[April 2, 2020] Today, I have a little lighthearted story to tell. A friend of mine from Chicago wrote me the other day to pass along an interesting story about a retired British Navy Admiral. The admiral was approaching the age of 80 and wanted a young person to help out around the house, engage in basic health… Read More »
[April 1, 2020] I began this three-part series with a simple fact. To think like a strategic leader is hard. The problem is that most leaders have never tried to think strategically; those who have tried, failed. I could easily blame this failure on a lack of education or motivation but that would be misleading. Strategy can only… Read More »
[March 31, 2020] It’s not easy to think like a strategic leader. To do so is not common. Strategic thinking is learned, is complex and often counterintuitive, and forces us to move out of the comfort of tactics. In this three-part series, I’ll be laying out a foundation on strategic lessons from great minds of the past. Hardly… Read More »
[March 30, 2020] I do not write enough about cowardice, nor about treason. It is my sincere belief that both behaviors demonstrate an inherent, elemental weakness in all humans. In the religious world, we call these weaknesses by the name “sin.” And while these transgressions against others are odious, some are worse than others. My question is, “What… Read More »
[March 27, 2020] In my previous post yesterday on Union Aims about the U.S. Civil War, I wrote that Union aims. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln made it clear that any surrender terms of the South must be to preserve the Union and a pledge of equality for freed slaves. Today, I will address Confederate aims and how they… Read More »
[March 27, 2020] I grew up in the Deep South. Living in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas with all my family relatives nearby gave me a common understanding of the U.S. Civil War. But that shared understanding, I later learned, did not agree with mainstream thinking. One must note that feelings about the Civil War run deep in Southerners,… Read More »
[March 26, 2020] It has been said that among the most important lessons of history is that we do not learn very much from the lessons of history. On July 3, 1990, I was standing at the Copse of Trees on the Gettysburg Historical Battlefield with several U.S. Army officers. We were part of a Staff Ride to… Read More »
[March 24, 2020] If we were to look back upon the planning for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the one thing missing was an exit strategy. It was an invaluable lesson learned from our strategic failures and one lesson that is seriously appreciated. What we need now, during the Coronavirus pandemic, is an exit strategy from the… Read More »
[March 23, 2020] I was watching a little television yesterday, and while catching up on the news (all about the Coronavirus-COVID19), one of the announcers said that “now is the time for leadership.”1 After seeing what many young folks are doing by ignoring commonsense warnings about the pandemic, I would have added that now is the time for… Read More »
[March 22, 2020] When disasters strike, there is often confusion, distorted information, and sometimes panic. Stupidity is also one of the inevitable results. Friday morning, I watched New York Gov. Cuomo lay out his plan – a good plan – to slow the spread of the Coronavirus in his state. Most of what he said made sense, but… Read More »