Leadership author and speaker
Leadership author and speaker
Ultimately, leadership is both highly personal and highly situational. There are all sorts of teams and leaders, and the themes and truisms I lay out in this book are universal; each leader has to adapt their own style and personal ethos. I submit that the personal ethos is the first thing a serious leader should […]
Two years ago, I lost everything of monetary value, either stolen or sold. I’ve never been happier in my life than I am today. Thank you to all the thieves and buyers. When you are down on your luck, it’s easy to blame others. It takes a big man–and a hearty helping of God’s grace–to […]
Mickey believes everyone can reach high levels of performance if inspired and led. During his 30 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 Defense […]
This week I had the great priviledge to be in Canberra, Australia on ANZAC Day. If you’re not familiar, ANZAC Day is a national holiday in Australia and New Zealand and observed throughout the British Commonwealth. It originally commemorated the Australia New Zealand Army Corps landings and subsequent battles at Gallipoli, Turkey during the First […]
az·i·muth [az-uh-muhth] noun 1. Astronomy, Navigation . the arc of the horizon measured clockwise from the south point, in astronomy, or from the north point, in navigation, to the point where a vertical circle through a given heavenly body intersects the horizon. 2. Surveying, Gunnery. the angle of horizontal deviation, measured clockwise, of a bearing […]
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 […]
No matter where I go, I always find myself there. The Patio King has always been a master at being “in the moment.” While I was rushing around from place to place, he always seemed to have the mindfulness to be present where he was, and with those around him. Good advice for all of […]
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 Defense […]
Last weekend I was honored to participate in the Inaugural Intentional Leadership Conference, held by the Hollingsworth Leadership Development Program at Texas A&M University. The Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M has a long and proud tradition of leadership development, and I’m certain the ILC will add to that tradition! Be sure to “Like” their […]
When my son was very young, he would give me the same advice as I left for work every day: “Goodbye, Daddy, have a good day at work. Be sure to drink your water, eat your lunch, and make new friends.” I always thought his farewell each day was far more insightful than just a […]
As a military officer, I’ve served with some of the finest people I’ll ever know. Few of them were exactly like me, but all of us shared a common purpose to serve our country. It’s that shared purpose that unified a diverse group of people around a singular mission to fight for our country, our […]
Life is full of plan B, a lot more plan C, and the occasional plans D, E, and F. Success in life is due to a combo of luck and hard work. When luck fails, you have to be able to work harder! The Patio King has always been willing to work hard to make ends […]
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 Defense […]
The leadership lessons I learned as a member of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets were among the most formative of my military career. That’s me and my buddies after we marched past the reviewing stand at Final Review. We’d be leaving the Corps and each other following that Review. I certainly continued to learn […]
There’s a great scene in the 1949 John Ford film She Wore a Yellow Ribbon that contains a lesson in leadership. You guessed it: they were walking their horses. What does “walking horses” have to do with leadership? Just this: leaders can and must try to get the best out of their people, but no one can […]
Onboarding new employees is critical to the success of any organization. Without a deliberate and thoughtful onboarding process, new employees are set adrift in an organizational culture without any guide–and some will lose their way. Done correctly, a good onboarding process will imbue the new recruit with company values and energize them to find where […]
Last year, I edited and co-wrote a book with my brother–the Patio King. He has a great sense of humor and I thought a book with his humor, awesome photos, and a few stories of my own would speak to people. Let’s just say the response has been underwhelming. The content is just too good […]
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 Defense […]
Successful leaders are curious about their business and the people who work for/with them. This sort of curiosity is an imperative for a leader because he/she has to both accomplish the task at hand and the “care/feeding” of the team. To put it more succinctly, the leader needs to know what’s going on. There’s a […]
