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 […]

Monday Motivation

    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 […]

Dad’s Sage Advice for Sophomores

My annual advice for new college students is really focused at freshmen, but you sophomores need advice, too. In fact, if my own personal experience is any measure, sophomores need it more. You’re Experienced, but You’re Not an Expert. Returning to college this fall will feel familiar. You know the locations of your classrooms, you […]

Dad’s Sage Advice for the Class of ’20

The Class of 2020 is arriving at college this month, and so keeping with August’s “Advice That Sticks” theme, here’s the latest version of Dad’s Sage Advice for College – 2016 Edition 1. Keep Yourself Healthy You can’t run at full throttle all the time-be sure to maintain your mental, spiritual, and physical health. Don’t […]

Monday Motivation: Hang Your Picture Straight

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 […]

What Is Courage? (Part II)

Last week, I brought you Part I of a discussion of courage from my book, The 5 Be’s for Starting Out.  This week I conclude with some stories about courage. __ Can you learn to be courageous? More to the point, can you learn to control fear? Yes, you can. Learning to be courageous has a […]

What Is Courage? (Part I)

Memorial Day is approaching and I thought a couple of posts on the subject of courage was in order. I’m pleased to bring you an excerpt from my book The Five Be’s as a two-part series on courage. __ Admiral Tarrant from the film The Bridges at Toko-Ri asked, “Where do we get such men?” The […]

Friday Link Around – Graduation

It’s graduation time! Graduation pictures are appearing on my Facebook feed: smiling grads and proud parents. In honor graduation day for so many, this week’s Link Around is all about the grad. Top 10 Commencement Speeches Time Mag: Graduation gift ideas George Saunders has excellent advice: be kind Inspirational quotes for graduates Buzzfeed: 31 Grad Party […]

Capt Rickenbacher had courage. Read more about courage in The 5 Be's for Starting Out

Be Courageous

“Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage without fear.”– Eddie Richenbacker, World War I flying ace There are as many definitions of the word “courage” as there are people. Courage can take many forms, but we generally think of courage in two main categories: physical courage and moral courage. When […]