The People They Surround Themselves With

By | February 24, 2016

[February 24, 2016]  You can tell a lot about a leader by the people they surround themselves with.  The best leaders I’ve ever had the honor to know always had great people working for them.  People around a leader tell us a lot about that leader’s priorities, leader traits, attitude, and chances if achieving success. “Surround yourself only… Read More »

U.S. Flag Raised at Iwo Jima

By | February 23, 2016

[February 23, 2016]  Not long ago as children we once listened to the stories of World War II veterans.  We “played army” with our friends and spent time daydreaming about how we would help America win its battles.  No longer do we talk with WWII veterans as nearly all have passed away.   As a child I was lucky to… Read More »

Non-Negotiable Traits in a Leader

By | February 22, 2016

[February 22, 2016]  As I watch and listen to U.S. political candidates’ speeches and their debates, I began to wonder what are the non-negotiable traits in a leader.  What do people think about when they go to vote?  What makes them reject one candidate over another, reject one leader over another leader?  This week during my travels across… Read More »

Venezuela, Leadership, and Socialism

By | February 21, 2016

[February 21, 2016]  The country of Venezuela continues its economic and social slide downward into the abyss of socialism.  There was hope with the election of new members to  its parliament but their weak efforts have not stemmed the country’s violence, crippling shortages of goods, or loss of jobs.  Venezuela’s President Maduro continues to blame the country’s woes on… Read More »

Too Many Bosses

By | February 20, 2016

[February 20, 2016]  We’ve all seen it happen; you have more than one boss … one who gives you an order and it’s contradicted by someone else in your organization.  Like a child with two parents and grandparents living at home, everyone is telling you what to do.  Having too many bosses and how to handle it is… Read More »

Political Leadership: Thomas Sowell

By | February 18, 2016

[February 18, 2016]  To continue my series on thinkers of refreshing ideas, I’m introducing to my readers Thomas Sowell, economist, conservative commentator, Korean War veteran, and academic.  As readers of theLeaderMaker.com know, I’m interested in new and innovative ideas; sometimes emotional but always controversial because they are new.  Sowell meets that standard. I’m most interested in ideas that… Read More »

Opinion: When Firefighters are Heroes

By | February 17, 2016

[February 17, 2016]  After 9/11 when terrorists struck the United States homeland, there were many people who emerged as heroes.  Among them were firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers, and yes even ordinary people who were all involved to save people and engaged in the dangerous cleanup effort in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania.1 In… Read More »

Characteristic#100: Physical and Emotional Stamina

By | February 16, 2016

[February 16, 2016] I was breaking in a replacement Flag officer at the end of my tour in South Korea and the job required me to work closely with and live alongside my Korean counterparts. My replacement however had difficulty adapting to the new assignment and eventually was sent home early. What did he lack? Physical and emotional… Read More »