[February 9, 2018] Leadership can be taught. That is the premise on which all leadership training is based and it is the reason so many folks have achieved great things in their lives. Today, I’m beginning a new series on leader training and today my focal point will be on the Sapper Leader Course conducted by the U.S. Army… Read More »
[February 8, 2018] Leadership today involves navigating some of the most difficult situations without any signpost markers along the way telling us which way is best. That means a leader must be, by definition, resilient, tough-minded, and inner directed But more than anything else, a leader must have the self-awareness to “see” solutions to the obstacles of life.… Read More »
[February 7, 2018] I was a Private in the U.S. Army due for a promotion in rank. My Company Commander made the promotion into a special event that I never forgot and thereafter used his philosophy to reward achievements of my soldiers. Good leaders go the extra mile and celebrate the success of others. When leaders celebrate the success of others, it… Read More »
[February 6, 2018] It has been said many times that war is simply a continuation of politics by other means. Actually the Prussian theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote it in his book On War (1832) and is one of the most important treatises on political-military analysis and strategy ever written. Clausewitz, like so many other theorists closely links war,… Read More »
[February 5, 2018] Just a reminder that this section on political leadership is part of an on-going series in which I focus on new and controversial ideas. Today, my focus is on Heather MacDonald, Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor of City Journal. She, like so many others on this site, is provocative in her ideas;… Read More »
[February 4, 2018] Tonight at 6:30 pm (Eastern Time), the Super Bowl LII kickoff will bring us a wealth of lessons that leaders can take to heart and, if used wisely, can improve upon our knowledge and skills. Focus will be on gameplay and how the coaches and players do their jobs but it will also be on… Read More »
[February 3, 2018] That’s what I was told as my girlfriend pinned my Second Lieutenant bars on me at our commissioning ceremony. “Leaders! It’s not about you,” the commandant of the ROTC program spoke to the new military officers at Penn State University. Not about you? The message was unclear but later, after I had more experience, his… Read More »
[February 2, 2018] Good leaders have many friends. Great leaders have true friends. Some say that the best way to succeed in one’s profession is to have a wide network of folks who are helpful. Such a network can be tapped for information, advice, and encouragement. Yet, what the network can rarely provide, something only true friends can,… Read More »
[February 1, 2018] A few years ago as an Army Brigade Commander, I was called upon to investigate another senior officer who had purportedly stolen from a military warehouse. Despite my experience in this type of investigation, it lasted months longer than it should have because witnesses were placing their loyalty over morality. Doing this type of investigation… Read More »