas L. Merrill encouraged Troy University students to understand the difference between management and leadership. Speaking at the Sorrell College of Business’ Fall Convocation on Tuesday, Merrill said, “You manage things, you lead people.”

Merrill most recently served as a consultant for the Birmingham-based Altec Industries and previously served as the company’s president, chief operating officer, chief executive officer and vice chairman until his retirement in 2000. A graduate of the University of Alabama , he also previously served as chairman and president of Vantage Consulting Group and began his career in the Apparatus Sales Division of General Electric. 

Merrill’s military career began in the 1943 Asiatic Pacific Theater campaigns during World War II.  He was discharged from active duty as a staff sergeant in 1946 and began his commissioned service with the U.S. Army Reserve in 1949.  As a brigadier general in 1977, he was appointed assistant deputy chief of staff for operations and plans for the Department of the Army, and was promoted to major general in 1978.  In 1979, he became the commander of the 87^th Maneuver Area Command and held this position until he retired in 1983. 

“Leadership is a practice in the exercise of power,” Merrill told the students gathered in the Trojan Center Theatre on the Troy Campus. “Authority does not equal power.”

Merrill pointed to two sources of power: conferred, which comes with rank, and personal. In either case, one must decide how he or she is going to lead, he said.

“Example is the most powerful message a leader can send,” said Merrill, noting that students can begin exercising leadership in their daily lives by deeply caring about what they do.