[October 8, 2016] We need heroes … we need them because of a deep need to realize personal excellence; our heroes are symbols for those qualities we would like to possess and the ambitions we would like to gratify. Looking to what Tom Brokaw called, “the Greatest Generation,” there can be found Joe Foss, one of the leading… Read More »
[October 7, 2016] It was a beautiful fall day in October nearly 30 years ago when I was walking along the main drag at Penn State University when I came upon Joe Paterno for the first time. “JoePa” as he is more affectionately known, was talking to a small group of students about how to be successful at… Read More »
[October 4, 2016] One of my close friends confided in me the other day that during his travels he had been asking people who their heroes were and has done so for over 30 years. The results are a bit surprising but more on that later. What he discovered for himself – and now sharing with me –… Read More »
[October 3, 2016] There has been some talk recently about retired General David Petraeus’ comments on the causes of the formation of the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State (aka, ISIS or ISIL). Senior leaders with experience and a deep appreciation for solving wide-ranging and serious problems will say that it is not the defeat of the… Read More »
[October 2, 2016] It seemed so simple and yet so obviously necessary, yet no one had thought of it. South Korean President Park Geun-hye said, in a speech earlier this week, that she knows about the “gruesome realities” that North Koreans face daily and appealed to them to “Please come to the bosom of freedom in the South.”1 … Read More »
[October 1, 2016] My wife and I were watching the most recent U.S. presidential debates the other night and she kept asking, rhetorically, why both candidates were exaggerating the truth. Padded resumes, overstated professional credentials, misrepresentation of their career, etc. are unexpectedly common among people of all walks of life. But … for the senior leader, it’s folly… Read More »
[September 29, 2016] A few days ago I was asked who is considered to be the most influential person on the topic of leadership over the past half century. When I mentioned the name Warren Bennis, I got a number of puzzled looks and understood that my audience of young middle managers didn’t know the name. Being a… Read More »
[September 28, 2016] In this second part to the results of a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on senior leader leadership, I will report some of the alternative ways that some of the most senior leaders of the military look at what we can do to teach, coach, and mentor other senior leaders (Part 1 is… Read More »
[September 27, 2016] When we look at military senior leaders it’s common to refer to war as the ultimate crucible where their leadership is determined by who wins on the battlefield. During the Spanish-American War of 1898 (yes, I know, ancient history) most leaders of U.S. forces were incapacitated by disease that, in effect, took them out of… Read More »
[September 26, 2016] War! Any armed conflict is a vicious, cruel affair and is neither fair nor clean, nor simple. Consequently, it’s difficult to report on its impact. Civil wars in particular are brutish and nasty because many fighters are not professionals and they lack good leadership, but also because civilians are more likely to be killed and… Read More »