[September 16, 2016] It was ten years ago, almost to the day, that was one of the most difficult days I had during combat in Iraq but was also the day of a memorial service for a National Guard Engineer soldier from Iowa killed in action. We held no funeral there; all were in the U.S. hometown of… Read More »
[September 15, 2016] … or both! Cleaning up my attic of old cassette tapes made me pause as the memories of the 1980s came roaring back. For those who remember, the same can be said for that era’s television commercials from Crazy Eddie; “His prices are insa-a-a-a-ane!” Flashback … for a classic example of one of his ads,… Read More »
[September 14, 2016] My graduating class of the U.S. Infantry School in 1983 produced an exceptional group of officers. When 9/11 occurred nearly all of us were colonels and had considerable command experience; fully ready for whatever the national called upon us to do. But the one thing that our schooling failed to prepare us for was the… Read More »
By guest blogger Kate Simpson [See Biography] [September 13, 2016] A lot of focus has been put on productivity, no matter which industry you belong to. This is due to the fact that the world is not just pacing fast, it’s doing business at lightning speed, which requires you to develop organizational strategies superior to others. As a… Read More »
[September 12, 2016] As part of our physical fitness training in the Army, my fellow soldiers and I regularly negotiated the standard obstacle course. Its purpose was to challenge us to find ways to successfully navigate through the many barriers (and have a little fun that I never seemed to have). Yet, leaders face many other types of… Read More »
[September 11, 2016] At dawn 15 years ago I was part of an Air Assault training mission at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. When my military unit boarded the Black Hawk helicopters we were a nation a peace; when we completed our training event mid-morning, we were at war. The day after the 9/11 attack, I thought to myself how… Read More »
[September 10, 2016] Tomorrow is the 15th anniversary of the attacks against United States’ civilians by Islamic terrorists. Within recent memory, this event cements into our minds that no one is indispensable. Yet many leaders think that they personally are essential and as such explains, in part, why those leaders hide themselves away in their offices. “The cemeteries… Read More »
[September 9, 2016] The wearing of stylish clothes or handsome looks doesn’t make a person a leader or someone to be respected. Today, many of our senior leaders look and act like anything but what they are supposed to be. A leader will lack credibility unless that leader can live the part of a real leader. Only by… Read More »
[September 8, 2016] Everyone will tell you that loyalty is one of the most visible and noteworthy of all traits; found not just in humans but also in animals. What makes it so important is that loyalty is necessary for the survival of the species; without it, no individual could depend on others. Despite much talk about bottom-to-top… Read More »
[September 7, 2016] Strategy is the purview of senior leaders. They have the training, relevant experience, and authority to establish ends, ways, and means to accomplish the organization’s strategy. Yet, when senior leaders make tactical decisions, things can go unexpectedly wrong. During the Vietnam War, to use just one example, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and members of his… Read More »