[August 28, 2018] There’s a recent book published by Random House LLC., called The Gatekeepers (2017) by Chris Whipple. The author focuses on the role of the U.S. White House Chiefs of Staffs’ position and documents how those who have occupied this staff title have exercised great power in deciding the agenda for America. Having been in the… Read More »
[August 27, 2018] If there is one fear a good leader has it’s that deceit must be recognized for what it is and confronted. Unsurprisingly, there are leaders who would use deceit to further their own selfish ends. For example, in 1956 China the travesty of deceit was used in their Hundred Flowers Campaign to root out intellectuals… Read More »
[August 25, 2018] Many years ago I was accused of ‘babysitting’ my troops because my priority as a Flag officer was taking care of soldiers. There is merit to the argument that modern leader trends now emphasize better treatment of employees and staff. But does that mean we are babysitting them? The Commanding General at my Division headquarters… Read More »
[August 22, 2018] Academic studies show that the majority of employees in the American workforce are afraid to speak up because of the fear of retribution. The cause is directly related to poor leadership and this fear is always present. “The forces of retribution are always listening. They never sleep.” – Meg Greenfield, American editorial writer We all… Read More »
[August 21, 2018] We all did it as kids. We broke something in our grandparent’s house and lied about it. For most of us, we were caught and punished. Covering up a bad behavior is always based on a lie and for this reason, it is often much worse than the original wrong-doing. “The fact of the Watergate… Read More »
[August 20, 2018] Today, the history channel and many other media outlets will cover what they call the Soviet Union’s intervention in Czechoslovakia; 60 years ago on this date August 20, 1968. For the rest of us, it was not a simple political intervention but a military invasion to crush a fledgling movement that struggled against the constraints… Read More »
[August 18, 2018] Many years ago as a Platoon Leader in the U.S. Army Infantry, I learned a valuable lesson the hard way. My platoon was being evaluated and I’d gone nearly four days without sleep getting everything ready. When the time came for me to lead my unit, I was as utterly useless … not unlike being… Read More »
[August 17, 2018] Not only is the answer, YES it does exist, but we keep getting punished by it every day. There are many anecdotal examples of the Peter Principle in action but I’ll hold off on them today. Let’s just note that organizations are complex and the idea that some leaders are better than others will always… Read More »
[August 16, 2018] Entitlement is the enemy of success. We’ve all witnessed the destruction of motivation, unreasonable demands, and failure in entitled leaders. It amazes me that entitlement in leaders still exists. But the reason it does survive, of course, is that we encourage it. I don’t buy into the idea that young folks today are more likely… Read More »
[August 15, 2018] If you’re a leader, then you are a Mr. Fix It … or Ms Fix It. Leaders are – and always will be – judged based on the outcome of their efforts. Thus, to be successful they must first identify a problem/issue, take ownership, and then act to fix/repair it. “You can make a million… Read More »