How Do I Handle This Challenge?
Mind your helm… Personally and professionally, we all face challenges. My greatest professional challenge came when I was put in charge of the Navy’s Security Forces in Washington, DC. There,…
Don’t Wear Out Your Best Team Member
The Gunnery Sergeant assigned to my class during Officer Candidate School (OCS) was big, mean and made Lou Gossett Jr. (from an “Officer and a Gentleman”) look like a kitty…
Mistakes Are Expected (So Are Solutions)
Back in the olden days, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and thoughts were kept on “post-its” (and not a smart phone), I was in charge of the travel budget for…
How To Get The Whole View!
I can’t hear the Journey song “Don’t Stop Believing” without thinking about my wife, Gwen, singing it at the top of her lungs and playing the air guitar (as she…
WTF!? You want me to do WHAT!?
I was certainly at an impasse. I wanted our team to do well on the inspection, however, I wasn’t comfortable doing what my supervisor suggested. Instead of just telling the…
Hope is NOT a Strategy for Change
Why is it that 70% of change initiatives fail? Because people are involved. People are messy, resistant to change, and don’t like to be told what to do. If there…
FOLLOW WELL!!
I was a little nervous. It was, after all, my first periodic evaluation as a new officer. I knew that I had been working hard, taking care of my people…
Are You A Deckplate Leader?
My first two years in the Navy were less than productive. As a young 18 year old, I was loud, obnoxious, and thought many things were funny that my supervisors…