[February 13, 2017] Whenever I think about the foremost problems we recently faced in combat, I’m reminded of a sign I saw somewhere in Baghdad. It read, “Complacency kills.” I was told my first day on the job to “stay focused and keep an eye out for anything that could be a threat.” The biggest threat to success… Read More »
[February 12, 2017] As an Army ROTC cadet, I once attended a special exercise that involved team building. One of the Leadership Development Exercise events involved cadet teams, four to each, working to cross a concrete gap with planks of wood. They key to completing the task was that everyone had to work together. My team had a… Read More »
[February 11, 2017] It has often been said– and I want to reinforce it here – that successful leadership means possessing a strong ability to bring people together to achieve a common goal. Implied here is that the leader helps shape consensus in others. We see leaders do this through their good words and deeds. “A genuine leader… Read More »
[February 10, 2017] There’s an old saying that a bad attitude is like a flat tire, you’ll never go anywhere without changing it. In my experience, that’s very true. We’ve all had both good and bad days in our personal lives and our attitudes have reflected it. But it is the bad attitude of a leader that makes… Read More »
[February 9, 2017] Leadership means many things to many different people. But one thing we do know for sure is that leadership is getting people to do what they would not normally do in order to achieve what they want (or not want) to achieve. Persuasion, then, is a must-have skill for anyone who desires to be successful… Read More »
[February 8, 2017] This past Sunday, prior to watching the Super Bowl, my wife recommended a movie starring Anthony Hopkins (as an English butler) that I’d neither seen or heard of. The movie we saw is called The Remains of the Day (1993). It remained me of David Halberstam’s theme in his 1972 book, The Best and The… Read More »
[February 7, 2017] As a family in my early teenage years during the 1960s, we watched with rapped attention the television series Batman (starring Adam West). Batman and his associate Robin regularly brought the bad guys to justice through a variety of kicks and punches. Yet it was Batman who put it into perspective for me because he… Read More »
[February 6, 2017] … to be a great leader. One of the ways many leaders excel in their profession is by simply outworking others. Longer days, more intense effort, and generally more time and dedication to their line of work are how they got ahead of their competition. But it takes more than hard work for a person… Read More »
[February 5, 2017] Today is the most important day of the year for American football fans. Super Bowl LI will be a contest between the Patriots and the Falcons. Preparations have been completed … plans made, strategies established, and everything readied. All that remains is execution. That is why we say that every team member must have focus… Read More »
[February 4, 2017] During my time in the U.S. Army and since retirement, I’ve had the pleasure to talk with hundreds of students at universities across the United States; those who want to become members of the military. While they are some of the “best of the best,” there is always a piece of advice I give them;… Read More »