[July 20, 2019] New and young leaders are often placed in a position where bad habits are easily learned and encouraged. As regular readers of my leadership blog know, I’ve been at Scout Camp for the past week where most of the scout counselors are not yet 18 years old. One challenge adult scout leaders were facing was… Read More »
[June 25, 2019] In 2007, I had the pleasure to meet comedian Robin Williams in Al Faw Palace, Baghdad, Iraq. He and I had a warm, captivating conversation. We talked about our families, where we came from, and the interesting people we’ve met. He told me that his life’s mission was to spend more time with people and… Read More »
[March 21, 2019] I began this series on “good habits” several years ago out of a desire to give simple advice to up-and-coming leaders.1 Picking good daily habits for leaders is easy because there are many to choose from. Today, I’ll be focusing on the usefulness of beginning your day with a hardy greeting. “One of the most… Read More »
[March 7, 2019] Respected leaders are those who are seen as fair and willing to share the hardships of others. Eat with your teammates is good, practical advice for all leaders who want to be judged as authentic, respected leaders. We’ve all seen it happen. A retail company undergoes downsizing, or a family experiences a death, or a… Read More »
[February 21, 2019] “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” So began a commencement speech by U.S. Navy Admiral William McRaven to graduates at the University of Texas (see outtake at link here). This is, of course, an analogy; one that helps us to remember the real message which is to get… Read More »
[April 2, 2018] As a new Second Lieutenant, I was originally a slob; my clothes were everywhere, my refrigerator had expired food in it, and my desk at work was disorganized. One day I had a grizzled, old sergeant comes into my office to give me a piece of constructive advice. Get organized, he said, and while you’re… Read More »
[March 1, 2018] One of the first things that I learned from my military instructors on how to be a leader was to keep things simple. That’s not exactly what they said, it was keep it simple, stupid which is usually said in its acronym form KISS; oddly enough, originally a design application of the U.S. Navy in… Read More »
[February 20, 2018] U.S. President Harry S Truman had a sign on his desk that was there to show he personally accepted responsibility for the way the country was run. The sign read, “The buck stops here.” Good habits by leaders start at accepting responsibility for their actions and the best leaders do this daily. Leaders don’t try… Read More »
[November 6, 2017] One of the privileges (some say advantage) of having worked in a senior leadership position in the upper reaches of the Department of Defense is getting to meet some really intelligent folks. These were great leaders who led soldiers in combat and created a consistent legacy of outstanding performance and service to the United States.… Read More »
[July 15, 2017] “Everything’s a priority!” yelled the commander of the U.S. Navy frigate. The story was from my uncle who sailed on an Anti-Submarine Warfare ship during the last months of World War II and so the story goes – as he told us children – the events that led to the sinking of his ship and… Read More »