[June 16, 2017] Good leadership means letting people make mistakes and not holding it against them. My commander once allowed me to lead a convoy of 13 armored vehicles about 50 miles over rough wilderness terrain without a physical reconnaissance of the route. Predictably, I got lost. Good leadership also means seeing things for yourself. One of several… Read More »
By guest blogger Alice Clarke [See Biography] [June 15, 2017] Colin Powell once said, there are no secrets to success. It results from preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. People may learn lessons in two ways; one by own experience and the other by observation. How often can you fail if you already knew the dangers? If… Read More »
[June 14, 2017] There’s an old saying that goes like this; “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”1 Rational thinking would tell us that this is true and given a brutish and harsh human history, learning from it would seem to be simple commonsense. Today is Flag Day in the United States and… Read More »
[June 13, 2017] Learn the rules and play them better than anyone else; this is the embodiment of intelligent, powerful leadership. As children we learn quickly that it is best to play by the rules. Being accused of cheating or unfair play is a stinging rebuke for those who fail to do so. It comes as no surprise… Read More »
[June 12, 2017] One of the most important traits of any leader is their ability to set the example for how others should act and what to believe in. People look to leaders for inspiration and as a model for the right kind of behavior. Setting the example has always been the hallmark of leadership traits since the… Read More »
[June 11, 2017] Most people have a pretty good idea what leadership is about; they know it when they see it and know when it is missing or misused. Political leadership, despite what we’ve seen in the news, is not that different than leadership in any other institution. Some experts tell us that political leadership – as distinct… Read More »
[June 10, 2017] An older gentleman I met earlier this year asked me to look at a book of his dated 1944-1946. Upon opening it I was expecting to see journal entries about the war and occupation of Europe; those things that those men wrote who survived the crucible of combat, its exhilaration and its horror. What I… Read More »
[June 9, 2017] My grandmother was fond of telling me to “try new things;” otherwise I “would live to regret my life.” She was right and had put her mind onto something few think about and that is concerning risks as essential for those who successfully lead ourselves to do good things. One powerful trait appears in all… Read More »
[June 8, 2017] United Kingdom Imams have refused to perform funeral rites for the three Muslims who perpetrated the London terror attacks this past weekend. For those unfamiliar with the Islamic faith, this refusal is unprecedented. Furthermore, a number of Imams have publically called for other religious leaders to join them. “If you choose the path of terror,… Read More »
[June 6, 2017] When Lieutenant Shawn McFarland began his career as a young officer at Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was a mess; often failed to complete his assignments and tasks given him by his commanding officer. His commander once wrote in an annual evaluation that McFarland was untrustworthy and unrealizable. Like McFarland there are a small number in… Read More »