[October 17, 2016] There’s an old saying in the U.S. Army that goes something like this … “If you pass a problem by, you just set a new standard … a lower standard.” As a military leader when a problem (or issue, or concern) is overlooked, the troops will notice and see that leadership expectations are not as… Read More »
[October 15, 2016] Understanding the thinking of senior leaders is a difficult task under the best of circumstances but in doing so, even if imperfect, it helps us understand how leaders approach problems and make important decisions. Such is the theme of my “who is” series here at theLeaderMaker.com. French politician Pierre Laval is an example of how… Read More »
[October 11, 2016] In early September 2001 a conference was held at the Pentagon by the U.S. military joint staff on the “decline of leadership” within our ranks. The issues were a belief that many of our youngest and brightest lacked certain societal values and this was seen as a harbinger of things to come. Anytime over the… Read More »
[October 10, 2016] At the beginning of World War II, the outlook for the survival of Great Britain was bleak. The immense German military juggernaut had the English isle in its sights and Hitler was advancing his forces to destroy it. Thanks to its great leaders such as Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the immense sacrifices of its… Read More »
[October 8, 2016] We need heroes … we need them because of a deep need to realize personal excellence; our heroes are symbols for those qualities we would like to possess and the ambitions we would like to gratify. Looking to what Tom Brokaw called, “the Greatest Generation,” there can be found Joe Foss, one of the leading… Read More »
[October 7, 2016] It was a beautiful fall day in October nearly 30 years ago when I was walking along the main drag at Penn State University when I came upon Joe Paterno for the first time. “JoePa” as he is more affectionately known, was talking to a small group of students about how to be successful at… Read More »
[October 4, 2016] One of my close friends confided in me the other day that during his travels he had been asking people who their heroes were and has done so for over 30 years. The results are a bit surprising but more on that later. What he discovered for himself – and now sharing with me –… Read More »
[October 3, 2016] There has been some talk recently about retired General David Petraeus’ comments on the causes of the formation of the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State (aka, ISIS or ISIL). Senior leaders with experience and a deep appreciation for solving wide-ranging and serious problems will say that it is not the defeat of the… Read More »
[October 2, 2016] It seemed so simple and yet so obviously necessary, yet no one had thought of it. South Korean President Park Geun-hye said, in a speech earlier this week, that she knows about the “gruesome realities” that North Koreans face daily and appealed to them to “Please come to the bosom of freedom in the South.”1 … Read More »
[October 1, 2016] My wife and I were watching the most recent U.S. presidential debates the other night and she kept asking, rhetorically, why both candidates were exaggerating the truth. Padded resumes, overstated professional credentials, misrepresentation of their career, etc. are unexpectedly common among people of all walks of life. But … for the senior leader, it’s folly… Read More »