[August 27, 2014] During the Korean War in 1951 U.S. President Harry Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his command for making public statements that contradicted the administration’s policies. MacArthur did not have a full appreciation of what he could and could not control and who were his allies … he underestimated the President. Despite having great military… Read More »
[August 26, 2014] There is a tradition in the U.S. military; the commanding officer always eats last. I’m not sure where the tradition started or how it developed but it makes a lot of sense. By eating last, the officer knows whether all the troops have been properly feed – whether there is enough food and whether it… Read More »
[August 26, 2014] Occasionally I run across a great organization that uses its expertise to help both military personnel and veterans. Today, I would like to introduce StopSoldierSuicide.org. Until recently, despite their wonderful work, I had not heard of them. Fortunately, there are people like those in this organization that really do help people. Stop Soldier Suicide is… Read More »
[August 25, 2014] Every once in a while I come across a person’s firsthand account of North Korea (link here). The author is witty but informative. There is some good information to be had from reading the entire blog entry. In particular I liked the focus of the discussion on how big a deal the leadership of the… Read More »
[August 25, 2014] Being a leader means reading articles and books that can go against your upbringing and training; or challenging what you already think you know. The book reviewed today is about race and the failures of programs designed to help minorities in America, particularly African-Americans. It challenges our senior leaders to open a realistic dialogue and… Read More »
[August 24, 2014] My grandmother constantly told me to mind my manners, go to church, and obey the Golden Rule. Grandmothers are always right, of course. I can never outdo her but here is a list of a dozen leadership lessons I learned from spending 40 years in the U.S. Army. Things I learned in the military should… Read More »
[August 24, 2014] It was apparently not very newsworthy but yesterday the USA Little League World Championship was played in its traditional location Williamsport, Pennsylvania. What is so amazing about the win is that for the first time a team from Chicago won the title and a team from the “Urban Initiative” out of the south-side of Chicago.1… Read More »
[August 23, 2014] Significant risks to “modern” senior leaders are not having all the best ideas on the table while making decisions and communicating strategy. This includes having all the relevant information available and the thinking behind the best ideas. Both the information and thinking needed is best achieved through encouraging open debate. Successful organizations, lead by some… Read More »
[August 22, 2014] “Yuh gotta hand it to baseball and schmucks,” so says my good friend Vinny. I like to say that you simply cannot make this stuff up. While we watched the Chicago Cubs – San Francisco Giants game earlier this week, the umpires called the game for rain and declared the Cubs the winner at 2-0.… Read More »
[August 22, 2014] Leaders who find themselves being emotionally drawn into certain situations risk being seen as biased, untrustworthy, fixated, and partisan. The best leaders treat their job as a professional. Senior leaders should be careful about taking things personal in their work. The message sent is that they can be swayed or manipulated by certain issues. Therefore,… Read More »