[May 29, 2017] Annually, on Memorial Day I give a speech about the meaning of this very special day. This day is special not just for those citizens of the United States but also for those in foreign lands where our military has gone to protect them from evil. Today, my speech is about what Memorial Day is,… Read More »
[May 21, 2017] In 2001 as part of his senior project in High School, my son Sean wrote an essay about Enron; the most innovative company in America. His idea was to show how a well run enterprise can be successful for its investors. Sean graduated in May but in October of that same year, executives at Enron,… Read More »
[May 6, 2017] On the afternoon of my first day in the U.S. Army I was taught to “salute all Officers” as a sign of respect. Earlier in the day, I had been told by one of senior sergeants that if we wanted respect, then we would have to earn it. At the time I didn’t put these… Read More »
[May 2, 2017] Leadership is difficult – senior leadership is very difficult – but our ability to handle those indomitable challenges that comes as a part of leadership is a measure of our strength of character. The University of California at Berkeley is both an organization that today faces great challenges and yet has historically been successful by… Read More »
[April 20, 2017] We’ve all been told that railroads in the United States are a technology of the past and will soon go the way of the dinosaur. The classic steel rail and wooden crossbeam, heavy railroad car, and diesel locomotives are bound for the scrapheap … so they say. They are wrong and that is why the… Read More »
[March 13, 2017] I know that it may seem an unlikely story, but it is true that I actually met a Japanese Kamikaze pilot from World War II. Since their primary task was to attack Allied naval vessels by crashing their planes into ships, meeting one was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. McGuire Air Force Base hosts… Read More »
[March 9, 2017] Years ago while studying for my undergraduate degree at Texas Tech University, I also worked a part-time job that involved training dogs. Several days a week I would walk one of my personal-bodyguard dogs to the local park. Passing a public housing area en route I saw through nearly every open door intravenous drug users… Read More »
[March 5, 2017] There’s a worldwide war on those who manufacture and distribute illicit drugs and that war is mostly hidden from Americans and the most affluent in Western democracies. The war is deadly and how it’s played out is best illustrated in the case of the small country of the Philippines. Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte is the new… Read More »
[March 3, 2017] The use of mankind’s propaganda goes back in time well before written records were kept. Its practical use is undeniable. For those us who study it, we know that the idea of keeping people accurately informed is often blurred with propaganda, depending upon the intent of those wielding power. Architectural propaganda is a variant of… Read More »
[March 1, 2017] Trust and confidence is a fundamental attribute of leadership. It is the ability to build strong trust and confidence in others that makes a leader and furthermore it is a leader’s credibility that is drawn from those who work in similar professions. That brings me to a story from a good friend of mine who… Read More »