[August 19, 2014] An advantage that leaders have over others is the passion to get things done, the internal drive to conquer the enemy, to turn a profit, to run a successful enterprise. Yet, a special challenge to all senior leaders, in particular military leaders, is being able to engage with politicians on difficult subjects without acrimony. Politics… Read More »
[August 19, 2014] Pope Francis in his recent visit to South Korea made a strong silent statement on abortion. He did this by stopping to pray at a monument dedicated to aborted babies. The monument is located in a community dedicated to caring for people with severe physical defects, the type used to justify abortion. He also spoke… Read More »
[August 18, 2014] I’ve written in this blog extensively about “adaptability” in leadership (see here, here, and here for some examples). What if adaptability is not up to all the hype we hear about it? Could we be so wrong? Adaptability is critical to senior leadership and of course to all leaders. The flaw of adaptability that sometimes… Read More »
[August 18, 2014] Leaders intrinsically know that the failure to take steps to overcome failure is a recipe for disaster. Whether that failure is in others or themselves, we all believe there must be a formula to get beyond it. Despite this belief, scientists who study failure have discovered that there is a tendency to avoid doing much… Read More »
[August 17, 2014] A fundamental truth about great leadership is the recognition that everyone must have a clear sense of purpose. Otherwise, it will be difficult to decide what to do and how to do it. With the right purpose, informed decisions are possible. Nearly every person in an organization understands what they do and generally how they… Read More »
[August 17, 2014] Today, many Americans are celebrating the “grooviest event in music history.” The Woodstock Music Festival ended after three days of “peace, love and rock’n’roll in upstate New York.” Very famous musicians played there: Janis Joplin, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, etc. What nearly no one knows about is that on this date in 1942, U.S. Marine… Read More »
[August 16, 2014] Nero was the Roman emperor in July of 64 A.D. when much of Rome burned. Whether it was literally true that he “fiddled” an instrument while the city burned, is in doubt. Yet, the meaning that we take from his actions as a leader is what interests us in the study of leadership methods. The… Read More »
[August 15, 2014] I remember the beautiful Friday afternoon in early May 1999 when Fort Dix, New Jersey got the call that it would be receiving the next day over 300 Albanian refugees from war-torn Kosovo. Over the next month, the U.S. Army base was to receive over 4,000 refugees as part of a nationwide resettlement effort. These… Read More »
[August 15, 2014] One hundred years ago today, the Panama Canal was opened for traffic. We all know about the engineering effort to build the 51 mile long canal, the effort to eradicate diseases in the area, and the economic and military need to have it built. Long recognized as a shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans,… Read More »
[August 14, 2014] That question is often debated and tinged with passion. Working my way through college, I trained dogs for a couple of years on the side; made good money, cash. Texas was a good state for dog training and I sure had a great time and earned a few extra dollars to pay the tuition bill.… Read More »