[February 23, 2021] I’ve seen some dumb decisions in my day that have had dire consequences. One of those was when an inexperienced Army major decided he would lead a convoy through a hostile area. This happened during my first combat tour in Iraq. And, there are more dumb decisions. Disney just slapped a warning on “The Muppet Show,”… Read More »
[February 22, 2021] In his book, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” Marshall Goldsmith outlines practical advice on how to be more successful. Goldsmith is one of the foremost thought leaders on executive coaching; a good place to begin to see how bad habits can hold you back. Today, I’ll focus on just one of Goldsmith’s themes… Read More »
[February 21, 2021] Develop trusted agents to provide feedback. An early leadership lesson I learned was to listen closely to a few select people. Carefully chosen, these folks can provide you with an extraordinary level of information necessary to succeed. I always have people around me that I trust to tell me the brutal truth. Harsh as it may seem,… Read More »
[February 20, 2021] “The quick and the dead” is an archaic yet still popular “rule” to describe the wild old West. Its meaning is exact; either you are fast on the draw, or you are dead (by the other guy with a gun). Likewise, in combat, there are rules. Rule #1 of combat is … don’t bullshit yourself.… Read More »
[February 19, 2021] Fear – absolute fear – is what you want your enemies to experience. Why? Because overwhelming fear will be their downfall. Armies, across time, make every effort to instill fear; it works. Ordinary people give up, competitors surrender without a fight, and enemies retreat from the battlefield. Their message … we’re your worst nightmare. The… Read More »
[February 17, 2021] One of the best things about being a military veteran is having plenty of experience with bureaucracies and the concept of compromise. My favorite subject in Grade School was American history. And, I remember studying how leaders compromise themselves and their principles by kicking the can down the road. I had a great teacher. Decision-making… Read More »
[February 16, 2021] You hear this a lot in the U.S. military. On my first day at boot camp, the Drill Sergeants had us running around the barracks, carrying our footlockers and screaming as loud as possible, “My feelings don’t matter.” They were about to teach us something important and that that sometimes your feelings don’t matter.… Read More »
[February 15, 2021] Success begins with a vision. The very best leaders are those capable of setting a goal, communicating that goal clearly, and acting upon it. Drill Sergeant Bryant from my basic training days used to tell us that you [recruits] can’t hit the target if, at first, you don’t take aim. He was discussing our… Read More »
[February 14, 2021] On this date, February 14 in 270 AD, Valentine, a Catholic Priest, is executed by Roman Emperor Claudius II for marrying young Christian lovers. The people knew Claudius as “Claudius the Cruel.” What can we learn from the events in the life of who we know today as St. Valentine? First, a little context… Read More »
[February 13, 2021] Since the first thinking humans walked this Earth, the eternal question, “Who am I?” has been asked. There is general agreement that it is our character that defines us and thus best answers that question. This fact is why I chose Deeds Not Words as the title of today’s article. Bad things happen, and… Read More »