When I interviewed Mr. Doug Hyde, Executive Vice President of a major architectural firm, for my book, The Power of Being All In, he told me something worth noting. His organization expected to roughly double in size over the next three to five years. Then he told me how: “We need to continue to grow … Read more
It is hard to be patient. It is hard not to answer every email or text within seconds, although most of us try. In Leadership in the Information Age, I wrote that leaders are like the proverbial firefighter: any time we see a problem in the making, we feel a need to go “beat the … Read more
As we came out of the 1970s with the Cold War drawing to a close and new threats rising from every corner of the map, the Army knew it had to change its culture. I described that decision in We’re All In. We had to build junior leaders who could make real strategic decisions, which … Read more
Why one general’s quiet habit worked, and how to make it yours. Last week I told you about one of my role models, Lieutenant General Don Holder (USA retired), who visited the junior soldiers in a unit, asked lots of thoughtful questions, took notes, and never interrupted their answers. I keep coming back to that … Read more
The second Big 6 principle is the one almost every leader underestimates. One of the finest Army leaders I ever observed in my military career was Lieutenant General (Retired) Don Holder. He helped lead the Army’s doctrinal shift toward decentralized operations and empowerment, and in doing so he shaped generations of leaders. But what I … Read more
Setting the Azimuth takes a fair degree of hard work, and keeping it alive is a discipline that goes on every quarter after. Speaking of hard work, here’s an example of true dedication in leadership: Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expedition ship Endurance became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea in January 1915, and despite … Read more
