Message to Garcia

It was 1899 when "A Message to Garcia (opens in new tab)" became a powerful metaphor for reliability, initiative, and getting the job done: no excuses, no unnecessary questions, just execution.

"My heart goes out to the man who does his work when the "boss" is away, as well as when he is home. And the man who, when given a letter for Garcia, quietly takes the missive, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer, or of doing aught else but deliver it, never gets “laid off,” nor has to go on strike for higher wages. Civilisation is one long anxious search for just such individuals. Anything such a man asks will be granted; his kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town, and village - in every office, shop, store, and factory. The world cries out for such; he is needed, and needed badly - the man who can carry a message to Garcia." (Elbert Hubbard, 1899)

The story describes how a soldier, Lt. Rowan, was entrusted with a mission: deliver an important message to General Garcia. Instead of getting bogged down with questions about Garcia's location or the route to take, Rowan simply takes action and accomplishes the mission with the limited information he has. He got it done using his resourcefulness to fill in the gaps. Does that sound familiar? Much like how we researchers and security professionals operate, we often work with limited information and find creative ways to identify vulnerabilities and secure systems.