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.
I blame the movie Patton. In today’s business world, people assume autocratic, top down leadership prevails in our military and that military leaders are not prepared for the less rigid world of business leadership. This is a myth!
Just like all civilian business leaders are not like Michael Douglas in Wall Street, all military officers are not like George C. Scott in Patton. Many business leaders without a military background have bought into the way Hollywood portrays military officers. Continue Reading…
What is it about our human nature that causes us to seek excuses for when we fall short? Even some of the best sales people and leaders I have been around, can identify something outside of their control that caused them to miss their goals.
Excuses are easy. Breaking the habit of making excuses is hard. I addressed the way West Point handles habitual excuses in an older blog: West Point: How Leaders Seize Responsibility.
But, what if we turned our thought process around? What if we questioned who was responsible for the wins in our lives? Continue Reading…
Facing us is the River of Fear, made deep and wide by our hesitations, timidity, doubts, and paralysis.
Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities…because it is the quality which guarantees all others. - Winston Churchill
Other than the words in this paragraph, this entire blog is taken directly from the introduction to a fantastic book I am reading by a fellow West Point graduate, Gus Lee. Courage: The Backbone Of Leadership clearly states what I believe about the role of courage in leadership. (Click on the title above to read more on about this book). Continue Reading…
Ownership or excuses. One is the mark of a leader. The other is a sign that I am bound for mediocrity and failure. In the long run, people who make excuses stall out.
Making excuses is a habit. I wrote about how West Point deals with this habit in West Point: How Leaders Seize Accountability. But what are the results for me if I habitually make excuses? Continue Reading…
Every male freshman (plebe) entering West Point has a mandatory class that few other colleges offer much less require. Boxing.
Each morning that boxing was on my schedule I woke up thinking about it. I would sit in calculus, chemistry or computer programing class thinking about boxing. It didn’t matter that I had tests or other graded exercises in those classes. Boxing dominated my thoughts.
This is a previously posted blog that drew a lot of attention from West Point graduates (emails, comments etc) the first time it was published in May 2012. Continue Reading…
It had been almost five years since I had seen my West Point classmate. I always enjoyed seeing him. We have a common bond all academy graduates have. But, after our first hour together, he said something that rocked my world.
I smiled and secretly hoped he was talking about my pant size. Continue Reading…
My four years at West Point began and ended at Michie Stadium. July 1, 1985 was a beautiful sunny day filled with fear and anxiety as I said goodbye to my loving parents and hello to the not-so-loving upperclassmen.
The principles of leadership taught at West Point served me well as a young platoon leader in combat in Desert Storm, as the CEO of two different companies, as a husband and father, and now as a pastor.
Who doesn’t love the Navy SEALs? Answer: The enemy’s of freedom. But to the rest of us, these warriors are heroes. They are the elite of the elite.
I say I love the Navy SEALs even though I am an Army guy. The Army has Delta Force and the Navy has the SEAL Teams. One thing these two groups live by is the concept of teamwork.
In a recent discussion with a new friend, he told me of a quote from a leadership boot camp he attended that was run by a former Navy SEAL. Continue Reading…
“I’ve seen it all. I’ve read it all. I’ve sat through more leadership seminars than you can imagine. Everything I see these days is just a repackaging of someone else’s work.”
Kurt’s reaction to the company’s latest leadership initiative did not surprise Judy. In her first six months as VP of the division, she quickly realized that Kurt had all the answers. At least he believed he did. Continue Reading…
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