[March 9, 2020] Lessons from the past are frequently overlooked or consciously discarded for a variety of valid-sounding reasons. The Spanish Flu of 1918, however, can give us some clues on how to survive the Coronavirus (COVID-19). While I am about to layout those very lessons, one of them stands out above all the others. The first lesson… Read More »
[March 8, 2020] The Company Commander at my first unit in the U.S. Army was a jerk. The story is common; the world revolved around him, he was smarter, more reliable, better looking than the rest of us (at least he thought so), and he was “going places” in the Army. When the boss is a jerk, our… Read More »
[March 6, 2020] With the U.S. Presidential election scheduled for later this year, many of our politicians are doing their best to prepare themselves to get votes. Everything tends be politicized, and so the spread of the Coronavirus has become a topic of volatile political partisanship. World leaders have jumped into the political fray faster than a one-legged… Read More »
[March 5, 2020] Much has been written about the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and elsewhere in the world. Coming on the heels of a concerted effort throughout the world to expand the reach of Communist ideology, some may have thought this fall not possible. Cuba is one country that adopted it when Fidel Castro took… Read More »
[March 4, 2020] To the surprise of my close friends, the current literature on psychological traits, and these traits’ relationship to leaders, the effect of agreeableness is somewhat of a mixed bag. They were hoping for some positive correlation, especially since I believe that a kind, respectful, an empathetic leader can be very successful. I knew better. A… Read More »
[February 29, 2020] If there is one thing in life that is certain it’s that you don’t get something you don’t aim for. A few, less skilled leaders will not specific their goals because it is “too hard” or unpleasant. The reason for having clear goals, however, is to have standards that specify what it is failure and… Read More »
[February 28, 2020] There is an old U.S. Army Engineer motto Essayons, a French word that means “Let us try.” It refers back centuries into the haze of French and English history, meaning that when things get tough, send in the Engineers. Another, more modern military one-liner meaning roughly the same thing is – put me in the… Read More »
[February 27, 2020] My family was glued to the television as we watched the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeat the Soviet Union team in the semifinals at the 1980 Winter Games. My brother and I were cheering for “our” hockey team. We didn’t know anything about ice hockey (being from the Deep South) but that didn’t matter. We… Read More »
[February 26, 2020] My maternal grandmother, Bigmama, used to shake her finger at my cousins and me and say, “get your act straight.” I’m sure many of us have had similar experiences with grandparents and had that wagging finger pointed our way just after we did something wrong. She was saying that that to be someone good in… Read More »
[February 25, 2020] I’m reminded of a Reebok tennis shoe commercial from a few years ago. Back in early 2015, Reebok introduced a new campaign to compete with Nike and other large brands. Their “be more human” message is referring to Reebok’s attempt to urge consumers to live up to their full potential. I like what their message… Read More »