[December 3, 2017] Hands-off leadership, incorrectly referred to as Laissez-Faire leadership, is a topic of intense debate in senior military circles. Today, I refer to hands-off leaders as those leaders who know what is happening, are not directly involved, trust others to do a good job, but also are who are unwilling to make decisions. This type of… Read More »
[December 2, 2017] As a 5-year old child I told a fib about a large catfish I’d caught in a nearby pond but somehow my grandmother, a great lady, knew I was exaggerating. As a child, I could get away with a little padding of my fishing résumé but as an adult, the effect can be unexpected and… Read More »
[December 1, 2017] The idea that life is fair was expunged from me in Army Basic Combat Training during my time in 1974 at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Drill Sergeant Bryant was a rigid disciplinarian that I intensely disliked because he was hard on us … but looking back, he was also the fairest man I ever knew. What… Read More »
[November 30, 2017] This morning I was flipping through a favorite book that I’d bought in 1983 just after being commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. The book, the 42nd Edition of The Army Officer’s Guide, is probably one of the best overall books providing countless lessons for the junior leader. Those lessons from 40 years… Read More »
[November 29, 2017] A year and a half ago I wrote that most Western countries had taken their “eyes” off Iraq and their fight against the ISIS terror group.1 Today, the Iraqi military is about to crush the remaining strongholds of ISIS yet not much has changed in either the news coverage (very little) or in how governments… Read More »
[November 28, 2017] The Greek philosopher Antisthenes once said: “The most useful piece of learning … is to unlearn what is untrue.” As a new trend, many educators have jumped on the unlearning bandwagon and also began simultaneously misleading us regarding what it is and the merits on which it is based. “Unlearning is the process of letting… Read More »
[November 26, 2017] My grandmother was fond of telling all of us grandkids to never fear when standing up to bullies. And so it is always my pleasure to highlight a person who has done just that. The “blogosphere” was alive recently with news1 about the Australian musician Nick Cave who played in Israel and in doing so… Read More »
[November 24, 2017] I regularly get calls from young military veterans who have a new job in the civilian world and want some simple advice on how to be successful. My recommendation is straightforward; have a positive attitude, treat everyone with respect, and maintain your humility. “Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your… Read More »
[November 23, 2017] In the early days of my military career, I thought it important to copy the behavior and speech of those known to be the very best leaders. It came naturally, it seemed to me at the time, to find out what those leaders did when they were not “working” – for example, what they were… Read More »
[November 22, 2017] It was many years ago that the group of 200 young Lieutenants were standing rigidly at the position of attention. In front of them was a battle-hardened senior officer giving them advice on how to succeed at all U.S. Army schools. The first piece of advice was that any feelings, desires, and wants they have… Read More »