[April 19, 2019] I’ve been on the road lately; visiting Washington DC and the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey. These visits reinforced my view that large organizations are notoriously difficult to run. But it was my time with young Coast Guard Petty Officers and recruits that gave me a reason to appreciate this… Read More »
[April 18, 2019] While leaders are good at pushing the limits of their ability, they are also fully aware of their own boundaries. History is full of stories where people and nations have gone beyond the point where success is no longer possible. That is why it is a rare quality to truly know your limits. The Korean… Read More »
[April 17, 2019] The 10-man squad of recruits was crawling through mud and under barbed wire while being continuously screamed at by U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Bryant. If the recruit failed to complete the obstacle course within the allotted 20 minutes, he had to start over. Sergeant Bryant was politely telling everyone that his job was to make… Read More »
[April 16, 2019] One of the most powerful lessons in military leadership tells us that the best leaders are those that are visible and accessible. On the battlefield or the assembly line or the boardroom, those leaders who can be seen, heard, and talked to, will always be the most successful. As a Private in the U.S. Army,… Read More »
[April 15, 2019] I was in the Rayburn Building in Washington D.C. this past week visiting members of Congress. The variety of political philosophy, ideology, and backgrounds was surprising to me. What I discovered, however, was that each elected member of Congress that I spoke to were exceptionally likable. “Some people are inherently likable. If you’re not –… Read More »
[April 12, 2019] When Mongol leader Genghis Khan and his armies swept across central Asia and China, his brutal leadership style was necessary to effect the subjugation of millions. The current wisdom is that leadership styles have dramatically changed since then, as have the conditions of leadership. Yet, perhaps the change is less than we might think. Extraordinary… Read More »
[April 11, 2019] As a kid, I had a cousin named Carter (not his real name) who had all the greatest toys, but he would never share them with us. My brother, sister, and I were quick to learn that not sharing made Carter unlikeable and that meant no one would play with him. Learning what not to… Read More »
[April 10, 2019] Operation Desert Storm was a quick and decisive war against Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi army. Ejecting them from Kuwait in 1991 was to be the first foreign crisis since the end of the Cold War. But in the end, units came back to the U.S. broken. Many commanders had failed in their responsibility to… Read More »
[April 8, 2019] When I was 5 (or maybe 6) years old, my parents gave me a toy pistol and holster set based on the television series Have Gun – Will Travel. Richard Boone starred as an Old West professional gunfighter called Paladin, in this series that ran from 1957 to 1963. I watched it with my family… Read More »
[April 7, 2019] The old and grizzled Sergeant Major, Korea and Vietnam War veteran, was talking last week with a group of young college students. Just out of luck, I happened by and overheard that gravelly voice one would expect from such a man. He was giving them some basic advice; to get respect, you must be willing… Read More »