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Thinking in time, 77 years ago: D-Day
June 6, 1944: The U.S. and our allies launch what was then the largest seaborne and airborne operation in history, Operation Overlord. Paratroopers from the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions loaded late at night on the 5th, along with other allied airborne troops, and dropped behind enemy lines an hour after midnight to secure the…
Read MoreWhat’s missing this Memorial Day?
This week I am visiting Fort Bragg, and there are American flags everywhere on and off post, as befitting the home of the great All American Division and the home of our Special Operations outfits. I sincerely hope all of you are able to get some well-deserved breaks from work or the same old routine…
Read MoreComing to you from Park City!
Coming Tuesday! Yes, yes, more shameless plugging for my book, Marathon War. See me reading an advanced copy downtown. Marathon War releases on Tuesday, 25 May, in hard cover, eBook, and audio book. No excuses! From start to release, it’s been about seven years in the writing, re-writing, editing, clearing (Pentagon), and publishing. I am…
Read MoreYou Can Build Character!
Character: so important to leadership, so important to being a good human being. So how to build it? Let me snatch a few lines from Marathon War: “Men and women are not perfect, and all of us have flaws, which we usually try to control, or at least hide from others. We are not born…
Read MoreCharacter
For followers of my blog, you remember that I believe three leadership traits are most important in our very best leaders: competence, moral courage, and character. Earlier posts discuss competence and courage. For the next series of posts, let’s get into character. There are many definitions of character. I think of it simply as this:…
Read MoreThank you to Military Mom’s Everywhere, Past and Present
On Mother’s Day, let me thank military mothers everywhere. I tried to explain what I owe my wife, Patty, the mother of our two children, in Marathon War: “…Patty and I had two children, Ryan and Kelly, and tried hard to maintain a loving family. Moving frequently with too much time away in the field, on temporary…
Read MoreThe power of conviction
Let’s talk about moral courage: standing firm in your beliefs, or what I call the willingness “to bet your stars or bars” for an idea, a conviction, or an action, normally that involves others, especially those we lead. We speak of the “courage of convictions,” which means that moral courage requires conviction, a sense of…
Read MoreMoral Courage
If you have been following my blog trail, you remember that I believe three leadership traits reign supreme in our best leaders: competence, moral courage, and character. I discussed in earlier posts competence, and how you can think about it when gauging whether you, or anyone else, are ready for the next job, or the…
Read MoreA Noble Cause
I have been thinking a lot about this week’s announcement that the United States would pull out all of its troops from Afghanistan by 9/11 this year. I have also talked to many veterans who served there and almost everyone feels strongly about the decision: some are very much opposed, while others are all for…
Read MoreYES, I am Ready!
So how DO we know if we are ready for the next big step in life? I think it boils down to two things: Am I competent in the things I KNOW I will face, just not when – the “known unknowns” as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld used to say? And maybe more importantly,…
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