[June 16, 2016] In one of my last assignments as a senior Flag officer in the U.S. military, I had the unfortunate experience to be involved with a number of senior Flags who ignored serious Army issues. It was common knowledge that those officers believed that either nothing could be done or the problems were too complex for… Read More »
[June 14, 2016] Yesterday it was proposed that the world is serious about terrorism yet no country has taken decisive steps to really undermine the effectiveness of terror. Yes … terrorism works and is very effective. However, the lack of any coherent strategy to defeat the current wave of Islamic extremism is the primary reason used to justify… Read More »
[June 13, 2016] Yesterday morning a Muslim extremist opened fire inside a Florida gay club killing at least 50 people and injuring many more. Across much of the Western world, Islamic terrorism has steadily grown to a point that governments are now on notice to “do something.” That leads us to a crucial leadership question; are we serious… Read More »
[June 10, 2016] In the study of leadership and in an attempt to find the keys to success many look to elements of the best leaders; characteristics, behaviors, backgrounds, attitudes, etc. Yet, leadership is not only a complex concept but we all have our own ideas about what it is. One idea that has been bounced around is… Read More »
[June 9, 2016] In the 1960s, everyone in my high school class was intimately familiar with the war in Vietnam (and the military draft). The U.S. policy was based on a theory that predicted all of Southeast Asia would fall under the spell of Communism if Laos and South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam forces. Called the Domino… Read More »
[June 8, 2016] Legends about the Trojan War and the victory of the Greek Sparta armies over the Trojans were part of my upbringing and such tales fascinated me my whole life. As vividly written in the Latin poem Aeneid of Virgil and by historian Homer in the Iliad, the Trojan Horse was center stage of subterfuge that… Read More »
[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 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 »