[February 15, 2016] My commander during my first combat deployment was a passionate man, dedicated, and an experienced soldier. He was everything I could want in a boss and everyone was loyal to him and loved him. When things got bad he was like a rock in a stream; steady and inspiring. Things can turn out good when… Read More »
[December 29, 2015] From Mahatma Gandhi to Winston Churchill to Theodore Roosevelt, all had something in common with the great leaders across history. Each had extreme self-discipline in their lives. Self-discipline helps people connect today’s behavior with tomorrow’s results; allowing a leader to know which is the right thing to do. Good leaders live by their ability to… Read More »
[September 14, 2015] When Abraham Lincoln reached the elected office of the President of the United States in 1861, he had not arrived at that point because of the formal training he had received but due to a life of unique experiences that educated him in the principles of leadership. Today, despite the fact that we recognize the… Read More »
[August 3, 2015] One of my more interesting experiences on college campuses today is presenting motivational talks to students … a few professors and staff members also attend and are welcome. Each time I do one of these I speak informally with as many people as I can in before and after my presentation. From these conversations I… Read More »
[July 13, 2015] In 1985 a good friend of mine, a mechanized Infantry Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was “relieved” of his duties as a Platoon Leader – fired in civilian speak – because he failed to refuel his armored personnel carrier (APC) vehicles. Each platoon had 10 APC vehicles and our standard procedure to was refuel daily,… Read More »
[June 26, 2015] In 1978 I saw the comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House starring John Belushi who, with his friends, joins the worst fraternity on their college campus. I’m reminded of the movie’s college dean who is an insulated leader and not very ineffective when it came to dealing with the antics of John Belushi and problems with… Read More »
[May 18, 2015] Leaders have to deal with a host of problems that are destructive. Lately, something we’ve seen developing is the troubling aspect that many people now believe they are privileged. Thus, possessing the power of privilege they are special and are somehow justified to be both exempt from rules of behavior and deserving of unearned benefits.… Read More »
[February 07, 2015] A good friend of mine and I were new Lieutenants together in our first unit. We’d been trained at the world-renowned U.S. Army Infantry School and had learned about leadership but, of course, had little practical experience. Our first unit assignment was to be a hard lesson on leader credibility and how leaders can easily… Read More »
[October 08, 2014] Reading books that make me think – really think – is truly the epitome of quality reading. Marshall Goldsmith writes that traits that made you successful won’t necessarily keep you there or advance you further. I enjoy this type of reasoning and it allows me to keep that reminder of potential failure in the back… Read More »
[February 20, 2014] Rituals are a special part of daily life … a pattern of habits that allows us predictability. Rituals can be defined as a stereotyped sequence of activities that are designed to achieve a desired (and predictable) goal. Leaders need to be aware of them and encourage the good rituals. Rituals can be simple things like… Read More »