[July 30, 2016] There’s an old saying used in business and government that makes an astute observation about success. It goes something like this, “It’s not what you know, but who you know” and it’s used primarily to explain achievement in the workplace and in one’s personal life. But, does who you know make you a leader? A… Read More »
[July 26, 2016] The story goes back a long way. I remember my father talking about the town drunk who was always at the bar on Tuesday nights. We grew up in a small town in Northeast Louisiana where, in the 1950s and 60s, liquor bars outnumbered churches about 2 to 1 and where everyone knew each other. … Read More »
[July 26, 2016] Maybe it’s my experience with military secret documents published in the New York Times newspaper that makes me skeptical that just about any form of communications can be read by others, like our enemies. It’s time for me to again warn everyone – especially leaders – that email, including encrypted email, can be read by… Read More »
[July 25, 2016] A good friend of mine at my commissioning ceremony as a new U.S. Army Second Lieutenant said that his best advice for me to succeed would be to respect soldiers regardless of rank, however pander to none of them. In his own way, he was speaking about respect. But respect is specifically missing from most… Read More »
[July 23, 2016] Yes, words have consequences and especially when spoken by senior leaders. Leaders have been known to make terrible choices of their words and then, unexpectedly, become more resolute when confronted. All of us have chosen poorly but rarely are word choices so important than when we are a leader. Knowing what to say, when to… Read More »
[July 22, 2016] In Part 1 of this series I pointed out some of the important things that kids should never do.1 In Part 2, I addressed some of the opportunities we should give children we are teaching leadership.2 Today, I’ll provide a few how to techniques for kids so they can develop the right skills for the… Read More »
[July 19, 2016] On this date, June 19th in 1865, Union soldiers enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all remaining slaves in the state of Texas; six weeks after the U.S. Civil War officially ended. Slavery in the U.S. was a contentious issue at the time and its legacy remains in race relations to this day. Like President… Read More »
[July 16, 2016] I’ll add my two cents worth to the analysis of terrorism in Nice, France. My main point, as stated before, is that the recent surge in Islamic attacks has no single cause and no single person to blame and thus no easy solution. Very few of us are surprised that it occurred, especially in France… Read More »
[July 15, 2016] My original blog entry today was going to be about how leaders seem to take themselves too seriously. Whether it’s narcissistic behavior or simply going too far in promoting themselves, leaders can cross the line with their words and behavior. A recent dust up over the comments by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg… Read More »
[July 14, 2016] A good friend of mine for many years told me recently that “honesty is no longer valued.” He was exaggerating but also being rather blunt after an experience he had with several younger folks that accused him of being a sexist. “There was no arguing with them,” he told me. For some time now, many… Read More »