In a recent interview on CNBC, Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo talked about a meeting with Steve Jobs where Jobs told her “If you really feel strongly about something — if you don’t like something people are doing — throw a temper tantrum. Throw things around, because people have got… Read More »How to be an Assertive Leader
A sign in the office of a general I worked for in the Pentagon read “Feed Your Troops First.†The sign wasn’t behind the General’s desk or on a side wall where everyone could see it. Instead, he had placed it on a support pillar facing his desk where he… Read More »Feed Your Troops First – Leadership 101
One of the most common sources of information on how to be a leader comes from observation of previous leaders. For many this is often the only source and it is very natural to emulate what we see. An exercise we use in our leadership development workshops is creating a… Read More »Are You Doing to Your Team What Drives You Crazy?
Bob and I talk a lot about leadership and what it takes to be a great leader in these pages. While that’s not a surprise for a leadership development group, a note I received from a former leadership student this morning really hit home. That individual sent a thank you… Read More »Great Leaders are Never “Too Cool for Schoolâ€
Over the last few weeks you have probably become tired of watching politicians stumping for a job. Well, it’s over now and we’ll have a short, merciful reprieve before it all starts again. Even though the incessant political posturing wears us out, there is something to learn from it. Whether… Read More »Five Ways to Project Confidence When You Speak
You’ve probably heard the question before; is the glass half empty or half full? It’s the wrong question. It’s better to ask, what the glass is full of. Unless it’s in a vacuum, the glass, or any container, is always full of something. Even the glass that is filled halfway with liquid is still full. The rest of the volume is taken up with air, dust, and other things you can’t see and probably don’t want to think about. People are like that too.Read More »The Glass is Always Full
The sand suspended in the air was worse than usual. A recent sandstorm had made the air almost opaque and I could only see for a few feet. I could barely see the 26 airplanes parked in front of me, or the approximately 200 mechanics who were working to get them ready to fly. (The picture was taken in the daytime) As I walked towards where I knew the planes were, I could begin to make out their shapes, and see the outline of the troops scurrying about. Within the next hour or so, at least 20 of those airplanes would be airborne.
The airplanes were C-130 transports many of which were more than 40 years old. They had spent their years in hard use, carrying heavy loads around the world often landing in barely improved dirt strips. They were old, tired airplanes. But because of the mechanics that toiled day and night to keep them mission ready, they could still do the job.
Those mechanics worked in conditions that were uncomfortable at best. Read More »Heat, Wind, Sand, and A Critical Mission
Embedded leader, leading from behind, leading without authority, informal leader; we have a variety of terms for situations when we find ourselves leading without having the positional title designating us as leaders. I’ve coached a number of individuals who were in similar positions. Some because of natural progression; they’ve reached… Read More »Ready to take the next step on your leadership journey? These tips will help.
We think a lot about leadership here at the Daedalus Group and some of those thoughts are even worth sharing! So, from time to time we’ll bring you some of our Random Musings on Leadership. Do you know the mission? When I help organizations create mission statements and goals, I… Read More »Random Musings on Leadership
“Lead, do you have the target in sight?†Those words coming over the radio from my deputy flight lead, the third aircraft in our four aircraft formation of F-16’s, caused immediate consternation in the lead aircraft, of which I happened to be the sole occupant. It took just a few seconds to realize I had made a navigation error; I had inadvertently selected a navigation point beyond our target. Correcting the problem revealed that I was indeed overflying our assigned target. Now, what to do about it?Read More »Leaders, Check Your Ego at the Door, Please