Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[August 21, 2018] We all did it as kids. We broke something in our grandparent’s house and lied about it. For most of us, we were caught and punished. Covering up a bad behavior is always based on a lie and for this reason, it is often much worse than the original wrong-doing. “The fact of the Watergate… Read More »
[August 20, 2018] Today, the history channel and many other media outlets will cover what they call the Soviet Union’s intervention in Czechoslovakia; 60 years ago on this date August 20, 1968. For the rest of us, it was not a simple political intervention but a military invasion to crush a fledgling movement that struggled against the constraints… Read More »
[August 18, 2018] Many years ago as a Platoon Leader in the U.S. Army Infantry, I learned a valuable lesson the hard way. My platoon was being evaluated and I’d gone nearly four days without sleep getting everything ready. When the time came for me to lead my unit, I was as utterly useless … not unlike being… Read More »
[August 17, 2018] Not only is the answer, YES it does exist, but we keep getting punished by it every day. There are many anecdotal examples of the Peter Principle in action but I’ll hold off on them today. Let’s just note that organizations are complex and the idea that some leaders are better than others will always… Read More »
[August 16, 2018] Entitlement is the enemy of success. We’ve all witnessed the destruction of motivation, unreasonable demands, and failure in entitled leaders. It amazes me that entitlement in leaders still exists. But the reason it does survive, of course, is that we encourage it. I don’t buy into the idea that young folks today are more likely… Read More »
[August 15, 2018] If you’re a leader, then you are a Mr. Fix It … or Ms Fix It. Leaders are – and always will be – judged based on the outcome of their efforts. Thus, to be successful they must first identify a problem/issue, take ownership, and then act to fix/repair it. “You can make a million… Read More »
[August 14, 2018] Vidkun Quisling sold out his home country of Norway during WWII to the Nazis. His reward came shortly after the war; he was executed for high treason. Such betrayal is not commonplace and that is a good thing. His betrayal has echoed throughout history and his name, quisling, has since come to mean a person… Read More »
[August 12, 2018] More and more, I see that people aren’t looking for an ideology to help them live by, they are looking for ideas. And that is exactly what Dave Rubin is giving us by providing clarity about free speech, politics, the mass media, religion, and political correctness. His popularity is increasing while he does this. “At… Read More »
[August 11, 2018] Dignity is one of those concepts that has been used to mean so many different things that it has nearly lost it effectiveness in transmitting a clear idea about what us humans want most. Similar to a professional boxer who bobs and weaves, the meaning of ‘dignity’ seems to move around a lot.1 What we… Read More »
[August 9, 2018] In 2002 during his State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush claimed that the country of Iran is part of an “axis of evil” because it sponsors terrorism and seeks to obtain and proliferate weapons of mass destruction. Seen as a threat to peace in the world, Iran is a pariah among… Read More »