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Daily Deliberation: 8 December 2019
The Navy SEALs coined an ideal that we do not rise to the situation; rather, we fall to the level of our training. Basically, we do not get magic super powers when we are faced with a challenge. Instead, we rely on our preparation. Whenever I have planned out a certain event, it never went…
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Daily Deliberation: 7 December 2019
Being a leader is not about getting a fancy duty title or fringe benefits. The 1950’s model of leadership was to have the minions serve the boss. They would run in front of him and remove the obstacles in his path, they would lay their jackets over the mud hole so his boots wouldn’t lose…
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Daily Deliberation: 6 December 2019
I always used to laugh when people would say the smartest person in the room is the one who asks the most questions. I would instantly think of all the commander calls where the wing commander would be asked about why the eggs were “tepid” at the chow hall. I thought, “no, the one who…
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Daily Deliberation: 5 December 2019
We are horrible managers of our own time. Case and point, we have no problem staying up just five or ten minutes longer to do something seemingly useless like scroll our phones or watch a fidget spinner infomercial. Then we fight the alarm clock the next morning because we are too tired to wake up.…
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Daily Deliberation: 4 December 2019
Why do vegetables taste worse than candy? I have wondered my whole life why the hardest thing to do is often the best…like eating vegetables in lieu of candy. I am not sure of the reason for this, but we all know it is better to do the hard things over the easy things most…
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Learn the Dynamic, Grow Your Team, Enforce Standards
In the movie Training Day, Denzel Washington’s character, Alonzo, tells Ethan Hawke’s character, Jake: Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open, you might learn a thing or two. While Alonzo is talking about the streets and how actions there affect a Narc officer, these words apply to us as leaders. Our teams, much like…
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Daily Deliberation: 3 December 2019
There is a saying in politics that goes something like, “never waste a good crisis.” When something big happens, these leaders are looking for ways to make things better. For example, WWII led to the creation of the UN. If it hadn’t been for that, the UN may have never been. When things are falling…
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Daily Deliberation: 2 December 2019
One of the greatest lessons I ever learned was from a martial arts instructor. This man was very talented, a proven champion, high-ranking and the owner of the school. However, he never referred to any of the students as “students.” We were fellow martial artists, workout partners, teammates, etc. He was clearly the leader of…
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Daily Deliberation: 30 November 2019
When I took over my current role, I noticed my team was afraid to make mistakes. They would strive for compliance and rarely attempted to innovate anything. They were afraid of failing and the kick-back from leadership. It took me about 5 months to earn their trust and show them I would not fatten their…
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