The Philippines’ Deadly War on Drugs

By | March 5, 2017

[March 5, 2017]  There’s a worldwide war on those who manufacture and distribute illicit drugs and that war is mostly hidden from Americans and the most affluent in Western democracies.  The war is deadly and how it’s played out is best illustrated in the case of the small country of the Philippines. Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte is the new… Read More »

Leadership and the Oscars Envelopegate

By | March 4, 2017

[March 4, 2017]  I’m posting this leadership blog today because I initially didn’t see anything about The Oscars of value for us here at theLeaderMaker.com.  But in the aftermath of one of the biggest flubs in the history of the event and subsequent repercussions, I changed my mind.   What is now being called the Oscars Envelopegate,1 offers us… Read More »

Architectural Propaganda & Leadership

By | March 3, 2017

[March 3, 2017]  The use of mankind’s propaganda goes back in time well before written records were kept.  Its practical use is undeniable.  For those us who study it, we know that the idea of keeping people accurately informed is often blurred with propaganda, depending upon the intent of those wielding power.  Architectural propaganda is a variant of… Read More »

The Iraq Military Finds its Nerve by Army Vet

By | March 2, 2017

[March 2, 2017]  Army Vet reflects today on the IRAQI ARMY that has found the NERVE to take on the ISLAMIC STATE terror group. The pursuit of a military victory in Mosul, Iraq has meaning for the free world that it neither appreciates nor wants to understand … perhaps cannot understand, because of its social contradictions.  Such is… Read More »

When Does a Soldier Need a Haircut?

By | February 27, 2017

[February 27, 2017]  Trick question!!   … Sorry but to ask this question implies something that often goes unnoticed.  I was once asked this question during an interview to determine the ‘Private of Year’ award.  Unfortunately, I got the answer wrong and didn’t win.  The right answer?  A soldier never needs a haircut because they get one before they… Read More »

Don’t Move the Foxhole

By | February 26, 2017

[February 26, 2017]  It was mid-August in 1983 when my Infantry training class was on maneuvers at Fort Benning, Georgia.  The heat was oppressive and the humidity seemed like we were swimming through the air.  That was when we were told to dig-in and “defend” a hill from the OPFOR1.  The first task assigned to me was to… Read More »

Good Habits #29: Smile

By | February 25, 2017

[February 25, 2017]  Someone once said that a smile is the language of kindness and that is certainly true.  Leaders of all stripes, to be successful, smile in order to be both approachable and motivational.  This is achieved easily for those willing to take the simple step of smiling.  Recent interpretations of ancient writings tell us that a… Read More »

When You Think You’re Good …

By | February 24, 2017

[February 24, 2017]  … but you’re not can be a strangely motivating event.  I’m reminded of the Allstate Insurance’s commercials involving the Mayhem Guy who plays out scenarios involving accidents.1  An underlying theme in those commercials is that since we’re humans, we’re often the object of our own failures. Overconfident: foolishly adventurous, reckless, foolhardy are just a few… Read More »