[March 12, 2015] Yes, leaders do encourage bad attitudes in people and it’s a sad commentary that senior leaders are particularly guilty of doing so. The encouragement is not about people with strong personalities but about the fact that a bad attitude will get rewarded. How can it be that those with bad attitudes are rewarded when it’s… Read More »
[March 11, 2015] Whenever I think of volatility I’m drawn to one of the greatest battles during World War II. In late 1944 the German military broke through a weak Allied defensive area in an attempt to force them to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Power’s favor. Great leaders on the Allied side were responsible for… Read More »
[March 10, 2016] We all know that not everybody is ready to be a leader but a corollary theory holds that you don’t suddenly become a good leader just because you’re given the job. A linebacker in the National Football League, for example, does not become a good player after a few plays in that position. Likewise, a… Read More »
[March 9, 2016] One of the concerns about being a military engineer is that we can be intellectually trapped by our education and experiences. Yet, there are great engineers who’ve escaped and produced amazing works. They did this by developing a daily habit of being open to new ideas. We all have marveled at those who designed and… Read More »
[March 8, 2016] Long ago at Boot Camp, after I joined the U.S. Army as a Private, my fellow recruits and I (we weren’t soldiers yet) ran around our barracks to the cadence of several grizzled Drill Sergeants. There was a lesson somewhere but at the time I was focused on the moment and didn’t get it. The… Read More »
[March 7, 2016] One of the many things leaders must do is to stay up-to-date. So too must senior leaders who expect to succeed at their mission. The U.S. and the world for the past 60 years has relied on “strategic patience” to deal with the unpredictability of North Korea. There is evidence however that this grand strategy… Read More »
[March 6, 2016] It’s hard for me to pass up such a great parody in this season of political seriousness. Take a break, sit back, and watch this short YouTube video by Naomi Brockwell. I never heard of her but she has a keen eye for humor. Best line? “In Soviet Russia, bread so good people line up… Read More »
[March 6, 2016] In an earlier post I laid out 10 things to know before joining the Army (see link here). While the post is slanted toward the U.S. Army, it applies with some modification to all military services across most nations. Today, the list involves things that senior and retired officers told me that they wished they’d… Read More »
[March 5, 2016] The thing my friends and I feared more than anything else while growing up, except our parents disapproval, was that we might get an ole fashioned ass wuppin’. We feared it not because someone might physically beat us so thoroughly that we couldn’t walk but because it meant we were caught doing something so stupid… Read More »
[March 4, 2016] Most folks I talk to never heard this phrase but it fits so well with what I’ve experienced with various leaders today. When we say leaders are just feeding the dog, in the military we mean that a leader is only taking care of business. It also means that a leader misses opportunities when their… Read More »