In 1899, a guy named Elbert Hubbard sat down and wrote a short essay in about an hour after a dinner table argument with his son. He didn't think it was his magnum opus. He just wanted to vent about lazy employees who couldn't seem to do a job without asking fifty questions. That essay was A Letter to Garcia, and it went viral before "viral" was even a word.
The story is simple. Too simple, maybe. During the Spanish-American War, President McKinley needed to get a message to Calixto García, a leader of the Cuban insurgents. He called a guy named Rowan, gave him a letter, and Rowan just... did it. He didn't ask "Where is he?" or "Which train do I take?" He just hopped a boat, disappeared into the jungle, and delivered the thing.
Hubbard used this to bash the "imbecility" of the average worker. It sold millions of copies. It was handed out by the New York Central Railroad, the Russian Railway, and the US Marine Corps. But honestly? If you read it today, it might make your blood boil. It feels like the ultimate "boss" rant. Yet, tucked under that layers-thick crust of Victorian-era grumpiness is a core truth about human agency that we still haven't figured out how to teach in schools.
The Rowan Myth vs. The Actual History
Let’s get the facts straight because Hubbard played a bit fast and loose with the details to make his point. The real guy was Andrew Summers Rowan. He was an Army lieutenant, not just some random dude off the street. And while Hubbard makes it sound like McKinley just handed him a letter in a vacuum, Rowan actually had a pretty extensive briefing.
He didn't just wander into the woods. He had help. He had guides.
But Hubbard’s point wasn't about the logistics of the Spanish-American War. He was obsessed with the moral quality of the man who takes a task and owns it. He wrote about the "stiff-jointed" employee who, when asked to look up a fact in an encyclopedia, asks "Which encyclopedia?" or "Was I hired for that?"
It’s a brutal critique. Hubbard basically says that most people are one step away from being useless without a supervisor hovering over their shoulder. Is that harsh? Yeah. Is it totally wrong? If you’ve ever managed a team or tried to get a straight answer from a customer service rep who is clearly just reading a script, you know exactly what Hubbard was feeling.
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Why the Message of A Letter to Garcia Triggers Modern Readers
We live in the era of "quiet quitting" and "boundaries." Suggesting that an employee should just "figure it out" without asking questions sounds, to many people, like a recipe for exploitation. It sounds like toxic hustle culture from the 19th century.
There's a legitimate counter-argument here. If a manager gives zero direction and expects a miracle, that’s not "initiative" on the employee's part—it’s bad leadership. We’ve all been there. You get a vague request, you spend ten hours on it, and the boss says, "Oh, that’s not what I wanted."
Hubbard doesn't address that. He’s not interested in "management best practices." He’s interested in the spirit of the person.
The "Slipshod" Worker Problem
Hubbard uses the word "slipshod" a lot. He’s talking about the half-hearted effort. The person who does just enough not to get fired. Honestly, it’s a vibe that still exists in every office, Slack channel, and retail store in the world.
Think about the last time you asked someone for help and they gave you the "not my job" look. That’s the person Hubbard is yelling at from across a century. He argues that the world doesn't need more "reforms" or "schemes"; it needs more people who can carry a letter to Garcia.
The Core Concept: Personal Agency
What most people miss about A Letter to Garcia is that it’s not really about being a good little soldier. It’s about agency. Agency is the ability to affect change in your environment. It's the opposite of being a victim of circumstance.
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When you look at high performers today—the people who build companies or solve complex engineering problems—they all have the "Rowan" trait. They don't wait for a manual. They don't wait for permission. They see a gap and they fill it.
Why It’s Harder Now
It’s actually harder to "carry the letter" in 2026 than it was in 1899. Why?
- Information Overload: Rowan just had to find a guy. We have to filter through ten thousand Google results, AI summaries, and conflicting data points.
- Bureaucracy: In many modern companies, if you "just do it," you might actually get fired for violating a compliance protocol.
- Fear of Failure: Everything is tracked now. If Rowan had failed, maybe nobody would have known. If you fail today, there’s a digital trail.
Despite that, the demand for people who can operate independently has never been higher. AI can do the "structured" tasks. AI can follow the 10-step process. What AI (and many people) can't do is navigate the "jungle" of a messy, ill-defined problem and come out the other side with a result.
The Dark Side of Hubbard’s Philosophy
We have to talk about the elitism in the text. Hubbard writes with a certain level of contempt for the "average" man. He suggests that the "socialist" or the "discontented" worker is simply a failure of character.
This is where the essay hasn't aged well. It ignores systemic issues. It ignores the fact that sometimes the "letter" is stupid or the "President" is a jerk. If you take Hubbard too literally, you end up with a workforce of burnt-out people trying to do the impossible while their bosses play golf.
But if you strip away the Victorian arrogance, you're left with a question: Are you the kind of person who makes things happen, or the kind of person who explains why things didn't happen?
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Most of us are a mix of both. We have days where we’re Rowan, and days where we’re the guy asking "Which encyclopedia?" The goal is to shift the ratio.
How to Actually "Carry the Letter" Today
If you want to apply the spirit of A Letter to Garcia without becoming a corporate doormat, you have to change your approach to problems. It’s not about blind obedience; it’s about resourcefulness.
- The 10-Minute Rule: Before you ask a question, spend ten minutes trying to find the answer yourself. Usually, that’s all it takes to find the "Garcia" you’re looking for.
- Bring Solutions, Not Problems: Don’t just say "The server is down." Say "The server is down, I called the host, and they’re rebooting it now."
- Understand the "Why": Rowan knew the letter was important for the war effort. When you understand the ultimate goal, you can make better decisions on the fly when things go wrong.
Hubbard’s essay is short. You can read it in ten minutes. It’s punchy, it’s mean, and it’s surprisingly motivating if you’re in the right headspace. It’s a call to arms for anyone who is tired of mediocrity—especially their own.
Actionable Steps for the "Rowan" Mindset
If you’re a leader, stop giving 50-page manuals and start giving clear "letters." Tell your people what the desired outcome is, give them the resources they need, and then get out of the way. If they keep coming back with "Which encyclopedia?" questions, you have a hiring or training problem.
If you’re an employee, realize that your value isn't your time—it's your ability to close loops. Every time a boss gives you a task, a "loop" opens. The faster and more autonomously you close that loop, the more indispensable you become.
Stop waiting for the perfect set of instructions. They don’t exist. The jungle is messy, the maps are wrong, and Garcia is always moving. Just take the letter and start walking.
Next Steps for Implementation:
- Audit your "Question-to-Action" ratio: For the next week, track how many times you ask a clarifying question that you could have answered with a quick search. Aim to cut that number in half.
- Identify your "Garcia": Pinpoint the one project or goal that has been stalled because you're waiting for "more information" or "better timing."
- Execute a "Rowan" Sprint: Spend the next 48 hours moving toward that goal without asking for permission or further guidance. Resolve to deal with the obstacles as they appear rather than planning for them in advance.
- Read the original text: Find a copy of Hubbard's essay (it's in the public domain). Read it not as a management manual, but as a provocation. Ask yourself which parts make you angry—usually, those are the parts where you recognize a bit of your own inertia.