[March 05, 2014] They say that snowstorm in the southern states is as rare as unsweetened tea at a church supper. But that is what happened at the end of January (see Stuck in Atlanta Airport). In Birmingham Alabama during this same storm, many motorists were stuck for hours on Highway 280. To the surprise of all, a… Read More »
[February 27, 2014] It is true that I have profiled more military flag officer leaders here than any other occupation. The reason is fairly simple and that is their leadership is written about and studied more than any other and under circumstances that are often under the direst conditions. General Patton has been considered one of the most… Read More »
[February 26, 2014] The Secretary of Defense (SecDef) announced yesterday that the U.S. military would be cut significantly over the next three years; more aggressively than previously envisioned. While there are a number of vocal critics of “slashing” the military, the real question is: “What is our national and military strategy?” The lethality of our military, and thus… Read More »
[February 25, 2014] The declaration of a “war on drugs” by the President Nixon administration in 1971 was a continuation of U.S. government policy that had been in place, essentially since 1914. The United Nations and many senior leaders in government across the globe participated and are currently conducting policies that discourage illegal drug use. Sadly, there has… Read More »
[February 21, 2014] Paik, Sun Yup (백선엽) is a leader and true hero in all senses of the word. The Korean War is known in America as the “forgotten war” because most simply do not know about it. Sadly this is also true across the western world, not just in the United States. There are many leadership lessons… Read More »
[February 14, 2014] Gatekeepers are in every organization and they are the ones who exercise control over access to something. In the old days, this meant limiting access through the city gate. Today, the term is used metaphorically, referring to people who decide whether you gain access to something; like to information, a person, a service, an interview. … Read More »
[February 08, 2014] Leader feedback on performance, attitude, and foresight is essential regardless of the maturity or position of a leader. This feedback should ideally be from their immediate supervisor, their peers, those that work for them, and other stakeholders. The US Army uses what they call MSAF360 (Multi-Source Assessment and Feedback). The system is good in providing… Read More »
[January 23, 2014] Senior leadership requires the special skills inherent in what is referred to as “diplomacy.” This means that senior executive leaders have the ability to advance important ideas and to do so with tact and decorum. For the purposes of this article, diplomacy is practiced at the organizational level. I’ll leave statesmanship for another time. A… Read More »
[January 20, 2014] Today we recognize and give our respect to Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK), whose leadership helped move the U.S. toward the ideal of eliminating racial discrimination. MLK was the leader and chief spokesperson for the civil rights movement – protesting racial discrimination in federal and state law. MLK was largely responsible for the nonviolent protest… Read More »
[January 09, 2014] We have all been on the receiving end of bad leadership and that in itself is not a bad thing because we can certainly learn from it (see Negative Lessons in Leadership). What is most important is to understand the underlying forces at work in bad senior leaders. Many books and articles today address the… Read More »