[May 24, 2017] In the U.S. Civil War lives were shattered, families split apart, and property destroyed in one of the bloodiest wars of the century. It is also the beginning of the story of the Brooklyn Bridge which was opened on this date, May 24, 1883. It begins with a most important leader trait; vision, the ability… Read More »
[April 15, 2017] We deserve a little levity today. In the United States, this date is when our annual taxes are due. Today is also the anniversary of the RMS Titanic sinking, U.S. President Lincoln dying from an assassin’s bullet, and terrorist bombing the Boston Marathon; among other infamous events. It is also the day that Molly Brown… Read More »
[February 28, 2017] An old axiom in the U.S. military is that to be the best leader possible, one must chose the right people and give them the authority and freedom to do their jobs. Choosing good people is not an easy task but is necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of any organization. “Leadership consists of picking… Read More »
[December 12, 2016] Many books, articles, news stories, and such have written about bad bosses and all of us have spoken to one another about the poor leadership we’ve experienced. And I’ve written about the topic before (see links here, here, and here). Oftentimes leaders present a common picture of those traits of bad junior leaders who are… Read More »
[November 22, 2016] Occasionally I stumble across a person of great courage and use my forum at theLeaderMaker.com to share that person’s story (or at least point out where it can be found). U.S. Army Private First Class (PFC) Tony Vaccaro, veteran of World War II, is that person. There are so many of these stories that it… Read More »
[October 14, 2016] I’ve been asked this question many times and the answer is, of course, “no” … the characteristics of military leaders are the same as all other leaders. To some of my friends, they were a bit surprised by my answer because, like many people, they are confusing leadership style with leadership characteristics. This may only… Read More »
[September 15, 2016] … or both! Cleaning up my attic of old cassette tapes made me pause as the memories of the 1980s came roaring back. For those who remember, the same can be said for that era’s television commercials from Crazy Eddie; “His prices are insa-a-a-a-ane!” Flashback … for a classic example of one of his ads,… Read More »
[September 14, 2016] My graduating class of the U.S. Infantry School in 1983 produced an exceptional group of officers. When 9/11 occurred nearly all of us were colonels and had considerable command experience; fully ready for whatever the national called upon us to do. But the one thing that our schooling failed to prepare us for was the… Read More »
[September 12, 2016] As part of our physical fitness training in the Army, my fellow soldiers and I regularly negotiated the standard obstacle course. Its purpose was to challenge us to find ways to successfully navigate through the many barriers (and have a little fun that I never seemed to have). Yet, leaders face many other types of… Read More »
[September 8, 2016] Everyone will tell you that loyalty is one of the most visible and noteworthy of all traits; found not just in humans but also in animals. What makes it so important is that loyalty is necessary for the survival of the species; without it, no individual could depend on others. Despite much talk about bottom-to-top… Read More »