A Case Study in “Ends Don’t Justify Means”
As leadership is at its heart a “service”, then leaders have a responsibility to being ethical.
Tag: executive leadership
Swing Easy
Gripping the organization too tightly ensures you’ll miss the fairway.
Leaders Need to Know the Truth
Objective truth exists – leaders need to know how to apply it.
Spit Out the Seeds
Eat the sweet stuff of life and learn to spit out the seeds.
Swing Easy
Gripping the organization too tightly ensures you’ll miss the fairway.
The Human Connection is the Foundation of Respect
One of the games I play to keep myself amused during trips is to make up stories in my head about the people I see walking by in airports or other public places. I give them names, try to guess at their destinations, and the reasons for their travel. That’s Gladys Simpson. She’s a 48 […]
Respect for Persons
The national conversation about how men and women should treat each other is a valuable conversation for leaders and high achievers to have. It’s everyone’s responsibility to create and sustain a culture of respect, and for leaders it’s particularly important. We have learned a great deal about ourselves and our culture of late. I’ve always […]
Use Words If Necessary
There’s an oft-repeated quote attributed a popular saint, St Francis of Assisi, that speaks to the heart of today’s post; specifically that actions speak louder than words. The quote goes: Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words. No, I’ve not turned this into a religion blog; the point is that what we […]
What Is Courage? (Part II)
Mickey is moving his household from Hawaii to Texas. While he’s moving, please enjoy these posts from last year, and remember “The Five Be’s” Second Edition comes out in September! Last week, I brought you Part I of a discussion of courage from my book, The Five Be’s. This week I conclude with some stories about […]
What Is Courage? (Part I)
Mickey is in the midst of moving his household from Hawaii to Texas, so please enjoy this “classic” post from 2016. Original posts will resume in September. Also, don’t forget that The Five Be’s Second Edition goes live on Lulu and Amazon next month!! In the film, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, the Task Force Commander, Admiral […]
Leaders are Readers – Your Summer Reading List
Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. -Harry S. Truman As a student at both Air Command and Staff College and National Defense University’s Eisenhower School, I was privileged to hear dozens of accomplished national leaders speak. Generals, Supreme Court justices, Congressional representatives and senators, leaders in industry. We even heard from […]
On Civic Virtue, Respect, and Followership
Ever work for someone or have to be deferential to someone you didn’t respect or didn’t like? Fortunately for me, all the men and women I reported directly to were people I did respect. Civic virtue demands we understand how to respect the office rather than just the office holder. Respect the Rank and the […]
Overcoming Barriers to Change
One of the highest barriers to effecting change is getting enough people to change their thinking from “the way it is now” to the way you want to operate. In fact, many people are very resistant to change–I call that resistance “institutional inertia.” The most successful companies are able to help their teams and their […]
Transitioning Leadership – The Exchange of Flags
The military change of command ceremony is rooted in centuries of tradition back to the time of Frederick the Great. In the days before radio communications, the unit’s commander used his flag as a symbol of command and to signal movements on the battlefield. Leaders would physically hand the unit’s organizational flag from the outgoing […]
Transitioning Leadership – The Outgoing Executive
I tried to stay out of sight, but I just had to return the car keys. Calling my now former deputy, I asked him to meet me in the parking lot so I could return his car keys. “Why don’t you just come up?” he asked. “I’ve already said my good-byes,” I replied, “it would […]
Leading Teams to Greatness – Part 3 – Executing the Plan
Planning is very important, but just like the surfer sitting in the lineup at some point you have to actually drop in and ride the waves. For leaders, this idea means we have to carry out the plans we make. Perfect plans don’t accomplish anything–implementing them does! That surfing maxim came home to me in […]
Respect and the Power of Nice: Setting the Example
There has been considerable talk in the press and in the blogs on the importance of people treating each other with respect. It’s a subject I write about often because it’s central to leaders inspiring people to be their best, and groups forming into high performing teams. Whether it’s travelling, shopping in a crowd, or […]
Monday Motivation – Let Purpose Arise from Relationship
Mickey believes everyone can reach high levels of performance if inspired and led. During his 28 year US Air Force career Mickey commanded thousands of Airmen, managed portfolios worth billions of dollars, and worked with military, civil, and industry officials around the world. He is a Distinguished Graduate from the Eisenhower School at National […]
Audio Series Part 4: Teamwork and Little Things Matter
In 2013, I was pleased to be featured in a 4-part series on a radio show called Character Matters! with Bob Vasquez the US Air Force Academy’s KAFA-FM radio. CMSgt (ret) Bob Vasquez was a fabulous host, and we had a great conversation about leadership. You can subscribe to his feed on SoundCloud here. The Third & […]
Audio Series: Character Matters! Part 3 All About Leaders
In 2013, I was pleased to be featured in a 4-part series on a radio show called Character Matters! with Bob Vasquez the US Air Force Academy’s KAFA-FM radio. CMSgt (ret) Bob Vasquez was a fabulous host, and we had a great conversation about leadership. You can subscribe to his feed on SoundCloud here. Today’s post is […]