Candor:
The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.
– Norman Vincent Peale
“Anderson! You have to be like Gumby! Come up with a new plan and do it quick or your men will die!” These words echoed through the woods as I stood confused during my first attempt leading an infantry squad during Cadet Basic Training at West Point.
The staff sergeant wasn’t going to allow me to implement my plan when the circumstances had changed. It was a lesson I would be taught often as a cadet and as a young officer.
He sat across from me for 90 minutes. He demonstrated drive, humility, sales skills, and the character I love to hire. The problem was his background. I was hiring for a high-end medical sales position. But, he was selling dumpster pick-up service to restaurants. I really liked Jeff. But I hired someone else because Jeff didn’t fit the mold. I made the wrong decision.
This blog is reposted from March 2012. It received a lot of attention when I first posted it.
There is a lot of discussion of the word integrity in business books, in politics, in universities…in every walk of life. I read about it all the time. But, my father, General Jim Anderson, the former Master of the Sword at West Point, taught me more about integrity than any other source. He says:
INTEGRITY requires three steps:
Understanding integrity is foundational to our character development. The more I speak on the importance of character, the more I see that integrity needs defined.
This is reposted from March 2012.
Continue Reading…
I’m an idea guy. I love to brainstorm and come up with ideas on how to make things better. I am also someone who can ignore the details or forget about them quickly.
The more I work with leaders the more I realize I am not alone. All of us have strengths that can also be our weaknesses. They are two sides of the same coin. Our strengths often turn into weaknesses when they are misapplied or taken to an extreme. Continue Reading…
I agreed to talk to the boss. Three of my peers approached me about a sales campaign that they thought missed the mark. It was our boss’s idea, but it wasn’t a good one.
Over time, I became the person my peers came to when someone needed to confront our boss. I accepted that role and felt comfortable doing it. I just wish my peers would have spoken directly to our boss themselves instead of going through me. Continue Reading…
“Dave, you are not the messiah of wayward sales people.” My boss had a way of being direct – sometimes with a sting. She knew me and my desire to help others. I didn’t like the delivery, but she was right.
The problem was, once again, I was hanging on too tight to someone who was not making the grade. He was not meant to be in sales, and I refused to accept it. Continue Reading…
84% of employees do not believe their company’s culture is widely upheld according to a study by the Aberdeen Group. The startling thing is the numbers are only slightly better for executives who answered that same survey – 81% admitted they are not doing a good job upholding the company culture. These are the people who are responsible for reinforcing the culture!
Merriam Webster took me on an odyssey to get to a definition of leadership. I seem to remember being taught in school to not use the root of a word to define that word. Someone should have told Merriam that!
Merriam Webster Says:
Definition of LEADERSHIP
1: the office or position of a leader
2: capacity to lead Continue Reading…
Leadership is a blend of competence and character.
BG (Retired) Jim Anderson, my father, taught me that. In 41 years in the Army, including two tours in Vietnam, he saw a lot of great leaders and a lot of leadership failures that formed his philosophy.
One year ago, I started this website with this post. I have learned a lot in the last 365 days. Thank you for joining me and contributing. Every time you comment on a blog, you make me better. Thank you for that!
“What leadership book have you ever read that states, ‘A leader does what is right unless it will cost him personally.’” There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. It was not the empathetic answer Stan was looking for. The question: “What can I do? She’s my boss.”
This blog was previously posted in March 2012. I am reposting it as a result of multiple conversations I’ve had recently concerning courage in the workplace.
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