On the eve of another Mother’s Day, as I’ve unfortunately done a few times in my history, I needed a not-too-subtle prompt, this time from an internet ad, to get me moving on buying my mom something for the day. Almost settling to just call her tomorrow, which is something I knew she’d be just fine with, I elected to try and do some quick internet shopping to order her some flowers. Looking through the on-line options back in my hometown of Midlothian, Texas, I was surprised to find several more choices than the two little stores from back when I was a kid.… Read the rest
Sep 13 2017
A Mother’s Day Perspective
Sep 9 2016
Dynamic Dozen: People Need A Purpose, Not Just a Paycheck
“A man has integrity if his interest in the good of the service is at all times greater than his personal pride, and when he holds himself to the same line of duty when unobserved as he would follow if his superiors were present”
– General S.L.A. Marshall
It was very dark and cold on the flightline at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base where teams of Airmen and a Kuwaiti contractor were working furiously in the desert night to repair a critical fuel line prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The fuel line had been damaged in the 1991 war, and we were racing the calendar to get fuel to the airplanes who would launch the opening of the liberation of Iraq.… Read the rest
Aug 3 2016
The Flip Side of Fear: What Your Fear Says About You
“Fear can be seen as happening for us, not just to us. Leverage it!”
Jay Steven Levin
Fear is increasing. Worldwide. It knows no psychographic, demographic or geographic limitation.
Let’s look fear in the eye. See it for what it is, what it can tell you about you and how you can relate to it better to improve your quality of life.
Fear is an emotional response. A sensual reaction to what and how we perceive the world around us and our internal world inside us.
The more we live in and through our senses, the greater our emotional reactions become.… Read the rest
Jun 23 2015
Time Machine Tuesday: Leading with Moral Courage
From Our Early Files:
Originally Published
10 Oct 2013
“Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”
Theodore Roosevelt
When I think of the term, “Moral Courage,” I recall a presentation I heard many years ago by a former Commandant of the Marine Corp, Gen Charles Krulak. He gave a powerful depiction of moral courage based upon his experiences as a young combat infantry officer in Vietnam.
After reading Gen Krulak’s remarks, it is clear why moral courage is a defining principle that our society needs more than ever in these challenging times.
Moral courage is not a combat-only requirement – it is a critical component to an organization’s overall well being.… Read the rest
May 10 2015
A Mother’s Day Perspective
On the eve of another Mother’s Day, as I’ve unfortunately done a few times in my history, I needed a not-too-subtle prompt, this time from an internet ad, to get me moving on buying my mom something for the day. Almost settling to just call her tomorrow, which is something I knew she’d be just fine with, I elected to try and do some quick internet shopping to order her some flowers. Looking through the on-line options back in my hometown of Midlothian, Texas, I was surprised to find several more choices than the two little stores from back when I was a kid.… Read the rest
Apr 29 2015
Champions Don’t Take Shortcuts
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.
Vince Lombardi
I’ve been an athlete my entire life. From Little League, soccer, and football growing up in Texas to intramurals of all sorts in college and the military, athletic competition is a big part of my life. Sports are a great metaphor for life and I’ve gleaned countless leadership lessons from it. In fact, it’s one of the reasons the military uses athletic competition as a training opportunity from entry level (Basic Military Training) to senior executive level (e.g.… Read the rest
Apr 16 2015
3 Steps to Becoming a More Effective and Empathetic You
“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitudes.”
Victor Frankl
This Article Has Been Reposted in conjunction with
Days of Remembrance (Holocaust Remembrance Day)
Viktor Frankl was an incredible person by many measures. He was a brilliant academic, a survivor of three years in four different concentration camps during the Holocaust, a pioneering neurologist/psychiatrist in Vienna following World War II, and an inspirational author. Most notable, however, is that his finest moments came when leadership was thrust upon him in the bleakest of times.
Despite enduring the atrocities of four Nazi concentration camps, the most infamous being Auschwitz, and losing his wife and parents to them, Frankl managed to find what few others could during such a dark period in our world’s history: a meaningful purpose for living.… Read the rest
Mar 18 2015
So Say We All: Finding Earth
“It won’t be an easy journey. It’ll be long, and arduous. But I promise you one thing: on the memory of those lying here before you, we shall find it, and Earth shall become our new home.
