[January 13, 2016] Good leaders have a matchless ability to judge the character of others. But it’s the realizing of weaknesses in others that’s so important for a leader. I was fortunate as a junior officer that my commander saw my weaknesses that needed work and he was able to push and pull me in the right direction… Read More »
[January 12, 2016] There are those who have said that defense doesn’t win championships, special teams and big plays win championships. Some truth here but it’s really great coaching, leadership, and quality training programs are the biggest factors. Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, the coaches, and staffs for their win last night over the Clemson… Read More »
[January 11, 2016] On television I was watching the Bengals versus the Steelers football game this past Saturday in one of the important wild-card playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals were expected to win over the Pittsburg Steelers but it didn’t turn out that way. It happens more than on the rare occasion … whether in sports, the military, business,… Read More »
[January 10, 2016] My first day at the U.S. Army War College was a day of awakening for myself and many others. We were told how lucky we were to have been accepted and the importance of academic integrity, but that the first thing we had to do was to identify our personal top priorities. What? Identify our priorities? … Read More »
[January 9, 2016] Ever hear of the fable about how a group of frogs taught humans a good lesson about what we say? It’s a good one and a story my mom used to tell me whenever I got into trouble with my big mouth. In retrospect my mother was giving me advice on how to be a… Read More »
[January 8, 2016] A few years ago I had the privilege to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta where we had an open-ended discussion about major events in the world. In the opinion of many, Panetta was one of the great defense secretaries of our time and his opinions on leadership are grounded in authenticity. While… Read More »
[January 7, 2014] One of the most disheartening trends today in leaders is their propensity to lie; to lie about things great and small. There is an apparent innate tendency to lie – this includes embellishment of the truth – to others and to ourselves about a variety of issues from the time we are children onward. To… Read More »
[January 6, 2016] Like all my peers, during our time as commanders of military units, we were relentlessly required to provide detailed data on many things and told how to conduct our units in detail. Rarely were we asked how effective our unit might be if we were to deploy into combat. While this has been true for… Read More »
[January 4, 2016] Yesterday my wife asked me why I’d not made any New Year’s resolutions like I always do. Note that she usually gets a good laugh out of some of them like the year I resolved to spend less than $1,000 on Starbucks coffee. This year I’ll be a little different and offer a list of… Read More »
[January 3, 2016] As luck would have it, I was reviewing some reading material and notes taken from my Infantry Officer Basic Course the other evening. In it I stumbled upon my study of the Mi Lai Massacre in Vietnam. I remember clearly how the course instructor had told us the shame it had brought upon the U.S.… Read More »