Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[June 7, 2016] I remember that day well; one of my junior soldiers came to me to ask questions about how he should deal with a problem sergeant. With my mindset of not telling people how to do their job but rather just giving tasks, I failed this young man because I failed to consider his suggested ideas. … Read More »
[June 06, 2015] During one of my combat tours, my senior headquarters gave our troops the souvenir opportunity to have a U.S. flag flown over the Saddam’s main palace in Baghdad. We had to buy the flag and turn it in with a written request that included name and date to be on a certificate. My good friend… Read More »
[June 5, 2016] It is often said that the best of leaders are willing to do what they whatever is asked of their followers. As lieutenants in the U.S. Army we could always tell which officer was most respected from how “wet” they were with their men at the wash racks cleaning armored vehicles. Those at the wash… Read More »
[June 4, 2016] Between 1985 and 1986, unapproved sales of military equipment, mostly anti-tank missiles, were sold to the country of Iran. The sales were a successful attempt by the United States to free American hostages in a quid pro quo exchange; those involved however were accused of being in violation of U.S. law. Delegating authority was the… Read More »
[June 3, 2016] A few days ago (as reported here in theLeaderMaker.com, link here), Journalist Katie Couric produced a gun documentary inserted an inappropriately and purposefully biased segment. Couric saw the bias but failed to recognize it as biased and deceptive; her reasoning we can only guess. But leadership means being able to recognize problems and then take… Read More »
[June 2, 2016] It is much less destructive on a leader’s trustworthiness to learn from the mistakes of others than to make a big mistake and try to justify it. That is what we can learn from the media and Katie Couric, American Journalist, who recently produced a “documentary” on gun violence. While the topic is not relevant… Read More »
[June 1, 2016] TheLeaderMaker.com was offline today for about half a day. We experienced a complete shutdown of the site due to trouble at my website host, iPage.com. Occasionally this occurs and is typical after a major holiday … in this case Memorial Day. The techie experts tried to explain it to me but I just wanted the… Read More »
[June 1, 2016] Soldiers make mistakes in all armies and have historically done so. Most soldiers do their best in most circumstances and the reason they join directly affects the mistakes they make during their time in the service to their nation. However, errors in judgment and behavior can hinder their performance and team productivity. “The patriot volunteer,… Read More »
[May 31, 2016] No one likes sudden change and no one likes radical new ideas or concepts. Yet senior leaders who possess the ability to set such conditions with a minimum of disruption are rare, highly skilled, and deeply understand the human psych. The best way of getting new ideas and concepts accepted is through socializing them through… Read More »
[May 30, 2016] On this Memorial Day and as I travel about the East and Mid-Western states of the United States, I find that more people are aware of this special day and its meaning than ever before. Despite what one hears in the media about those who have no idea what’s going on, I find the opposite… Read More »