[November 16, 2018] A senior U.S. Navy admiral once told me that he wished for a penny for every time sailors told him that they were ‘just following orders.’ Usually, it was after some major blunder where things had gone terribly wrong and they were trying to make-up an excuse for their failure. I was just following orders… Read More »
[November 15, 2018] Much is to be learned from war whether we want to admit it or not. Now that we are at the 100th anniversary of the end of the “Great War,” most citizens remain reluctant to revisit the horror so that we may learn valuable lessons. One lesson is that great leaders do not lead from… Read More »
[November 10, 2018] Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Today that war continues to provide valuable lessons for those who believe leadership can make a difference. Lions led by donkeys is a popular phrase used to describe the British Infantry during the war. It is said that valiant British troops (the “lions”)… Read More »
[November 9, 2018] The only limit to your impact on any undertaking is your commitment to the dream. Success in life runs along a meandering, twisted path that eludes most people. Only those who have commitment to walking on that path are those who will achieve want they dream. “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and… Read More »
[November 8, 2018] If you are one of the doubting-ninnies that thought the terror group ISIS was just another religious movement meant to bring a different brand of Islam to the Middle East, you were wrong. Now that ISIS has been pushed back and large swaths of Iraq territory retaken, the evil of their ideology is finally being… Read More »
[November 6, 2018] As incoming Freshman in college, everyone was required to take a contemporary English class. One of the required books in the class was by Thomas A. Harris, MD, I’m Okay You’re Okay.1 It focused on the transactions among people. Ultimately it was about accepting who we are. Yet the idea that leaders should accept themselves… Read More »
[November 5, 2018] From time immemorial, battles have been won or lost because of the ordinary foot soldier. This foot soldier deserves to be called honorable because it is he who carries the nation’s colors, bears the burden of fighting and dying, and is the one also quickly forgotten. The concept of foot soldier does not just apply… Read More »
[November 1, 2018] After eight years of a bitter struggle, the U.S. Revolutionary War was coming to a close. By 1782, General George Washington had run a ragtag army and, with the help of the French, had beaten the British. The war’s end seemed in sight but there were problems within the officer ranks of the Americans.1 On… Read More »
[October 31, 2018] Occasionally we are the lucky ones who have someone in our family that keeps us on the straight path to being a good person and who does so by dispensing practical guidance. My maternal grandmother, we called her bigmama, was a no-nonsense lady with the utmost integrity, moral strength, and compassion. “Don’t allow your fears… Read More »
[October 30, 2018] Divide and conquer is an old piece of military advice. If you want to win at war, be prepared to divide your enemy and attack them piecemeal in battle. That, however, does not work when leaders are divisive; which is what the tactic of divide and conquer is about. By being divisive, there may be… Read More »