[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 »
[March 3, 2020] We all know that for good leadership to work well, we need to speak and write clearly. Like my grandmother, bigmama, that means sometimes being blunt. Today, I’m doing introducing the psychological big five personality traits 1,2 because I will use those more here at www.theleadermaker.com. Over the next few weeks, I plan to draw… Read More »
[March 2, 2020] H. Jackson Brown, Jr. is an American author of several inspirational books. I’m a fan of his and often quote him because he makes plain sense. One of my favorite quotes is the one below. Brown has often written about the idea of success and easy it can be to achieve if we were only… Read More »
[March 1, 2020] Like all little boys, I was fascinated by a military last stand. The tales told to me by WWII, and Korean War soldiers were a part of my growing up, and they help instill in me a sense of duty, honor, and courage. Today, I will highlight one of the most vivid last stands in… 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 »
[February 24, 2020] The concept of insurance and the idea to spread risk is one of the most innovative, valuable thinking that has ever helped humans. It’s also an old idea. To see how we can do an even better job, today we look at the top insurance companies in the United States. By doing this, we can… Read More »