So say we all!”
Commander Bill Adama
Battlestar Galactica
Studying fictional leaders is sometimes as profitable as studying actual ones. For example, Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) in the SyFy TV series Battlestar Galactica is a great character study in leadership during crisis. I’m a big BSG fan, and consider it one of the best sci-fi TV series ever made. The quote above is from the end of the pilot, after the Cylons have destroyed the entire human race except for 50,000 survivors.… Read the rest
Aug 1 2014
Lead Wisely: Develop a Courageous Heart
“I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.”
Maya Angelou
The great philosopher Aristotle once said, “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” But courage is something more than a quality of the mind. It is, as I learned from my wife, primarily a condition of the heart.
My wife Holly is many wonderful things, not the least of which is a trained, classical, five-element acupuncturist. Admittedly, like many others, I was not sure what to think when she chose to pursue this very untraditional path.… Read the rest
Jul 21 2014
Why Courage Is A Skill
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill
Richard Branson’s first business venture was a mail-order company started with funding accumulated by handing out leaflets outside of concerts. A 15-year old Bill Gates ditched school in Seattle to develop a traffic-measurement program called Traf-O-Data, netting $20k for himself and fellow student, Paul Allen. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle led 80-men in sixteen B-25 bombers to barely leave the deck of the USS Hornet on a Tokyo raid in 1942, when landing—even return—was tenuous, at best. And a little girl took on a wicked witch and saved all of Oz, despite the efforts of a self-doubting lion.… Read the rest
Jun 20 2014
The Bridge To Your Big Dream
“Teamwork makes the
dream work.”
Bang Gae
Every so often we have a grand idea, or dream of doing something bigger than our selves. Just the thought of it generates a chain of “What if…?”. We are even inspired by the image of what that dream looks like at its fulfillment. But for some reason(s), many of us don’t pursue our dreams.
In May of 1831, a German engineer by the name of John Augustus Roebling immigrated from Prussia to the United States of America. His intent–opportunities and a brighter future. He sought to establish a German colony in the U.S.… Read the rest
Jun 13 2014
A Positive Attitude is Contagious
“The person who sends out positive thoughts activates the world around him positively and draws back to himself positive results.”
Norman Vincent Peale
A positive attitude is contagious! Do you believe that? I certainly do as I’ve seen it in action throughout my life. So we arrive at our fifth stop on our journey through SERVANT leadership. As a leader, it is amazing the impact you can have on your organization with your attitude; either positive or negative, you set the tone. Have you ever worked around someone with an unpleasant attitude—oh come on be honest? Did you like it? Of course not, so here’s the challenge—don’t be that person! … Read the rest
Jun 9 2014
A “To Be” List for Aspiring Leaders
”Being’ and ‘doing’ are inseparable aspects of your presence and influence.
-author unknown
I have the privilege each year of speaking to auditoriums full of aspiring young leaders, anxious to go out into the world and make their mark. They are looking for the “book”, the “roadmap” , the “words or wisdom” that will guide them to the things they need “TO-DO” next.
As we know, success in leadership and in the world is not only attributed to what you do; it is dependent on who you are and why you do. Who you are comes across more strongly than what you sell or say.… Read the rest
May 28 2014
A Mother’s Day Perspective
On the eve of another Mother’s Day, as I’ve unfortunately done a few times in my history, I needed a not-too-subtle prompt, this time from an internet ad, to get me moving on buying my mom something for the day. Almost settling to just call her tomorrow, which is something I knew she’d be just fine with, I elected to try and do some quick internet shopping to order her some flowers. Looking through the on-line options back in my hometown of Midlothian, Texas, I was surprised to find several more choices than the two little stores from back when I was a kid.… Read the rest
Nov 25 2013
Leading with Moral Courage
Theodore Roosevelt
When I think of the term, “Moral Courage,” I recall a presentation I heard many years ago by a former Commandant of the Marine Corp, Gen Charles Krulak. He gave a powerful depiction of moral courage based upon his experiences as a young combat infantry officer in Vietnam.
After reading Gen Krulak’s remarks, it is clear why moral courage is a defining principle that our society needs more than ever in these challenging times.
Moral courage is not a combat-only requirement – it is a critical component to an organization’s overall well being.… Read the rest
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