[December 25, 2017] What do leaders do on Christmas? What is it that they may (or may not do) on Christmas or on any holiday of the year? The answer is simple if we know the leader is good at what they do. That leader is out and about visiting others, helping where they can, and generally making… Read More »
[December 23, 2017] Popularity is not leadership at all and saying a leader needs it to get things done is a myth. In fact, the popularity of leaders is not a prerequisite for good leadership but it can help get one’s agenda through.1 In the country of Iraq, the most popular man is Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi who… Read More »
[December 22, 2017] A few months ago I had the opportunity to witness good leadership on the part of our Boy Scout Troop Scoutmaster. A new 12-year old scout was about to go on his first campout. The scoutmaster had a long conversation with the scout explaining the potential problems and the opportunities such a trip would provide. … Read More »
[December 21, 2017] For most of us over the age of 50, we were taught in grade school about the difficulties the Pilgrim Fathers experienced in their first year in the New World. Their adopted rules, an experiment of sorts, were supportive of communal property and cultivating the land in common. The result was an immense failure because… Read More »
[December 19, 2017] This is not a post about combat but the application of what has been a basic principle of it since recorded time; chose the battlefield. If you want to defeat your enemy (or win in business) then you must choose the time, place, and tactics of your actions and not let others determine what you… Read More »
[December 18, 2017] In late 2010, I was out of the country so my wife sent me news that she thought would be interesting. We lived in Brooklyn, New York so I thought to myself; what the heck, I’ll read it. In August of 2010, NYC Muslims were embroiled in a controversy to build a mosque near Ground… Read More »
[December 15, 2017] On several occasions here at theLeaderMaker.com I’ve bemoaned the fact that moral courage is lacking in much of Western civilization. Physical courage, on the other hand, is still there if we only look for it and it is good to see when it happens. Just this week, the courageous man behind the Mosul Eye revealed… Read More »
[December 14, 2017] Leadership has always been about the clear and concise use of language. English as a language, however, is fraught with blurred and convoluted meanings as anyone learning it will attest. Good leaders strive to overcome this problem by the use of precise language and continually improving upon those communication skills. My first semester in college… Read More »
[December 13, 2017] In the movie Aliens (1986), there is a scene where highly-trained colonial marines are about to be airdropped into a facility where they are to fight against the sinister extraterrestrials. When asked by Ripley how many combat drops Lieutenant Gorman has under his belt, he replies, “uh, two, including this one.” It did not inspire… Read More »
[December 11, 2017] Of course, the answer is that there are many leaders in the Middle East and each with his own brand of Islam and with his own ideas about the Sunni-Shiite divide. That, however, might be changing. The Middle East is a complex region with dynamics that confuses Westerners. One thing we should know is that… Read More »