[September 3, 2025] Today marks the 12th anniversary of the start of my leadership blog. It’s certainly been a journey and one that I’m satisfied sufficiently to say it was worth the effort. My writing is better, more concise, and direct. And, I learned a heck of a lot. Those are good and a worthy goals.
For today, I’m reprinting my most popular article based on the number of “views.” This is not the article with the most comments but simply on the analytical feed from my website. I found it a bit of a surprise, of course, and older articles are likely to have a greater number of views simply because they’ve been out there for a longer time. Here is the top ten list:
The most viewed are:
- Hitler’s Vision for the Future of the World
- The Face of Ultimate Betrayal
- Core Values: Starbucks
- 12 Questions for Senior Leaders
- Salute the Rank, Not the Man
- ‘You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!’
- Pashtunwali: A Strong Code of Ethics
- Are Camels on the Horizon?
- World War One: Plan XVII
- Core Values: Amazon.com
And here is a reprint of my most popular article. I leave it up to readers to say why they think it is most popular.
Hitler’s Vision for the Future of the World
[February 17, 2014] Senior leadership is about providing a clear and compelling vision for the future, as well as how and with what to accomplish it. Adolf Hitler had a vision of the future and while it was clear and compelling for many German citizens, it was far from acceptable to the rest of the world.
Hitler’s plan for Germany post-war was wide in scope and involved a serious reordering of not only the “Fatherland” but its conquered countries in particular. This would begin with the current war and after it was won, further measures would be instituted. For example, his expansion of strict gun control so that citizens who fought back would not be a major threat.
Some of his vision revolved around expansion of the “Arian race” but it also included the elimination of “useless eaters” and religion, the building of vast cities, changing the educational system, and converting the economy into a socialist state-controlled entity.
We all know about Hitler’s hatred for the Jews; those he blamed directly for Germany’s loss of World War I. His plan was for their total extinction. Much less known, was that he also said that socialism and Christianity could not coexist. The “state” was to replace all religion. Religious leaders would be killed outright.
Also, we know about Hitler’s dislike for Gypsies; they were to be executed when found. Others were also on his list for execution or starvation. These were the Slavs explicitly and most non-Germanic peoples who would mostly perish through starvation and slave labor.
Hitler planned for and was actively killing the handicapped, old people, those in mental institutions, and Germany’s own seriously wounded military veterans. Tens of thousands of these were murdered under Hitler’s orders until their surrender in 1945.
Those German males who survived the war would be encouraged to marry a woman, live on a farm (lands east of Germany and stolen from others, recently depopulated), and obligated to have many children. Multiple wives would be encouraged and having children by other women would be acceptable.
Liberal Arts education as we know it would be eliminated and replaced by less intellectual pursuits and substituted more with physical-fitness training for future soldiers. Future cities would have grand architecture and massive structures made of stone to emphasize the importance of the state and diminished stature of the person.
The economy would be driven by the socialist state with government ownership. All capitalistic enterprises would be removed or fall under the direction of a centralized socialist economic plan. Politics dominated economics, not the other way around.
Hitler also studied the reordering of the world after the war with the Japanese Empire controlling much of east Asia and central and South American with Germany having absolute power over all of Europe, the north half of Africa, the Middle East, and the eastern United States.
For those who are still attracted today to Hitler’s and other socialist schemes, this should be a wake-up call. As a leader, his vision was clear and compelling. It is fortunate that it was so clear, that other leaders finally recognized the danger of it and decided to do something to stop it.
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A good book on the subject is by Gerhard L. Weinberg in Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY. 2005.
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Please read my books:
I’ll add to the discussion and also congratulate Gen. Satterfield on is leadership blog for making it to 12 years. A dozen years is nothing to sneeze at and should be celebrated for the tenacity to keep it going, or the skills gained by writng or editing one article per day for more than a decade. I do think Gen. Satterfield missed three or four days when he was in the hospital, okay, that works. Sir, well done! Continue to expand your topics and keep us interested in new content that says how to make our selves better as a person and as a leader.
I would never have guessed this article on Hitler would be the most read. There isn’t even a comment, so go there and find my comment.
Gen. Satterfield, thanks for twelve years of great articles.
Albert, as you recall, you and me were some of the original fans who wrote in, once we discovered this great leadership website. 👍
Sir, a great list of articles that I want to read again after my morning coffee. with my dog at my feet, my easy chair leaned back, and after a brisk walk in the cool morning hours, I’m ready to do some serious reading. Thanks again, like others have noted, for your 12 years of articles that cover all aspects of leadership, and showing us what real leaddership looks like, and most importantly, what leadership does NOT look like. We have seen ourselves how not to be a leader and while that is crucial, we must also see what real leadership does to make us all better people. And, yes, I do have a copy of your book (a chapter on yesterdays’ article) and loved it. I read it at least 3 times and each time I got something else from it. Keep up the great works you are doing. We’re all behind you.
I’m with you on this Valkerie and thanks to Albert too for being a long-standing reader of Gen. S’s blog.
“Politics dominated economics, not the other way around.” I wonder where I’ve heard that before?
Thanks, Sally and welcome aboard.
CONGRATULATIONS
And this is why I keep coming back to Gen. Satterfield’s leadership blog and hoping for a new book soon.
The best book out there for self-help is “55 Rules for a Good Life.”
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
Well done , Gen. Satterfield. Please continue for another 12 years. I found your comment on the historical record of how Hitler wanted to control his New World under the auspices of his authority and to remove some of the basic rights we have, like in America. Gun control is one example and so do a certain brand of political leaders in America. We just call them Democrats. Congrats.
Excellent point. This is rather common in all dictators. They want control because their citizens eventually figure out how they’re getting screwed and rebel. If there are guns readily available, then the dictator’s life is at risk.
THumbs up!
Congratulations, sir!!!!!!!!!!
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