[July 18, 2016] Know your enemy; know how he thinks, how he feels, and what his future plans are. That’s always been a key philosophy throughout my military career and the reason I bought a copy of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and began reading the English translation. I never finished the book because I couldn’t tolerate its… Read More »
[July 17, 2016] On occasion we hear of stories about people of strong character. For those who study leadership it is valuable to understand what makes up those people in, what I call, “character.” It’s always worthwhile to do so, so that we may learn the refinements of those traits that are important in the development of good… Read More »
[July 10, 2016] Like today, the early 1920s in the United States were a time when social patterns were in a state of flux and debates over values were at the forefront of politics. Who would dominate the future of American; the traditionalists or modernists? The showdown came at a courtroom when a jury would decide the fate… Read More »
[July 7, 2016] I know that it’s been too long since my last book review back in May. Not that I’m failing to read but that finding just the right book is important for me to recommend. I believe that I found it in Lynne Olson’s book on America’s debates over entering World War II. Enjoy! Those Angry… Read More »
[June 8, 2016] Legends about the Trojan War and the victory of the Greek Sparta armies over the Trojans were part of my upbringing and such tales fascinated me my whole life. As vividly written in the Latin poem Aeneid of Virgil and by historian Homer in the Iliad, the Trojan Horse was center stage of subterfuge that… Read More »
[June 06, 2015] During one of my combat tours, my senior headquarters gave our troops the souvenir opportunity to have a U.S. flag flown over the Saddam’s main palace in Baghdad. We had to buy the flag and turn it in with a written request that included name and date to be on a certificate. My good friend… Read More »
[May 26, 2016] I’ve burnt many bridges in my time as an army engineer; blown them up, disassembled them, and crushed them with heavy equipment. But that’s not my topic today. Leadership means, among other things, to possess the capacity to work with people of all types. To balance mission and people is difficult and yet that is… Read More »
[May 11, 2016] The other day I was perusing the Internet looking at the popularity of various ideas. My interest was how the subject of leadership compared with other concepts such as gaming, music, food, and sports. Leadership was hardly a blip on the radar (depending on how it’s measured), while music and television were consistently at the… Read More »
[May 9, 2016] One of the greatest risks a leader can make is to over promise what they can do. Everyone has seen it time and again and everyone will experience overpromising leaders throughout their lifetimes. And, as expected, leaders are drawn to people who desire something better. The end result is, at best, disappointment or, at worse,… Read More »
[May 8, 2016] Ideas! Where we get them, how they develop, who argues for what, and how well ideas are argued have always been at the core of the understanding of any society. No contemporary writer has been more significant and coherent than Charles Krauthammer; political commentator, syndicated columnist, former psychiatrist, confined to a wheelchair, and even loves… Read More »