[December 4, 2019] As young boys in the 1950s, we listened intently to returning Korean War veterans to get some idea of what war was like. We asked stupid questions of these veterans. Who were the best fighters? Did you kill any Communists? Were you a hero? There was something that drove us to understand what it took… Read More »
[December 3, 2019] My first winter in West Germany was a difficult time for me after growing up in the warm Deep South of the United States. Not only was winter cold and snow new to me, but in late 1974, Germany was experiencing terror attacks by the Baader-Meinhof Gang. I was stationed at a nuclear weapons’ storage… Read More »
[December 2, 2019] I’ve been sitting on a few ideas lately that haven’t developed into full articles but I wanted to put them out for feedback. I’m focusing today on leadership that falls short of commonsense and, well, some folks just call those failures by the slang term “screw-ups.” The Girl Scouts of America remind us why they… Read More »
[December 1, 2019] Unlike many heroes that I’ve highlighted here at my leadership blog, Sir William Wallace continues to be a highly controversial hero.1 The popular film, Braveheart (1995) starring actor Mel Gibson, helped alert us to the exploits of Wallace. Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First… Read More »
[November 27, 2019] Leaders fill many roles. We often hear, for example, that an employer gets the employees he deserves. That bit of sage counsel is no small point. It is the duty of leaders to be a watchdog for their organization (or group); for it is those who guard the way they make for the best leaders.… Read More »
[November 26, 2019] Recently, I was asked to give my opinion why it is that people follow bad leaders. The answer is, of course, complex and not always easy to explain; this is why we don’t see much written on the topic. The problem we must struggle to overcome early in any discussion revolves around the definition of… Read More »
[November 25, 2019] “No guts, no glory!” The Army Drill Sergeant was yelling at us that we were a bunch of no-good maggots, which were also some stinking wimpy momma-boys. Finishing an obstacle course after a strenuous 10-mile forced march was not easy, but we did it anyway thanks to Drill Sergeant Bryant. To be a real man… Read More »
[November 24, 2019] Much has been said about adopting and the maintaining of good habits (see links here, here, and here) Humans, nonetheless, possess an inclination to shortcut or completely skip behaviors that are good for them. For example, my daily back exercises are something that I do only reluctantly because it takes time and it hurts. Any… Read More »
[November 22, 2019] There is an ancient question that continues to haunt humans. That question is, “What should we aim at in life?”1 Many philosophers have dedicated their lives to answering the question, and a mountain of sage advice has been forthcoming. I guess that we will continue exploring answers. But here is one thing I do know,… Read More »
[November 21, 2019] It had been rainy for what seemed like forever the small village of Aberfan, a coal mining town in southeast Wales. On October 21, 1966, an avalanche of coal waste slid down a mountainside and into the village, killing 144 people, most of them children sitting in their school classrooms. The tragedy would become one… Read More »