[September 5, 2017] Those familiar with the dictatorship of North Korea and its socialist system know that its leadership can be unpredictable, bellicose, demanding, and as of late has practiced nuclear brinkmanship.1 Since the armistice was signed in 1953, ending three years of bloody warfare, Americans have consistently put off any real solution to the hermit nation. Strategic… Read More »
[August 31, 2017] We don’t hear much about American core values anymore and we certainly don’t see them on television, read about them in the news, or have politicians discuss them. But we do see them in action. The latest are values shown by volunteers who have come out to help those in the state of Texas where… Read More »
[August 18, 2017] It has been more than a year since I added a “characteristic” for senior leaders. How I overlooked this one – an important one at that – is still a mystery. Being consistent as a leader is crucial for a number of reasons that I will address below. In the Deep South back in the… Read More »
[August 10, 2017] Legends are powerful stories about the past that are circulated, traditionally, by word of mouth. Having lived in Brooklyn, New York one legend that always fascinated me was about the Newsies strike of 1899 in which newspaper-hawkers, nearly all young boys, refused to sell newspapers because of a hike in the price they were forced… Read More »
[August 9, 2017] A good friend of mine (I’ll call her Jane) lied about her minor criminal background on her application to be a U.S. Army officer; this happened many decades ago. Jane was commissioned a lieutenant, received a secret clearance, performed well, and years later was considered for the rank of Brigadier General. When leaders lie bad… Read More »
[August 8, 2017] [Update] When people speak their minds and they depart from a prevailing ideology, bad things are likely to happen to them. Earlier today I posted this article under the heading in the form of a question to the leaders at Google; “Do they get it?” … referring to their biases and the effect of those biases.… Read More »
[August 2, 2017] I’ve written before, here in theLeaderMaker.com that the most important leadership characteristic is “caring” about others (see link here). While I believe that is true, there are many who make the argument that the most important leader trait is having a good moral foundation. Without a moral foundation, the argument states, there is no other… Read More »
[July 26, 2017] Many years ago during a combat deployment, a good friend of mine had the duty to tell a General Officer that he would not use the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a construction project because they were too slow, too expensive, and not good enough. The only problem was that U.S. law required their… Read More »
[July 14, 2017] On my way back from visiting my doctor, I was listening to a local FM station personality talking about how we Americans overrate the fear factor in our daily lives. For example he noted that tomorrow’s high temperature is predicted to be in the mid-90s and considered “highly dangerous.” He asked rhetorically whether the citizens… Read More »
[July 10, 2017] If there is one thing being a U.S. military officer taught me, it was that I could do absolutely nothing without the assistance of others. My job – if I was willing to accept it – was to provide a vision and convince others to follow me. That is what leadership is about and it… Read More »