[February 26, 2015] As I was driving today in New York City listening to the car radio, I heard a joke about Radio Shack’s bankruptcy. It went this way, “I hate hearing about Radio Shack’s woes … where else can I get a radio-controlled toy car and new flip phone?” There are many who predicted their downfall, including myself, and the reasons… Read More »
[February 25, 2015] It was recently revealed that the U.S. Veterans Administration Secretary made false claims about his military service – specifically that he was a member of the elite U.S. Special Forces (SF). A graduate of West Point Military Academy, Secretary Robert McDonald was never in the SF. All leaders should take a lesson from this event. Brought to… Read More »
[February 24, 2015] The answer to the question is “no” … we don’t treat people fairly … we have never treated everyone fairly … and never will because of many reasons. One reason is a lack of fairness is based in law. For example, we know that at many Ivy League universities that Asian-Americans are widely and openly… Read More »
[February 23, 2015] Joey Logano #22 just won the NASCAR race at the Daytona 500 in Florida while driving for the Penske Racing team in a Ford. The Daytona 500 is known as the Great American Race. Interestingly, NASCAR fans have been called the most loyal among all sports and there is an estimated 75 million fans –… Read More »
[February 21, 2015] Advice my dad always gave me as a little league baseball player at bat was to keep your eye on the ball. He said if I wanted to hit a homerun, I had to watch the ball from the pitcher’s release until my bat connects with it. To be a leader means also keeping your… Read More »
[February 19, 2015] The economic embargo on Cuba by the United States is the longest economic embargo of modern times. Yet throughout its existence, the embargo has been at the center of an emotional controversy and on-going debates. Whether the embargo has been effective is questionable and may begin to ease as the U.S. President removes some limitations.… Read More »
[February 18, 2015] In Parts 1 and 2 it was noted that none of the current strategies for defeating ISIS are likely to succeed. Today, specifics of grand strategy to defeat ISIS will be discussed. While any strategy must include a coalition of countries willing to take on the challenge, the focus of today’s blog will be on… Read More »
[February 17, 2015] Previously it was put forward that none of the popularly discussed strategies for defeating ISIS were sufficiently comprehensive – that the U.S. government had a poorly articulated “strategic patience” strategy, and that both are likely to fail. Today, a final four key items are presented that will make for a stronger grand strategy1 to defeat… Read More »
[February 16, 2015] There have been a number of recent proposals for a strategy to “degrade and defeat” the terrorist group ISIS and, as well, considerable criticism of the U.S. lack of any clear strategy or leadership. While this generates valuable discussion, most of these lack a comprehensive (or grand) strategy for doing so … perhaps purposefully. “Victorious… Read More »
[February 15, 2015] If you get more than two or three military general/flag officers in a room and they have a little time to chat with junior leaders, one of the topics they will nearly always talk about is those things leaders should never do. I’ve been there and as a colonel I listened closely to those things… Read More »