[December 1, 2021] By the end of 2006, I had spent more than a year and a half in Iraq working with their citizens. I thought I knew them but, like other Americans, I did not. Understanding other cultures takes time, patience, and a high degree of empathy, smarts, and devotion. By that time, I figured out we… Read More »
[November 30, 2021] I was sitting on a chair overlooking an Army-level tabletop exercise conducted in South Korea. The array of U.S. and Republic of Korea military forces were across the Korean peninsula and seas. Impressive! But could we understand what the commander wanted? Would clear communication work this time? What the symbology and geography told me was… Read More »
[November 29, 2021] No one likes a fraud; a person who pretends to be someone or something they are not. Perhaps this dislike is innate to humans, or maybe learned, but being a fraud means breaking the most critical element of humanness; trust. A Canadian medical researcher who rose to become the nation’s top voice on indigenous health… Read More »
[November 28, 2021] Near where I live, a few days ago, I visited a “horse farm” called Chestnut Run Farm. A small group of motivated local folks was there helping Veterans heal mentally. They started this non-profit to make a difference. I have discovered that there are good leaders everywhere, sometimes you have to find them; in this… Read More »
[November 27, 2021] The crusty, old Master Sergeant at our Battalion Command Post was the man we all gravitated to. If you wanted someone in your foxhole when the enemy was attacking, you needed him there with you, operating the machine gun and killing enemy soldiers. His greatest advice, Keep your cool, man! I was in a meeting… Read More »
[November 26, 2021] People have an intrinsic ability to call a hypocrite when they see one, and they see it in our news media. When I started this blog, I wrote on a “bias” in news media reporting. Their reporting was egregious, getting the facts wrong every time and unwilling to correct their “news,” which I call Media… Read More »
[November 25, 2021] If you were in the U.S. Navy, you just might have heard of Richard O’Kane. More often called “Dick” O’Kane, he was one of the most courageous submariners of all time. Why his name and story are rarely told is hard for me to explain. It should be told. His stories of attacks on Japanese… Read More »
[November 24, 2021] No one wants to wash their dirty linen in public. Organizational disagreements, family squabbles, and couple arguments are best not aired openly. The reason is simple; we want to show a united front to outsiders. Doing so makes us appear professional and honest. Airing grievances is a sign of dysfunction and chaos. We all know… Read More »
[November 23, 2021] Retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink is the author behind the best-selling Warrior Kid book series.1 I just bought his fourth and latest in the series. Do we need another series of self-help books about “kids?” Given the destruction by well-meaning but misguided politicians in their safe-at-all-costs policies, I think Jocko has hit a home run… Read More »
[November 20, 2021] I started this series of “Leader Don’ts” a couple of years ago as a joke to keep some of my younger readers interested in my blog. What I didn’t realize was how popular it became among older readers. That’s why I’m bringing it back, and today’s topic is about how leaders should not be unlikeable.… Read More »