Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[January 25, 2014] Two exceptional books this week to recommend. Both address issues with senior executive leadership. The first book by a retired U.S. Army brigadier general is about leading yourself and the problems that a military leader faces day to day. The second book, one which has become controversial, by past Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is… Read More »
[January 24, 2014] Leadership is difficult under any circumstance, but distance between humans makes it that much harder. It is well known that face-to-face social interaction brings us the best communications. Distance is a form of barrier or obstacle that acts to prevent understanding. The “tyranny of distance” means that we do not see others (figuratively) in an… Read More »
[January 23, 2014] Senior leadership requires the special skills inherent in what is referred to as “diplomacy.” This means that senior executive leaders have the ability to advance important ideas and to do so with tact and decorum. For the purposes of this article, diplomacy is practiced at the organizational level. I’ll leave statesmanship for another time. A… Read More »
[January 22, 2014] Just yesterday a good friend of mine said that the reason so many people act with disrespect (without regard to others), is the lack of “shame” in our society. Leadership today means, he stated, that we must go out of our way to ensure that the guilty are not in any way publically embarrassed (shamed)… Read More »
[January 21, 2014] Senior leaders improve leadership and effectiveness in their organizations in a variety of ways. One of the most useful techniques is to draw upon the expertise of “red teams” to discover and recommend improvements. A “red team” is usually a small, independent group with the mission to directly target the failures and inefficiencies of a… Read More »
[January 20, 2014] Today we recognize and give our respect to Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK), whose leadership helped move the U.S. toward the ideal of eliminating racial discrimination. MLK was the leader and chief spokesperson for the civil rights movement – protesting racial discrimination in federal and state law. MLK was largely responsible for the nonviolent protest… Read More »
[January 20, 2014] There has been much to say about how important it is for senior leaders to provide a compelling and clear vision. That is something that President John F. Kennedy provided in his inauguration speech on January 20, 1961. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and a day to remember both MLK and JFK, two… Read More »
[January 19, 2014] Over the past several days, there has been heightened rhetoric about the lack of trust and confidence in the U.S. government as a whole and the failure of its senior leadership in particular. This time it was due to the highlighting of NSA’s data collection methods and the situation is unfortunate because all successful societies… Read More »
[January 18, 2014] War extracts a toll on the lives of humans. Only in the past 150 years have we been able to document by photography the battles that have shaped human history but also our families. In respect for our military, I have included here some photographs from World War II. There are many websites dedicated to… Read More »
[January 18, 2014] The greatest of senior executive leaders improve themselves every day. Leadership at this level requires the commitment and the discipline to be the best you can be. I’m a frequent flyer on a number of airlines. When flying, I get the chance to actually think about what I should be doing to get better and… Read More »