[November 26, 2018] With the upcoming holiday season and the time of giving, I thought it appropriate to once again address the topic that real leaders create goodwill. They create it year round. The benefits are well known and it typically takes little effort to make it happen. The benefits for a leader are straightforward. Goodwill encourages loyalty,… Read More »
[November 24, 2018] The idea that leadership is a sacred trust is not new. Because the meaning is so broad, there is a lack of clarity. What does it mean when we say that leadership is a sacred trust? Is this a religious statement? “It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”… Read More »
[November 16, 2018] It has been said that any war that is undertaken by a nation, cannot be won without spies. Spies provide us with an in-depth understanding of the enemy and allow us to ferret out how the enemy attacks us covertly. Today, I’ll highlight a small group of spies that penetrated the interworkings of British intelligence… Read More »
[November 22, 2018] It was once said that the most powerful armies are those that are both patient and daring. Nearly five centuries ago, one of the most audacious battles ever planned and fought occurred in Peru between a tiny Spanish force and an Incan empire. The Battle of Cajamarca occurred on November 16, 1532. Most readers of… Read More »
[November 21, 2018] There are a lot of things leaders do to make themselves approachable.1 They do this for many reasons; all of which have to do with acting as a catalyst to get the mission accomplished and taking care of people. One thing all good leaders do is laugh at other people’s jokes. Of course, this idea… Read More »
[November 20, 2018] I was laughing, the kind of laugh we rarely have, while my good friend Frank was telling me about the people where he worked. You see, Frank is a “character” himself and to hear his stories about acquaintances at work was really entertaining. You see, Frank calls those who he works with, “slackers, cowards, and… Read More »
[November 19, 2018] In large commercial companies today there is a question going around that asks, “What are the basics elements of leadership?” In other words, is there some sort of minimum requirement or core competency for a person to succeed as a leader? In my opinion, yes, there are some core things leaders must be able to… Read More »
[November 18, 2018] There are many photographs from World War II that tell a story if you look at them and understand a little about the war. Below is one of my favorites. It shows British soldier Horace Greasley looking through a barbed-wire defense at Nazi Heinrich Himmler1 (wearing spectacles). Horace Greasley was a Prisoner of War in… Read More »
[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 »