Musings (December)
It is the duty of the CEO to develop the leadership skills of his direct reports and to see to the same for the middle managers.
The fear of consequences is the scarecrow of cowards and the moment of opportunity for the great leaders.
Intentional impatience by the leader keeps the staff at full-stretch leaving little time for grousing and disloyalty. Staffs that are under-worked and rarely held accountable can be gossip factories and pathogens for failure.
Militarily speaking, the U.S. still possesses the arm and the reach, but the head is gone, which may soon allow the arm to whither and our adversaries are aware.
In decision-making, executive insight, initiative, and prerogative trump consensus every time.
“In your pursuit of leadership excellence, please understand that tidy narratives and eloquent rhetoric must be under-written by raw guts and (executive) courage.” emphasis added, Dr. Bill Horton, “Leadership Lessons of General Robert E. Lee
The ego has no amigo. Tony Gonzalez, Professional Football Player
“… give me all the ‘wanna be’s you can find; they are the “gonna be’s’ of tomorrow.” Executive Courage - Sometimes You Have to Walk Point, Jim Benson
“Common sense is not all that common. In fact, it is seemingly so uncommon today that we should refer to it as ‘uncommon sense.’” Anonymous
“In aerial combat, we’re in a game where if you come in second, you don’t come in at all.” anonymous U.S. Air Force officer
“How much better to have wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver.” King Solomon, Proverbs 16:16
“The question is not who owns something but who does not own it.” Character Matters, Dr. Mark Rutland
“Willful hiding of pertinent information from another in order to get the better of him in a busy deal is not shrewd business, it is thievery.” Dr. Mark Rutland