[December 20, 2014] Historically, the most important factor of senior leadership is getting results. This is why, today at least, it is vital to have a senior leader who has a good moral foundation and can thus be trusted to do the right thing. Furthermore, the best senior leaders will never believe the end justifies the means to… Read More »
[December 19, 2014] While it has been a couple of months since my last comment on North Korea, it doesn’t mean I’m short of topics that relate their senior leadership. In fact, we have been informed that Sony Pictures Entertainment pulled the new movie The Interview due to terror threats through the internet, ostensibly by hackers backed by… Read More »
[December 18, 2014] Americans like their leaders and their heroes to be bold, tough, and brave. We all loved John Wayne in those action war movies, especially when he led a desperate group of men to attack the enemy bad guys. My personal favorite is The Green Berets starring John Wayne, David Janssen, and Jim Hutton. But playing… Read More »
[December 17, 2014] Many years ago as a military unit commander, I was involved in a training exercise that went poorly. My company was to participate in an attack on a simulated enemy position. We failed miserably. We failed so badly that the enemy hardly knew we were there. I felt lower than a snake’s belly. When I… Read More »
[December 15, 2014] A major concern in the military and business world is the decline in the professionalism of their leaders. While this depends on how we define the concept of professionalism, there is no doubt that professionalism and leadership are inextricably linked. The concern is so great that many organizations search for professionalism in the most unlikely… Read More »
[December 14, 2014] The world’s greatest senior leaders have one thing in common. Each has been able to rally people to a great cause and lead them to achieve something that no one else was able to do. In one word, these leaders were inspirational. Due to the recognition of the high value of inspirational leadership, it has… Read More »
[December 13, 2014] Senior leaders of the U.S. military are taught that through the study of war, peace is more likely to be maintained. Leading up to World War II in 1937, the Japanese invaded China and at the city of Nanking massacred many thousands. Americans are generally badly informed of this event and fail to grasp the… Read More »
[December 12, 2014] Christopher is a team leader with a well-known oil extraction firm in downtown Houston. But he had a problem retarding his ability to produce high quality designs because his company would not allow him the required computer software – he succeeded anyway. Breaking stupid rules is sometimes necessary to get things done. The firm had… Read More »
[December 11, 2014] As a child I was told that if I believed hard enough, wishing on a falling star would make my wish come true. As mature adults we know that wishing something to be true is not sufficient to make it so. As leaders we must be aware of slipping into that the trap that wishing… Read More »
[December 08, 2014] A few years ago I was with a group of senior officers discussing the challenges of insurgent warfare with U.S. General Stanley McChrystal. We talked about “reverse mentoring.” That’s when our younger soldiers – who were more informed of recent developments – instructed us more senior leaders. This is the reverse of how mentoring is… Read More »