[March 24, 2014] Recently on this blog [link here], I wrote about the decline of the news media in America. The example I gave was the Wall Street Journal failing to report the facts on an “above the fold” photograph. Failure to report the most crucial facts is a serious leadership breakdown. It is true that we could… Read More »
[March 23, 2014] Warning to all my readers … there a few articles written about “hybrid” leadership, some of which are recycled ideas and others are poorly constructed concepts. What one will find typically, are leader traits dressed up to look different or something on male-female hybrid attributes. The former concept is no different than what has been written… Read More »
[March 22, 2014] When General Petraeus, as the senior commander in Iraq, introduced his new “Clear, Hold, Build” strategy in late 2006, it was based on several factors; the most important of which was with an analysis and understanding of the history of insurgencies. Not unlike a senior leader needing the relevant experience in order to be most… Read More »
[March 21, 2014] It was interesting to get a short course on horseback packing, their care, and how to engage in a firefight while mounted. The U.S. Marine Corps conducts a hands-on training course at their Mountain Warfare Training Center on the military use of large animals in difficult terrain. Leadership means thinking beyond the obvious solutions and… Read More »
[March 20, 2014] When action is called for, when the company is in a death spiral, when the organization is headed to mission failure; it’s time for the senior leadership to be ruthless and do those things necessary things to save it from destruction. Doing the right things morally, ethically, and legally is of course a must for… Read More »
[March 19, 2014] I’ve written about news media credibility before to explain that there is an unfortunate trend where the media is losing much of their credibility by selective and misleading reporting. I discussed it in the context of bias reporting on the military but it extends far beyond the military. The failure of the news media senior… Read More »
[March 18, 2014] While Americans and the rest of the world are focused on the developments in the Ukraine and the mystery of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, there are important U.S. leadership matters regarding Venezuela that are being overshadowed. Attention to the slow disintegration of the socialist economy and on-going violence, in our own hemisphere, has more key… Read More »
[March 17, 2014] As leaders we need to be aware of the effects of our actions. I remember as a new Infantry Platoon Leader that to increase physical fitness scores, I provided an incentive for Soldiers to run faster than me (I gave them a day off). Yet, many Soldiers actually performed worse on their run times. Five… Read More »
[March 16, 2014] Earlier this week, the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman accused the CIA of “spying” on the committee that she leads. The CIA accused her committee of unauthorized access to CIA computer systems to obtain classified information. At the heart of this unusual situation is the committee’s investigation of CIA interrogation techniques following the 9/11 terrorists attacks. … Read More »
[March 15, 2014] When I was growing up in the Deep South, I was exposed to a variety of community leaders and as successful as each was they displayed many recurring qualities that fascinated me. Years later I realized some of those common traits were key to being a successful leader. After reading the Art of War by… Read More »