[January 31, 2017] It’s been about 10 weeks since I posted in my Reading List here at theLeaderMaker.com. You’ll find me posting less because people are less interested in finding good books. I blame that partly on my picks and partly on the fact that people are less interested in reading books that are simply too long; short… Read More »
[January 30, 2017] One sure fire way of improving your leadership skills is learning about how great leaders think. How and why they think certain ways is crucial to helping replicate their successes. Unfortunately, this is a particularly difficult task that requires a serious investment in time and study, but it also requires a lot of good luck.… Read More »
[January 26, 2017] There are a number of military slang phrases and descriptions that are useful in everyday conversation. For example, when we refer to putting everything we’ve got into something, we might say we gave “the whole nine yards.”1 One recent military phrase that plays on humor describes an office-bound staff officer who creates overly complex briefings… Read More »
[January 23, 2017] A basic unwritten rule in military leadership is never to criticize the outgoing leader as the incoming leader. When beginning a new leadership position, it is impossible to know everything the previous leader saw as obstacles to success. It is therefore the right thing to do to never criticize that outgoing leader. This “rule” is… Read More »
[January 15, 2016] It’s an annual tradition of mine to make forecasts for the New Year and to predict those topics and issues that will be at the top for American senior leaders. Last year it was the presidential election and Islamic terrorism. I predict 2017 will deviate little from last year. So there should be few surprises… 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 »
By guest blogger Cassidy Hennigan [See Biography] [December 24, 2016] It is easy, and perhaps very human, to look at people who have “made it” and assume that they have some sort of unfair advantage, or even that they have cheated the system in some way or another. While this might actually be true in some cases, the… Read More »
[November 17, 2016] Leaders are trained to be and experienced in being proactive; aggressively pursuing missions, tasks, and goals is expected and good. Inaction is shunned like Joan of Arc who was burned at the stake in 1431. Great leadership means patience and knowing when to employ the precise timing of rare, aggressive action. “Patience is not an… Read More »
[November 11, 2016] Speeches sometimes have good information in them, sometimes the speaker is actually good, and sometimes both come together for remarkable experience. I don’t personally believe that I’ve reached that pinnacle but nothing will stop me from trying. For Veterans Day my speech at an upstate New York college is presented here in full. The speech… Read More »
[November 9, 2016] Well, America has a newly elected president; an upset victory by Donald Trump. This election was unusually contentious and divisive. Furthermore, to add to the new president’s problems, the U.S. today is weaker and less respected than ever while the world is far more dangerous than any time since World War II. This presidential election… Read More »