Dr. Edmond Melhem – Novel Ideas Part II

Sa´adeh did not generate his new ideas to remain immaterialized and embodied in books. Rather, he was keen to execute these ideas and actualize them. He exemplified what Antony Bell wrote: “Thought without action is stagnant. Great leaders go from thought to decision to action.”
Sa´adeh recognized the value and the power of a good plan and believed that practicing strategic planning was the tool he must use to realize his vision and ideas. He also learned that great plans are created from understanding the social fact and its condition and courses” and from “a rigorous analytical process” , which he had already undertaken in his sociological research and in-depth study of his environment and its outmoded institutions. Great plans eventually produce good results. As John Hamm asserts in his book Unusually Excellent, “all great plans ultimately have great utility. And for that to happen, the plan must have the full commitment of everyone involved in their execution.” The question arises: What plan of action did he choose to take to fulfill his ideal future vision?
Having guts means having the courage and nerve to dare. It “is the opposite of comfortably settling in with the status quo.” It is not being harsh or impatient. Rather, it is being brave and having the energy to challenge long-held beliefs. It “is really about values, commitment and responsibility.” Sa´adeh had all that. He had the guts to take action and execute his ideas in an oppressive environment controlled by the colonial French authorities. In pursuing his ideas, Sa´adeh decided to put in place a great plan, a compelling strategy carefully crafted for victory. He devised a complete revolutionary plan to challenge the status quo and to implement a national renaissance that would engulf the entire life of his society and revive his nation, “which some imagine to have collapsed forever.” Adel Beshara summarized Sa´adeh’s clear and complete plan:
The plan was simple enough: to take on the might of the existing order through a ‘Party’ of devoted, dedicated, selfless, even Puritan men and women, united in a common cause.

Read more: Dr. Edmond Melhem – Novel Ideas Part I