I’m blessed with a father who is a life-long influence to me. Every day the influence of my father is evident in my mannerisms, my life view, and my drive for excellence. Without him the very essence of who I am would not be and the success I’ve achieved only a hope. The influence I receive has been extended to my wife’s father since our marriage. I am blessed with two Christian...
“You must guard constantly against those who lack vision. You must guard against the reactionary mind. Always cultivate and associate with persons of vision and with persons who believe that things are going to be better. When you do this, you take on the kind of vision, backed by the right kind of inspiration that you need if you are going to grow . . . .” Thomas Watson, Sr., 1874...
I’m writing in the Washington National Airport early in the morning after a routine pre-flight night of restless sleep (about 2 hours worth). I’m tired and not very interested in doing much of anything. The culture in which I work places an informal value on early mornings, long work days, and late nights. It a badge of honor to say you’ve been awake for numbers of hours. My...
The military is tasked with conducting highly complex operations in a life and death environment. Lessons learned since 1775 have evolved the way the military conducts mission command, an evolution that no amount of civilian theory can replicate. When reading military doctrine substitute military lexicon such as commander, mission, and warfighter with the civilian equivalent of your culture...
Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. An Army leader is anyone who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires and influences people to accomplish organizational goals. Army leaders motivate people both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue actions, focus...
Without a clear understanding of what the boss wants, organizations will inevitably fail to achieve it. Without the gift of mind reading, success depends on the boss clearly communicating what he wants. This holds true regardless of the nature of the organizations, its size or purpose. Church leaders, business executives, managers, and heads of families could take a lesson from an enterprise that...
“The very essence of leadership is [that] you have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.”— Theodore Hesburgh
Every office has a ritual that is as important to the health of the organization as the business meeting…the ritual of dropping in on and catching up with co-workers and bosses following a lengthy holiday. I was reminded of this today as I returned to work following a week off for Christmas and the New Year celebrations. My goals were to finalize my calendar for the coming weeks and clear...