Stumbling Blocks: How Great Leaders Are Made

Scott Stanzel, Chief Communications Officer, Truist: 9/11 at the White House

Stumbling Blocks: How Great Leaders Are Made

Show Notes

On 9/11/2001, Scott Stanzel was 28 years old, working his dream job at the White House when Secret Service agents came running down the halls, throwing open doors and shouting at everyone to get out. They had two minutes.

For twenty-five years, Scott has said almost nothing publicly about September 11th. "Over the years I've struggled with how to talk about my experiences or even acknowledge that day," he wrote once.

This is the first time he has sat for an interview to tell the whole story:

Time Chapter 02:36 9:37 a.m. and the phone call about the Pentagon 04:30 Smoke rising over the Old Executive Office Building 08:59 "There's another plane. You have two minutes." 09:53 "Take off your shoes and run" 11:08 The West Exec gates thrown open 11:58 How a 28-year-old landed a White House job 13:18 The crystal clear blue morning 15:30 Calling mom, who was out running errands 17:33 The cell network fails, and Washington switches to BlackBerrys 18:53 Anita and Tim McBride clear a floor for the White House 19:43 10:03 a.m., Shanksville, and the plane that was coming for them 22:11 What the passengers on United 93 pieced together 26:46 What the day was supposed to be: No Child Left Behind 29:20 8:46 a.m., the first plane, and "did the pilot have a heart attack?" 32:16 From national tragedy to act of war 33:27 The car bomb that never happened 37:03 President Bush at Barksdale Air Force Base 38:22 Staff sent home before dark 40:01 The pager, and why Scott went back 42:43 "It honestly felt like we had entered into some dystopian world" 44:56 The president returns, and Ari Fleischer pre-briefs the pool 52:06 Twenty-five years later, what is America's role? 1:00:55 Alone on the phones until five in the morning 1:05:41 "I wanted to make sure that I was worthy of that moment" 1:07:25 Shanksville, September 11, 2002 1:13:31 What he tells his daughters 1:17:55 What he wants all of us to know 1:19:46 One tangible thing you can do to honor the day 1:21:57 To kids who feel dispirited by politics

#Leadership #Courage #Heroism #9/11 #NeverForget

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