[November 1, 2016] It was a hot summer day in southern Arkansas when my grandmother decided to teach me about life. It was my turn – at a meager six years of age – to catch, kill, and prepare one of her chickens for our supper that evening. Killing the chicken would be a first for me but… Read More »
[October 31, 2016] Today is Halloween; a secular holiday with popular “scary” themes. But here is something scarier that keeps leaders up at night. There are two regrettable but headline making, leading issues that put senior military leaders in a very bad light. First, over the past several decades we’ve known that the U.S. military system is not… Read More »
[October 28, 2016] One of my themes1 here at theLeaderMaker.com has been that anyone can learn a great deal about leadership through the study of the successes and failures of other leaders. This is best done by doing our darndest to learn about what leaders think and thus how they carry out their responsibilities; for good or for… Read More »
[October 26, 2016] In the early days of World War II, the Allies had many strategically difficult problems to solve. The most pressing and most dangerous if wrong was how to fight the Germans and Japanese (and the Italians) simultaneously and not be stretched too thinly and thus be defeated by either. In the past 100 years, this… Read More »
[October 25, 2016] My great uncle owned and operated an animal feed store in Arkansas until the early 1960s when his business failed; which he blamed on racial integration of blacks. His racism was a serious blind spot because it deprived him of potential customers. Blind spots for leaders can also have disastrous consequences. But what are typical… Read More »
[October 24, 2016] Ten years ago exactly on this date in 2016, my unit was part of a major fight north of Baghdad. At the end of the day I was getting on a transport at the nearby Forward Operating Base that would take a few officers back for a debriefing. The appearance of the senior civilian in… Read More »
[October 23, 2016] If we were to have an official slogan for leadership it would be Follow Me! From the beginning of human existence, those who lead have inspired others to follow them to perform a task, to complete a mission, to engage the enemy on the battlefield, or to win on the playing field. It means that… Read More »
[October 22, 2016] In 1868, former U.S. Army General Ulysses S Grant was elected president to an office that had bore witness to a national divisiveness over the aftermath of the great U.S. Civil War that ended just a few years before. While Grant is best known for his generalship during that war, it was what he did… Read More »
[October 21, 2016] Great leadership means being capable of bringing people together to achieve a common goal. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for U.S. president, exemplifies this and other key leader qualities that are traditionally found in those individuals most successful in life and in politics. Clinton was expected to be the Democrat nominee from the beginning of… Read More »
[October 20, 2016] Great leaders are those that can simplify complexity and chaos, who can cut through to the heart of an argument, and offer solutions that everyone can understand. This is what the best leaders from business, the military, and government do day-in and day-out. Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman, is the Republican candidate for U.S. president who… Read More »