Making People Matter Few of us knew that roughly 40 percent of my class entering West Point would not graduate four years later. That attrition was not an accident. It was, in some respects, by design. The culture of the institution then was built around pressure, endurance, and the belief that only those who could … Read more
Defining The Culture of Commitment Not long ago, I was working with a car dealership General Manager who told me a story I have never forgotten. He was walking his service bays at the end of a long workday when he stopped to talk to one of the technicians (a young man named Jack, as … Read more
You can feel the difference here. Most leaders stop too soon. In We’re All In, I described one of the most instructive cultural turnaround stories I have come across: the New Aetna. In the early 2000s, Aetna Healthcare was in serious trouble. It was losing roughly a million dollars a day. Its relationships with customers and … Read more
The most hopeful level is also the most frustrating. Here’s why. When I interviewed Andrew Sewnauth, President and CEO of CDS Life Transitions, for The Power of Being All In, he said something that stopped me cold. “Companies that don’t take time to invest in their employees pay an even greater price.” He wasn’t speaking theoretically. … Read more
Early in my career as a Major in the U.S. Army, I had the privilege of serving as aide-de-camp to General Crosbie Saint, then the Commander in Chief of U.S. Army Europe. We spent most of our time together in helicopters and jets, moving constantly across Western Europe and back across the Atlantic for meetings … Read more
Why Every CEO Needs a Trusted Advisor Who Has Been in the Trenches In the military, the battle buddy concept is non-negotiable. You never go anywhere alone. Your battle buddy is your trusted partner, the person who shares your risks, watches your blind spots, holds you accountable when it matters most, and tells you the … Read more
