[January 30, 2014 – Thursday] I’m writing this from the Atlanta airport this morning, being delayed along with thousands of others since yesterday. For those who have been out of the last 48-hour news cycle, the city of Atlanta and much of the southeast was in gridlock after two inches of snow and ice hit mid-day Tuesday. Both… Read More »
[August 9, 2021] A year in combat on the battlefield of Iraq, and now my fellow Engineer Soldiers and I were sitting on a U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane readying to fly. It was uncomfortable sitting in the webbed seats, but we were happy to leave the warzone finally. My mind was on the possibility of SAM… Read More »
[March 14, 2021] The story of Cinderella is a well-known folk tale about cruelty and triumph. A young woman, Cinderella, is living in appalling circumstances when suddenly her fortune changes but not without one big problem. Cinderella’s two stepsisters are an obstacle when they try to subvert the prince, looking for the one who fits the glass slipper. … Read More »
[February 8, 2021] My final trip home to New York City after retiring from the U.S. Army took me through the Atlanta Airport; the largest airport in the U.S. Atlanta remains a central air-transport hub and is the site of the biggest USO on the East Coast. As I walked into this USO, it brought back fond memories… Read More »
[December 24, 2019] The day before Christmas 1864, on this date, Union General William T. Sherman presented the city of Savannah, Georgia, to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Sherman captured the city after his famous March to the Sea from Atlanta. Savannah was the last major seaport that remained open to the Confederates.1 Intellectually, General Sherman was not just… Read More »
[July 12, 2018] French statesman and military leader Napoléon Bonaparte once famously wrote, “Give me enough medals and I’ll win you any war.” It’s a line of thought that tells us first about how leadership rests on the principle of knowing how people act emotionally and second, to capitalize on it. On this date, July 12th in 1862,… Read More »
[January 21, 2018] Five years ago, a junior U.S. Senator told a group of senior business and military leaders that the philosophy of American government was; If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It. The leaders in the room at the time, according to one of the more savvy business leaders, were shocked to hear that “Don’t Fix It”… Read More »
[October 1, 2016] My wife and I were watching the most recent U.S. presidential debates the other night and she kept asking, rhetorically, why both candidates were exaggerating the truth. Padded resumes, overstated professional credentials, misrepresentation of their career, etc. are unexpectedly common among people of all walks of life. But … for the senior leader, it’s folly… Read More »
[September 25, 2015] George, a good friend of mine from our past army days, used to tell me often that, “I never drink good coffee because I might like it and then have to pay for it.” You see, in U.S. Army dining facilities and in our offices, coffee is most often found hot and free. Later, after… Read More »
[February 11, 2015] I was on a flight from Atlanta to New York a few weeks ago and met a very nice lady who had just returned from sub-Sahara Africa. Since she was sitting beside me on the plane, I took the chance to ask her opinion about her experience. Her opinion was made with a hand gesture… Read More »