Robert Lutz, former President of Chrysler Corporation and Vice Chairman of the Board wrote three books that have influenced my leading and my writing.  Maybe it is the USMC attitude that we share that has so reinforced my opinions.  Some would not buy into his thinking, but his anecdotes on leading reflect my experience in leadership in many ways.  Here are a few Lutz-isms for consideration:

"Absence of complaints does not equal excellence or customer satisfaction."

"Nominal or positional leaders love the status but lack the will, conviction, or courage to make "leader decisions."

"Many a great orator is simply a great orator."

"Boss watchers have no convictions of their own."

"Mediocra is a non-Webster's noun that describes the result of democratic decision-making.

Now, it you doubt the wisdom of the above, I will share some irrefutable wisdom from the U.S Army Field Manual dated 1861.  "Coffee tastes better if the latrines are dug downstream from the campsite."