[July 21, 2021] In an article from several years ago, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Scott Ginther provides us with junior leadership lessons from his experience as a Platoon Leader in Afghanistan. They are worthwhile and stand out as an example of learning the right way.1 Here are the first eight of them: You are still not a trigger-puller:… Read More »
[July 20, 2021] Teddy Roosevelt once said that, “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” Based on experience and study, I believe that the proper development of our own life and discipline requires us to work for a bad boss. Good people need a bad boss to teach us how not to act. A bad boss shows us the impact of their efforts;… Read More »
[July 19, 2021] Operation Frequent Wind was the final evacuation of the U.S. from South Vietnam before the fall of Saigon. Before the Communist takeover of the country, people were wise to leave in any way they could. Many enduring photographs captured our hurried inglorious departure. President Joe Biden recently ordered the immediate departure of the U.S. military… Read More »
[July 18, 2021] Years ago, while deployed to Iraq, I provided some “common sense advice” to the U.S. Embassy staff in the old Green Zone, Baghdad. After a couple of days, I witnessed far too much dysfunction and laziness. I was never fond of the Department of State and maybe never will be. Now, I hear that the… Read More »
[July 17, 2021] One of the justifications for invading Iraq in 2003 was that their military possessed weapons of mass destruction. Although chemical weapons were found in abundance, the most sought-after WMD was nuclear. Did Iraq have its own Operation Werewolf that took WMD materials out of the country? After the initial invasion of Iraq, U.S. forces were… Read More »
[July 16, 2021] The Revolutionary War, like other wars, had its dramatic battles. Stony Point was thought to be an impenetrable fortress (actually more of a reinforced outpost) and threatened West Point, New York. General Anthony Wayne attacked at night with 1,200 light infantry using only bayonets. With the outpost at Stony Point isolated and vulnerable, Washington wanted… Read More »
[July 15, 2021] I experimented with my Facebook page last week, the one still standing and on search engines built into social media algorithms. I wrote about how there were questions of election integrity in the latest election, November 4, last year. To my surprise, my Facebook posts disappeared, and my searches on this website at theLeaderMaker.com dropped… Read More »
[July 14, 2021] As leaders and as normal human beings, we are drawn to adventure, that thrill of a challenge, seeing a great expanse of nature, or perhaps jumping from an airplane for the first time. We seek our singular greatest adventure. That is our nature, and it drives what we do and what we wish to do.… Read More »
[July 13, 2021] I have written about race and leadership in the past here in my leadership blog, but mostly I ignore the topic because I do not believe race is a significant factor. Leadership is learned; we are not born with it. Thus, I have always held that it matters not our race, gender, national origin, etc.,… Read More »
[July 12, 2021] Cuba has one of the most repressive governments in the world. Its Communist dictatorship has an iron grip that manages to keep everyone in poverty, except those in the highest echelons of government (and they live richly). Yesterday, demonstrations for freedom broke out on the island. The New York Times (behind a paywall) acknowledges the… Read More »