Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[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 5, 2017] Timely and accurate decisions are the linchpin to any good organization. But making decisions, especially hard decisions, is not always easy or popular; moral courage is required. A general officer and mentor of mine once said that senior leaders often have to choose between two terrible alternatives; it comes with the territory of a leader. … Read More »
[May 3, 2017] Trick question! In this leadership blog post today I will answer this trick question and point out what the biggest impediment to leadership improvement is today. A goal we desire is to improve leadership at all levels of maturity. So, when is it best to start leadership training? Often we think of leadership training in… 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 30, 2017] Winston Churchill once said that “the price of greatness is responsibility.” Of course it is. Not only do great leaders accept responsibility, they actively seek it out and are nourished by the challenges that a position of accountability and dependability brings. Leadership also means possessing the skills to fix specific responsibilities on others. Note that… Read More »
[April 29, 2017] In 1935, American R.K.O. movie actress Ginger Rogers agreed to help raise awareness for the crimson flower known as the poppy. Then as now, the red poppy was symbolic of the sacrifices of those who died in World War I. The Veterans of Foreign Wars discovered that when they pay attention to such things of… Read More »
[April 28, 2017] How do you measure a successful strategy? That is one of the major issues over changing United States’ policies toward North Korea. Over the past several weeks, the socialist dictator Kim Jong Un has followed a well-known successful strategy of using verbose and vitriolic rhetoric, threatening the community of nations, and showing resolve in the… Read More »
[April 27, 2017] Most of us work in an organization of some kind. It may be large or small, simple or complex, or prestigious or not so; but what really matters to its success is the people who work there and it’s the hard workers that make this achievement happen. That’s right. It’s not just anybody that makes… Read More »
[April 26, 2017] My grandmother enthralled us with riveting stories of bravery, tragedy, and love of family in her travels across the Great Plains of the American Midwest. She was just a girl when her parents and siblings began their journey in a Conestoga wagon pulled slowly by two large horses. This was something us grandkids had only… Read More »
[April 25, 2017] If someone was to write a book on how to fail as a senior leader, then it must include the U.S. politician Hillary Clinton as the definitive example. Her loss to Donald Trump, who was considered a weaker candidate, is not just about a failure to garner votes against a non-political opponent, it’s everything about… Read More »