[November 24, 2015] Being a leader means many things but one thing that is required for those who desire to be successful is to have a good set of social skills. It doesn’t mean that a successful leader is required to have table manners, a pretty smile, or fashionable clothes; although it certainly helps. That is why I… Read More »
[July 29, 2015] A little over 43 years ago there was an break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. President Nixon along with his administration were responsible but attempted to cover-up their involvement in the illegal action. As a result, two years later Nixon resigned from his office as U.S.… Read More »
[June 09, 2014] Effective leadership means the leader should be regularly identifying and eliminating their bad habits; those that affect their leadership. Bad habits make it much more difficult to be successful leaders. Mountains of self-help articles and books are written, seminars given, and academic courses taken on how to eliminate bad habits.1 Leaders, of course, are subject… Read More »
[October 18, 2024] People make assumptions in everything we do, otherwise nothing would get done but here the reference is to the important assumptions. The basic principle of good habits is “never assume anything” of consequence. I originally published this article years ago but resurrected it because of its relevance in today’s presidential race. The terrible performance of… Read More »
[June 14, 2022] Today in America, it’s Flag Day. So, what did I do differently? I made a conscious decision that by getting up early, I could write this article in honor of this special day – and do so without distractions. My wife and dog are still asleep. My neighbors are probably asleep as well. No car… Read More »
[April 30, 2022] Achieve your life’s goals that you voluntarily create by creating a set of smaller sub-tasks to accomplish them. Do so by creating a schedule and routines. A schedule is unbelievably helpful in achieving your life’s goals; those goals you create voluntarily. To reach your goals properly, establish sub-tasks in support of those goals. There could… Read More »
[July 1, 2020] KP duty, cleaning toilets with a toothbrush, and painting rocks were the first jobs I had in the U.S. Army. I didn’t like any of them but especially didn’t like painting rocks because I saw no value in it. It was a mindless waste of time, “busy work.” But I did learn something from the… Read More »
[September 23, 2019] A few weeks ago, on September 3rd, was the sixth anniversary of my leadership website. I bring this to the attention of my devoted readers because the content continues to resonate. Thank you for coming to my site and for making comments. While there is an endless supply of possible topics; have no fear, I… Read More »
[June 8, 2019] There’s an old but common piece of advice for leaders; praise in public, punish in private. For me (I was always a bit slower at picking up good habits) it meant that when we give someone a reward, it should be done where others can see it. But if we want to punish someone for… Read More »
[February 22, 2019] Yesterday, while reading some of the comments in my post about Good Habits, several readers commented on a 2017 book by Admiral William McRaven. They liked it. This past weekend I was winter camping with a Boy Scout Troop, and I was able to apply some of McRaven’s thinking to the activities these boys undertook. … Read More »