[March 11, 2021] Guys my age grew up on old Western movies. The plots were usually the same; a wagon train headed West gets attacked by Indians, and the U.S. Army Cavalry comes to the rescue. There was plenty of action as the cavalry chases off the attackers. Always present with the troopers was the red and white… Read More »
[March 10, 2021] “When you’re about to go into combat, you do what you gotta do. Expect the unexpected and ready yourself.” Sitting on Jonny Hancock’s porch sipping whiskey and smoking cigars, we had a conversation like no other. Jonny was giving me some leadership advice, ‘keep a bullet in the chamber [of your rifle],’ he said. In… Read More »
[March 9, 2021] Jonathan “Jonny” Hancock spent his first year in the Army as a cook. He said it was a good time; plenty of food to eat, no forced marches, and the top brass left you alone. But it left him wanting more. When I interviewed Jonny, he was turning 75 but still had the vigor and… Read More »
[March 8, 2021] Leaders are judged by results, not so much by words. Achievements are accomplished through action by teams guided by a leader’s vision. One way such success can be assured is to pin the rose on a responsible person. I learned this lesson the hard way on the day I received my first leader promotion to… Read More »
[March 7, 2021] Leadership is about finding the right path and keeping to it. But, leaders are still prone to step on landmines that symbolically blow up along their way. Despite a successful career, how could it be that so many leaders slip and fall anyway? I’ve stepped on these same leadership landmines, and so have many of… Read More »
[March 6, 2021] Independence. No single motivation has led to more wars than those willing to fight for independence. Independence from tyranny has inspired many, and that was the thinking of those defending the Alamo from a large Mexican force commanded by Generalissimo Antonio López de Santa Anna. On this date, March 6, 1836, Fort Alamo defenders were… Read More »
[March 4, 2021] One thing we should learn growing up is to help our neighbors. Good leaders encourage such volunteerism. I was scared of failing my freshman year of college, but I remembered that giving back is just what you do. This drove me to seek out a local soup kitchen in 1970 Lubbock, Texas. My plan was… Read More »
[March 3, 2021] After the first day of the Battle of Shiloh of the American Civil War, 6 April 1862, sometime after midnight, then Union Brigadier General William T. Sherman came upon then Major General Ulysses S. Grant was standing under a tree. Sherman remarked, “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?” Grant looked up.… Read More »
[March 2, 2021] Wow, there has been so much happening over the past few weeks that I’ve gotten behind on articles I wanted to write. So, I am resurrecting my ‘clearing the spindle‘ series and taking on some of these article topics. Just the other day, I was walking my dog, and a lady comes out of her… Read More »
[March 1, 2021] Good communication is one of the keys to successful leadership. We all know this to be true because we have all witnessed what happens when what we say is unclear, meandering, insulting, or off-topic. Great leaders are always on guard against dismissive words. “We prematurely write off people as failures. We are too much in… Read More »