[February 24, 2017] … but you’re not can be a strangely motivating event. I’m reminded of the Allstate Insurance’s commercials involving the Mayhem Guy who plays out scenarios involving accidents.1 An underlying theme in those commercials is that since we’re humans, we’re often the object of our own failures. Overconfident: foolishly adventurous, reckless, foolhardy are just a few… Read More »
[February 23, 2017] I own a dog. In the United States, more than a third of all families own at least one dog; the most common household pet.1 Whether you’ve ever had one or not, it’s unsurprising that anyone can learn good things from them. For example, leaders can also learn from a dog (see my earlier post on… Read More »
[February 20, 2017] One of the best things about the U.S. military is the enormous amount of resources used to produce the best leaders possible. I was fortunate to participate in a number of programs designed to improve the leadership capacities and skills of their senior officers. What I took away from it was that leadership really is… Read More »
[February 19, 2017] … and that will always be the case so leaders need to stop using it as an excuse. I often speak with young adults who’ve simply given up trying to be the best they can be because there are so many people better – much better – than them. My son was on a baseball… Read More »
[February 18, 2017] There’s been a lot of criticism of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Critical behavior is certainly not new in the political environment but there is a common understanding among professionals that to disparage an incoming leader is amateurish and ethically wrong. “He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” – Abraham… Read More »
[February 17, 2017] I was talking with my wife the other night about underrated topics in casual conversations among friends. She has a keen eye, far better than me, for those tidbits. One thing she found particularly galling was that most talk was not about fun times but almost exclusively about political issues. Friends were more interested in… Read More »
[February 16, 2017] U.S. President Donald Trump promised during his campaign that he would build a “great wall,” do so inexpensively, and make Mexico pay for it. Although Trump’s wall is intended to make America safer, it is a politically charged subject and for many diverse reasons. Politics to the side, I will argue that it is possible… Read More »
[February 14, 2017] We’ve all had our share of bosses who let power (derived from their positions of authority) to go to their heads. Abuse of power is so common that the U.S. military tracks it against Flag Officer violations of rules of behavior and actively warns against its poisonous attraction. “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power… Read More »
[February 13, 2017] Whenever I think about the foremost problems we recently faced in combat, I’m reminded of a sign I saw somewhere in Baghdad. It read, “Complacency kills.” I was told my first day on the job to “stay focused and keep an eye out for anything that could be a threat.” The biggest threat to success… Read More »
[February 12, 2017] As an Army ROTC cadet, I once attended a special exercise that involved team building. One of the Leadership Development Exercise events involved cadet teams, four to each, working to cross a concrete gap with planks of wood. They key to completing the task was that everyone had to work together. My team had a… Read More »