Eight Words On The Seventh Day (2023) On the 7th day of December 1941, Japanese military forces unleashed an attack on American military forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Territory of the United States. Also on the 7th day of December 1941, after news of the bombing had arrived on mainland America, the US Army Chief of Staff, General George Marshall, walked toward his office at the … [Read more...]
A Short Talk On A Sunday Afternoon
September 1, 2021 by
This is a FREE leadership exercise. I invite you to use it. And when you're done, I invite you to reach out to me for a FREE second step (more about that below). Our topic is leadership and communication, though as you'll see, it's really a lot more than that. You'll move through Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower's experience of his first significant meeting with Army Chief of Staff General … [Read more...]
Time In A Bucket And Time In A Bottle
July 30, 2020 by
The amount of time we have for our big project, our big switch, our big change. We thought it was a bunch of time between now and then. Enough to fill the big green bucket. A large amount of time. Oodles. Turns out we were wrong. Life got a vote, life made the choice for us, and life said it's not a big bucket but a tiny bottle instead. We have no where near the time we assumed for planning, … [Read more...]
Learning From The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Day 16
March 28, 2020 by
An American worker, 1918 A guy named Wiley Eastwood is a good stand-in for hundreds of thousands of Americans today, Day 16, September 23, 1918. A hard-worker, Eastwood goes to his job—earns his pay, like always—but in the late morning starts feeling weak, fevered, coughing. Lunchtime comes and goes and he's worse. Finally, he just can't keep going. It's time to talk with the boss. Eastwood … [Read more...]
Have We Started Yet?
November 5, 2019 by
The beginning, the start. As a leader, do you know when it is? Often you do. A project, a budgetary cycle, a strategic initiative, a team's creation, a grand opening, all of them have a specific point in time when they get underway. You're further encouraged to be confident in starting and beginning by so many things around you. A work week, a school year, a season, a movie, a meal, an athletic … [Read more...]
The Facial Tic
June 6, 2019 by
Think of one of your defining experiences. It stays with you year after year, a visible thumbprint on who you are as a leader. Chances are good that whenever you face Major Change your mind turns to that defining experience. It molds your response. Let me introduce you to the man on the horse in the photo. George Marshall. He's riding at the front of President Franklin Roosevelt's inaugural … [Read more...]
The First Thing You Say
December 7, 2017 by
George Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff, walked into the War Department (shown in the photo) on December 7, 1941 and said this: "We are now in the fog of war." That was his chosen first statement to his immediate followers at the War Department after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Take a moment and let that 8-word statement sink in. Try to imagine sitting in a nondescript office … [Read more...]
Eight Words And Pearl Harbor
December 7, 2016 by
What do you think of when the anniversary of Pearl Harbor rolls around every December 7? I'll tell you my image in a moment but let's get yours first. Is is a photo of burning American battleships? Is it a recording of President Franklin Roosevelt's statement about a "day that will live in infamy"? Maybe you've had the good fortune to visit Pearl in Hawaii and have the chilling recollection of … [Read more...]
