[November 8, 2015] When my daughter entered college with the desire to graduate with a degree in Applied Physics, I alerted her to the difficult requirements of advanced mathematics. She brushed me off as if she already knew how to do well. After making a “D –” in her first Calculus course (can you get closer to fail?)… Read More »
[November 6, 2015] The point at which those who have served in the U.S. military have the greatest chance of failure is when they transition from military to civilian life. For me, as for all those I have known, this was of the greatest worry and concern. Formed in 2012 Got Your 6 is a non-profit organization1 whose… Read More »
[November 5, 2015] It is of interest that American society is engaged in a serious effort to counter racial and sexual stereotypes. Likewise there has been a concerted effort over the past few years to counter military veteran stereotypes. But, it is believed in some scientific circles, that overly positive stereotypes of veterans are not necessarily a good… Read More »
[November 2, 2015] Well … that’s not exactly how the U.S. Presidential election turned out on this date in 1948. Three years earlier, Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, was thrust into the presidency in 1945 after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Everyone was so sure Republican challenger Thomas Dewey of New York would win the 1948 election… Read More »
[November 1, 2015] All leaders will tell you they politely accept feedback on their performance and encourage people to share their opinions on their leadership capability. In practice however that is rarely true and therefore official systems have been developed as a required task to ensure feedback is given on a minimum regular schedule. True leaders, however, are… Read More »
[October 24, 2015] Seventy years ago on this date the United Nations was born. And today we’ll see and read a lot in the media about the greatness of the organization, its accomplishments, its ownership by all peoples, and its evenhandedness in crises. There will also be a few complaints about it for academics to study with the… Read More »
[October 23, 2015] At least sometimes this is true and leaders must know the difference. Any good leader will know that there are circumstances under which rules (laws, regulations, establish procedures, etc.) must be ignored and also know the risks associated with such a decision. That is why doing what is right is the embodiment of a leader… Read More »
[October 22, 2015] I’ve been a listener to many speeches in my lifetime; several hundred if I could add them up. Some were great, others poor, but one thing they had in common was that they were mostly filled with just talk. It reminded me of speeches of many politicians; they want the “face-time” with voters and they… Read More »
[October 20, 2015] One of my early military mentors advised me that to do well required being able to keep my head together while everyone else around me was losing theirs. Of course, it’s not that leaders thrive on chaos but that they can thrive in chaos. It requires special skills and experience that a leader either has… Read More »
[October 19, 2015] In mid-2006 Coalition Engineers in Iraq were given the mission of protecting military personnel (i.e., soft targets) from incoming missiles and mortars. The task itself was overwhelming due to the number of people the engineers had to protect. Because there had been no thought given to what this really meant or the timeframe in which… Read More »