Leadership author and speaker
Leadership author and speaker
“The single most important element of success in war is leadership.” Gen David Goldfein, USAF As a young officer our formal leadership training consisted largely of learning our military specialty and a few vague lessons about balancing “mission and people.” They were lessons born of, simultaneously, thousands of years of military tradition and 20th century […]
Take a look at any photo of industrial production during the Second World War and think about the scale and volume of it. Any way you slice it, it’s impressive! Millions of workers producing millions of items from bombers to Liberty Ships to trousers. The emphasis then was on process efficiency and so we developed […]
Twenty-first-century business requires agility–from teams, from institutions, and from leaders–and that agility comes from synchronized leadership. Despite the radical change in the environment, many institutions still cling to Twentieth-century management models. Those Industrial Age management models are ill-suited to guide leaders in the Information Age. Perhaps the “king” of management models from the last century […]
“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” General George S. Patton After all the instruction and practice on the beach, it was time to actually put my board into the ocean and paddle out to the break. I knew how to surf—well, I knew what my instructors taught […]
“A man has integrity if his interest in the good of the service is at all times greater than his personal pride, and when he holds himself to the same line of duty when unobserved as he would follow if his superiors were present” – General S.L.A. Marshall It was very dark and cold on […]
The ballplayer who loses his head, who can’t keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all. – Lou Gehrig It’s baseball season again, and so we begin the annual Rite of the Green Grass and White Lines. Each year, baseball coaches struggle to give clear direction to help their teams make good decisions […]
Twenty-first-century business requires agility–from teams, from institutions, and from leaders–and that agility comes from synchronized leadership. Despite the radical change in the environment, many institutions still cling to Twentieth-century management models. Those Industrial Age management models are ill-suited to guide leaders in the Information Age. Perhaps the “king” of management models from the last century […]
5. The first report is usually wrong. Be patient and ask questions. In my military career I’ve had the unique opportunity to watch news bring made, both in Washington and in the field, then watch it being reported on TV. I’ve also meet many reporters, and in my experience they’re trying their best to tell […]
Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions. Harold S. Geneen During the 1950-1953 Korean War, American fighter pilots dominated the skies, even though the Soviet-made MiG-15 jets were faster and more nimble than the American F-80 and F-86s. The difference wasn’t the technology—it was the battle-tested American veterans flying […]
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. Vince Lombardi I’ve been an athlete my entire life. From Little League, soccer, and football growing up in Texas to intramurals […]
In my latest over a GeneralLeadership.com, I talk about leading change while channeling my inner Commander Adama from SyFy’s Battlestar Galactica. “It won’t be an easy journey. It’ll be long, and arduous. But I promise you one thing: on the memory of those lying here before you, we shall find it, and Earth shall become […]
I’m very proud to announce my first contribution to General Leadership, “Leadership Advice from America’s Most Trusted Leaders”! In military parlance, a Common Operating Picture (or “COP”) is a single presentation of the battlespace to a wide and distributed audience. The purpose is to provide common understanding and situational awareness for all involved. I’ve adapted this idea […]