Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[May 14, 2016] Boys and girls are different. Surprise … that statement will generate controversy in a politically correct climate; but everyone knows it to be true. It follows that to teach leadership to boys involves different techniques. Turning boys into leaders means starting at a younger age than girls and requiring boys to be more actively, directly… Read More »
[May 13, 2016] A young man attending college in his first year and the only child of loving parents, and also close friends of mine, regularly disrespected his father and mother. The parents had secretly saved for their child’s education but decided not to use it as intended because of their child’s disrespectful behavior. A big lesson for… Read More »
[May 12, 2016] More than a decade ago the U.S. Army developed a “Warrior Ethos” program that was designed to help prepare soldiers for combat and it still exists today as part of the Soldier’s Creed.1 What it did not do was create warriors. Today, I’m introducing a real warrior – Francis Marion who was the father of… Read More »
[May 11, 2016] The other day I was perusing the Internet looking at the popularity of various ideas. My interest was how the subject of leadership compared with other concepts such as gaming, music, food, and sports. Leadership was hardly a blip on the radar (depending on how it’s measured), while music and television were consistently at the… Read More »
[May 10, 2015] Battles in war teach us many things and being a combat veteran those battles bring particularly hard lessons when I study them. The (in)famous Battle of Hamburger Hill was a part of the Vietnam War’s Operation Apache Snow in which tactical engagements lasting from May 10 to 20 in 1969. What the battle reaffirmed was… Read More »
[May 9, 2016] One of the greatest risks a leader can make is to over promise what they can do. Everyone has seen it time and again and everyone will experience overpromising leaders throughout their lifetimes. And, as expected, leaders are drawn to people who desire something better. The end result is, at best, disappointment or, at worse,… Read More »
[May 8, 2016] Ideas! Where we get them, how they develop, who argues for what, and how well ideas are argued have always been at the core of the understanding of any society. No contemporary writer has been more significant and coherent than Charles Krauthammer; political commentator, syndicated columnist, former psychiatrist, confined to a wheelchair, and even loves… Read More »
[May 7, 2016] Today I’m introducing “Army Vet,” who will be a regular featured guest blogger here at the theLeaderMaker.com. Over the past couple of years I’ve tried to bring a variety of perspectives on the topic of leadership. Army Vet will help me do this even better. “Army Vet” is, of course, a pseudonym. He is real.… Read More »
[May 6, 2016] Yesterday while waiting in my doctor’s office, I saw a segment on Good Morning America about a 7-year old girl’s note that fooled school officials. The handwritten note said that the girl was to take the bus home early. School teachers and administrators (and there were several involved) were so risk averse that they took… Read More »
[May 5, 2016] It has been said that militaries win or lose partly on how well their generals lead but also on how well their soldiers follow. When leaders speak plainly they draw people to them. Great leaders are brutally honest, often very blunt in their words because they say what’s on their mind. They will always tell… Read More »