[May 2, 2021]  Wilson Cox, a childhood friend of mine, seemed to eat nothing but Cracker Jack caramel corn.  Those over the age of 40 know what I mean when the “prize” that came in each box was small, cheap, and meant for little kids.  If you’ve run into this Cracker Jack kind of military leadership, you’re not… Read More »

[April 29, 2021]  Progressive Insurance has been entertaining us with its commercials for years, and I want to highlight one of my favorites.  Why?  The commercial has a message hidden within a message; and it’s an important message.  The one I like best is titled ‘Dr. Rick Methods, No Fussin No Cussin No Backtalkin,’ where Dr. Rick (a… Read More »

[April 28, 2021]  I live in the state with the highest COVID infection rates and the nation’s highest death rates, second to none.  New York and Michigan states garner the most media attention for high death rates, but they have a rival in New Jersey Governor Murphy. Yesterday I was sitting in my chiropractor’s office waiting for a… Read More »

[April 28, 2021]  One hundred-one years ago, in April 1910, Theodore Roosevelt spoke about citizenry in a Republic.  His speech in Sorbonne Paris is popularly known as ‘The Man in the Arena.‘ An oft-repeated theme of my leadership blog deals with individual responsibility, and Roosevelt won great acclaim for his emphasis on personal duty and accountability. If anything,… Read More »

[April 27, 2021]  “To the shores of Tripoli …”  I’ve sung the words to the Marines’ Hymn more times than I can remember.  I know much of their history, as I learned their past for the heroic battles fought.  The era of the Barbary Pirates was on my list of readings for a long time because that is… Read More »

[April 26, 2021]  In the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers (2001), Episode 5, Lieutenant Winters gives the task of escorting German prisoners to the rear.1  He tells one of his trigger-happy soldiers, You’ve got on round [of ammo] … I want to make sure all the prisoners make it. There is a lesson in ethics in this scene. … Read More »

[April 25, 2021]  War is a common condition of humans.  In truth, it can be convincingly argued that the history of our human condition is perpetual war.  Peace is an aberration.  I want to address a comment I hear often … “Given that war is so common, is there glory in war?” To begin, I want to be… Read More »

[April 23, 2021]  With recent comments by U.S. President Joe Biden about the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin, undue command influence has made a comeback as a topic of senior leader conversations.  Leaders exert influence; that is what they do.  But when leaders bias an otherwise independent agency or process, things can go bad quickly. Leadership is… Read More »

[April 22, 2021]  Like so many Americans, I learned about the righteousness of the Allied fight against Hitler’s and Mussolini’s fascism and Japan’s imperialism during World War II.  Yet, there was plenty of unfinished business of the war that would plague the world for decades – a new book by Sean McMeekin challenge’s that view. In his book,… Read More »