“Local Kine” Leadership

The natural beauty of the ‘aina (the land) and ke kai (the sea) in the Hawaiian Islands is legendary, but it’s the e komo mai (welcome) the good kama’aina (islanders) show to malahini (newcomers like me), that make these Islands of Aloha a wonderful place to live.  In fact, if you’ve noticed a slow down […]

Fast, Cheap, & Good. Pick Two.

One of the hardest things any leader has to do is balance the needs of the boss while not wearing out the team. When trying to diffuse a situation where my organization was being asked to do something impossible, I often used the line, “You can have it ‘fast’, ‘good’, or ‘cheap’… pick two.” Phrasing […]

I Really Don’t Like Meetings

I know, I know, sometimes meetings are necessary, but in my experience very little actual work gets done in most meetings. Yes, of course, senior leaders still need to be informed, so the “status/update brief” is a necessary component of running most large organizations. Yes, sometimes we need to have a meeting to set the […]

Want to Win? Find the Right Team Captain

Team Captain: the very words conjure up a picture in our minds of a leader.  In most sports, the Team Captain is voted on by the entire team.  The Captains are usually the most popular players because they are the most skilled, or the most inspirational, or perhaps the most humble or virtuous.  In some […]

What’s Your Passion?

I saw this art club at Makapu’u Lookout this morning during my usual Saturday morning bike ride.  Cycling is one of my passions, and for these artists, painting was theirs. I think having a balanced life is important for well being, especially for a leader.  For a leader to be able to relate to others, […]

The 5 Best Christmas Gifts for Your Co-Workers

Navigating the holiday season(s) can be daunting for the boss.  Be too generous and you can make your team feel compelled to reciprocate; be too stingy and they’ll think you’re a Grinch.  With that in mind, here’s five suggestions for the “gift challenged” this Christmas/Holiday season for the boss to his/her team. 1.  Take Them […]

Be A Good Follower

Following is just as important as leading. To be a good follower means more than merely doing what your boss tells you but trying to see the bigger picture and understand where the boss is going. I maintain that you’ve got to learn how to follow before you can learn how to lead. So how […]

What Got You Here Won’t Make You Successful Here

When I was going through the executive leadership curriculum at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (now the Eisenhower School), speakers and readings continually repeated the notion that executive leadership was different; that the skills we learned as majors and lieutenant colonels would not make us successful as colonels and generals. At the time, […]

What 100 Miles Taught Me

Last Sunday, I accomplished a personal goal by completing a “century” bicycle ride.  100 miles in six and a half hours flat on a bicycle took commitment to a training schedule, some acquired knowledge on endurance nutrition, and not a small amount of determination to finish the full 100 miles. Besides the “ordinary” preparation of […]

New Series: Mickey’s Rules

For years I kept General Colin Powell’s “Rules” on a worn, type-written sheet of paper somewhere on my desk. His Rules had been published in a news magazine article, and I thought they were fabulous, so I typed them up and added a few of my own to the bottom. Over the years, I developed […]