[March 20, 2015] Shortly after U.S. President Obama gave the “green light” to capture or kill the terrorist Osama Bin Laden – who was subsequently killed – the president used a sports metaphor to explain the decision not to release photos of the body. President Obama said, “We don’t need to spike the football.”1 In other words, since… Read More »
[March 17, 2015] Deep in the manmade tunnels of Cheyenne Mountain in the state of Colorado is located the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Stenciled on one of the tunnel walls is a quote from an Air Force general, “Perfect performance might just be good enough.” One implication is that since perfection is impossible, it is up… Read More »
[March 16, 2015] While watching a recent television special on the Black Plague, one of its main themes was that the millions of deaths caused by the pandemic lead directly to the disintegration of many long established social institutions. It follows that the scale of the deaths and suffering led to probably the greatest leadership failures in history.… Read More »
[March 15, 2015] … and keep it. A trend that I observed while in the military for nearly four decades was that the trust military members have for each another was declining. How to establish trust and keep it was always a concern because without it we had nothing. With major U.S. elections scheduled next year, those wanting… Read More »
[March 13, 2015] We are hearing good news about the battles in Iraq that the Islamic State (ISIS) is being pushed back. I am proposing that the Iraqi army advances in Iraq is not all good news because it is being assisted by Iran and without U.S., Arab, or allied support. The unintended consequences of this means that… Read More »
[March 12, 2015] The recent ruckus over Ms Hillary Clinton’s use of private email to conduct United States official business gives us an opportunity to provide a few senior leader thoughts on leader transparency. Ultimately the email controversy is about transparency; whether a leader is playing by the rules and being open, fair, and honest with the American… Read More »
[March 10, 2015] Senior leaders rarely need a warning about people giving them gifts. They know that actual or perceived favoritism, bias, or corruption can result. Yet, regardless of how well we understand this and agree there could be problems, invariably senior leaders still get into trouble accepting gifts. During my time as a military flag officer, several… Read More »
[March 09, 2015] The ignorance of history and its importance has always been the direct result of a lack of good leadership. Fortunately, the Selma marches – which were the turning point in the 1960s U.S. Civil Rights Movement – have lately been given a much needed airing in the media. While the first march, known as “Bloody… Read More »
[March 07, 2015] There is no doubt that teaching and mentoring young leaders to develop their skills is critical to their future success. However, there comes a time where it is often better to allow them to experience failure. Sometimes, helping leaders by not helping them is the better alternative. A fine line exists between allowing a leader… Read More »
[March 06, 2015] Ask any college student whether they have ever heard of the Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court and you will likely only get a blank stare. Ignorance of American history is common but the affect of this decision goes far beyond Dred Scott as a slave. On March 06, 1857 the court made… Read More »