How to Build Shared Purpose in Your Team

“Shared Purpose” is shorthand for getting people connected to the mission of an organization. The most effective leaders are able to build a collective sense of shared purpose and connect each individual to the mission of the larger team. In fact, the teams who think and work together with a sense of shared purpose are […]

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 National Defense […]

Agility Through Independence

The buzzword in modern business these days is agility. What does agility mean? It means networks of teams working independently but in unity to accomplish common goals. The hierarchical organization is sometimes a necessary way to structure a company or military unit, but there are very few organizations that can respond rapidly to changing environments […]

Monday Motivation – Independence Day Edition

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 […]

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 National Defense […]

Overcoming Institutional Inertia to Lead Change

Change is difficult–leading revolutionary change in large organizations requires overcoming institutional inertia. At dusk, I watched four combat loaded F-16 fighters taxi out to strike targets on the first night of Operation Iraqi Freedom as my engineers were affixing the final solar-powered LED taxiway edge lights to the pavement of our desert air base. Had […]

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 National Defense […]

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 National Defense […]

The Courage to Innovate in Large Organizations

Innovation in any large organization requires courage–courage from senior leaders right down to the front line worker. If done with courage and clear vision, then leaders can develop a true culture of innovation–a “startup mentality”–even in the public sector. Is it really possible to have a “startup” in a huge global enterprise? The answer is […]

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 […]

Friday Link Around: Top Posts on Culture

This week, the Friday Link Around takes on a slightly different focus – we explore what “culture” means to leaders. Leading organizations both large and small demand the creation of a cohesive culture of shared ideas and values. For startups, the transformation from “five guys in a garage” to a staff of dozens of employees […]

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 […]

Dynamic Dozen: You Have to Decide

No! Do or do not. There is no try. -Yoda I had to decide and there really weren’t any good choices. Balancing security with the “need for speed” completing construction in preparation for the invasion of Iraq. The security officer at our air base in the Kuwaiti desert would not budge on his requirements, and […]