[July 07, 2014] The United States has an immigration problem. There is no denying the fact that the number of people crossing the southern border annually in violation of U.S. law has dramatically increased over the past several years. Likewise, the number of deportations has fallen. The real problem, however, is not the immigration issue itself, but the… Read More »
[July 06, 2014] Military leaders are taught from the beginning to be aware of the dangers of “group think.” There have been a number of colossal military disasters that resulted from group think: Custer’s Last Stand, the Maginot Line, Stalingrad, and the Bay of Pigs. Any good leader would rather learn from group think failures than experience them… Read More »
[July 06, 2014] “Honest Abe” is the most well known leaders in the United States and around the world. Abraham Lincoln was in office during the U.S. Civil War where he was able to keep the nation together. He was the reason that America did not break into two separate nations and he was the key to ending… Read More »
[July 04, 2014] In 2006, soon after the President announced a “surge” in Iraq, I was given an extra duty. Several of us, the most senior colonels, were to help “flush out the particulars of the military surge strategy.” General Petraeus outlined the strategy for us but there were to be a structure to the direction and control… Read More »
[July 03, 2014] When a good friend of mine was newly promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, the lowest flag rank, he was shocked that he was highly visible in spite of where he went or what he did. He could no longer remain anonymous in the back of a meeting room. Everything he said was analyzed… Read More »
[July 02, 2014] The world was shocked to hear that Amelia Earhart and her navigator Frederick Noonan were reported missing in the Pacific Ocean on this date in 1937. Earhart completed a number of aviation firsts, winning fame and money along the way in the 1920s and 30s. She was well liked and personally driven to audacity. Sadly,… Read More »
[July 02, 2014] Yesterday, we discussed Detroit’s problem of an entitlement mentality with so many of its citizens (link here). It turns out that over half the population is delinquent on their water bills and is threatened with their water being turned off. A parallel between the privileged status of Detroiters and the failed socialist system was difficult… Read More »
[July 01, 2014] A number of years ago, I was fortunate to travel to Florence Italy to be a tourist, relax a little, and see the sights. My goal was to visit arts museums and see the cultured side of life as I had been doing while living in Germany. Unexpectedly, a small group of us were caught… Read More »
[July 01, 2014] News comes to us over the past several weeks that large numbers of residents who do not pay their water bills are having their water service disconnected. What is interesting, from a leadership perspective, is what folks are saying and doing about it. A water department official said, “The majority of our customers (who) are in… Read More »
[June 30, 2014] As a new Platoon Leader in the U.S. Army infantry, the men were always comparing me to the previous leader. And oh, that leader did not do so very well. The comparisons were usually unflattering and frankly I was not too happy about it. It took a year before I was accepted for who I… Read More »