[August 8, 2015] Lack of a compelling vision! This blog post is the third in a series that explores U.S. presidential candidates from the perspective of other senior leaders. What it is not, is a rehash of ideas from the media. We know at this point that Jeb Bush’s campaign has not taken off despite being flush with… Read More »
[August 7, 2015] Lack of trustworthiness! This may come as no surprise to those who are following national news. The political “experts” that got Donald Trump’s campaign popularity wrong are getting much of Clinton’s campaign problems correct. The biggest problem for her is not a so much an aversion to the email and Bengazi scandals but a lack… Read More »
[August 6, 2015] Authentic leadership! All the political “experts” have been caught off-guard by what they see as a surprise surge in the popularity of billionaire businessman and Presidential contender Donald Trump. However, senior leaders I talk to were not surprised and, in fact, were predicting early a strong campaign run by Trump. Why then, is the political… Read More »
[August 5, 2015] My maternal grandmother was fond of giving her grandchildren sage advice. One particular time when a group of us cousins were playing with fireworks and had set the grass on fire, she said to us “okay, spit it out, who started this, and whoever did it can expect a butt whoopin’.” She put fear into… Read More »
[August 4, 2015] In early 2007, General David Petraeus took command of the Multi-National Force in Iraq and subsequently introduced a strategy that involved a “surge” of military forces. At the time I was asked to develop a plan to house, feed, and protect all incoming allied military forces through an up-ramped civil engineering effort and then personally… 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 »
[August 2, 2015] How you are remembered once you’re gone from an organization is an uncommon topic in the study of leadership but it should be, I think, one that we review at least occasionally. All leaders leave some form of a legacy; whether it is a good one or not will depend more on how well that… Read More »
[August 1, 2015] The message of optimism and perseverance is what Scotty Smiley shares with us in his personal journey from an explosion in Iraq that blinded him to Ironman competitor. Now a retired U.S. Army veteran, Scotty continues to give back to his country by encouraging us to overcome obstacles through grit and determination. These are just… Read More »
[July 31, 2015] If there is one thing that I’ve learned as a senior leader it’s that the best predictor of success in leaders is how those adults fared as children – did they grow up in a stable family and have the right experiences? Many leaders have begun to emphasize the importance of developing certain characteristics in… Read More »
[July 30, 2015] My grandmother turned 63 years of age when President Johnson signed Medicare into law 50 years ago on this date – July 30, 1965. That was a good thing because she relied on it for her healthcare and that’s probably why she lived to just a month shy of 100 years. Most Americans are familiar… Read More »