[February 28, 2017] An old axiom in the U.S. military is that to be the best leader possible, one must chose the right people and give them the authority and freedom to do their jobs. Choosing good people is not an easy task but is necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of any organization. “Leadership consists of picking… Read More »
[February 17, 2017] I was talking with my wife the other night about underrated topics in casual conversations among friends. She has a keen eye, far better than me, for those tidbits. One thing she found particularly galling was that most talk was not about fun times but almost exclusively about political issues. Friends were more interested in… Read More »
[January 5, 2017] Yes! It’s that time of year again to make resolutions for the New Year. “New Year’s resolutions are for children, peacocks, and dishonest politicians.” – my Grandmother (as we called her, Bigmama) Resolutions are, of course, a tradition where we acknowledge we can do better, put them on a short list, and post it perhaps… Read More »
[December 17, 2016] In 1983 I was a new Second Lieutenant attending the U.S. Army Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. On my first day I purchased the 42nd Edition of The Army Officer’s Guide, copyright 1983 … and still have it on my desk today! The professional development of any leader can be traced to that… Read More »
[December 9, 2016] Now is the time of year that the best companies to work for are ranked. You can see the top 10, 25 or 100 companies and a variety of reputable firms are ranking them based on a number of classic criteria. The focus is usually on surveys that ask employees how they “feel” about their… Read More »
[November 19, 2016] Most of us have been watching of late about college and university students across the United States protesting, conducting “cry-ins,” group-therapy sessions, and similar acts as a response to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s election victory; the epitome of privilege. Students have been, if we look to the past, often on the forefront of positive change… Read More »
[October 11, 2016] In early September 2001 a conference was held at the Pentagon by the U.S. military joint staff on the “decline of leadership” within our ranks. The issues were a belief that many of our youngest and brightest lacked certain societal values and this was seen as a harbinger of things to come. Anytime over the… Read More »
[August 18, 2016] I’ve been meaning to write about this subject for some time now but haven’t quite figured out how to approach it without sounding too pedantic. The United States is a divided nation; one that witnesses a divisiveness in its rhetoric, behavior, laws, and customs … ever more so daily. Divisions are growing and our political… Read More »
[April 27, 2016] Command Sergeant Majors (CSM) are the U.S. Army’s most senior enlisted soldiers and all our military services have an equivalent. They are highly respected and they give their wisdom and advice to senior commanders to help their units run smoothly. One CSM once gave me his thoughts on why there are so many weak leaders… Read More »
[April 20 2016] A number of folks have commented on my two military leadership priorities; quality training (in peacetime) and taking care of people. There are many reasons for having these two as important aspects of military officer responsibilities but I’ve found that they work reasonably well and people remember them. The only problem I encountered was that… Read More »