Treading carefully across the frozen ground, the man hurried down the dark street, hunching his shoulders and turning his collar up against the sharp winter wind. Approaching his destination, he could just make out another shadowy figure waiting by the west gate, outlined against the white backdrop of the house. Drawing close to the other …
He had long yearned to serve his country as a soldier, but poor eyesight prevented any possibility of winning appointment to one of the academies. Undeterred, he memorized the eye chart and entered the National Guard, going on to serve in the First World War. Upon arrival in France, he was soon promoted to captain …
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Though the date changes year to year, my entire life Thanksgiving Day has fallen just after my birthday, which makes it an even greater season of reflection for me. Last week I shared on LinkedIn about sitting in a Starbucks and observing an interaction between two men. One was middle-aged and …
Had his peers fully understood the extent of his limitations, few would have expected him to attempt what he did. None would have blamed him if he hadn’t even tried. But he wasn’t a man to back down from a challenge. He realized that the odds were stacked against him and enormous obstacles stood in …
He lay awake that night and thought about the irony of his situation. There were so many people who would give anything to be in his place, people who had carefully planned and diligently worked for years hoping to attain what he had just had handed to him. Though he accepted his sudden ‘good fortune,’ …
His dream was coming crashing down around him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be; this wasn’t what he had worked so hard to achieve. From the time he was a little boy he had known he wanted to join the Navy. He had worked hard throughout school in order to have the grades …
The hostility of the crowd was almost palpable. The room was filled with scowls and angry mutters that escalated into full out boos and hisses as the congressman took the stage. His stomach turned as he approached the middle of the platform, and he took hold of the podium with both hands to still their …
A young freshman cadet hurried down the hallway, running late for his next class at the military academy. Turning a corner, he suddenly collided with another student. Sprawled on the ground, he looked up and winced when he saw the derisive smirk on the face of the upperclassman he had just run into. As expected, …
My first book, Presidential Leadership, is a testament to my long-held belief in the power and importance of inspirational leadership. There is no motivating factor as powerful as true inspiration. As I wrote in chapter 5 of my book, “While reward-based or fear-based motivation yields limited results, inspiration is longer lasting, more deeply rooted, and …
Regardless of political affiliation, I firmly believe we can all learn from the leadership strengths of former U.S. Presidents. In my book, Presidential Leadership: Learning from United States Presidential Libraries & Museums, I take a look at selected strengths of 14 U.S. Presidents. Today I’d like to share an excerpt from the chapter about former United States …
Last week I shared an article about the humility of Abraham Lincoln and how that humility served him well as a leadership strength. This week I’d like to share an article about another leadership strength of another U.S. President: Franklin D. Roosevelt. Franklin D. Roosevelt had plenty of excuses that he could have used …
This week I’m in Chicago at a Becker’s Healthcare Conference, where I’m serving as a moderator, conducting video interviews, and enjoying myself! I truly love being here, and I greatly respect and admire the Becker’s leadership and the “humble confidence” with which they lead. Thinking about Scott Becker and his incredible team, I want to …
In June 1972 I started working for a leader by the name of Max Coppom. Max was the founding CEO of what was then known as West Nebraska General Hospital, and he’d hired me to be the vice president, administration. I had a very positive first impression of Max during the interview with him, and …
I have been serving in leadership roles my entire adult life. In the past five years I have written two books on leadership and published hundreds of articles on the topic as well. I have also been honored by invitations to speak on leadership to groups all across the country. Needless to say, great leadership …
Following the recent loss of US Senator John McCain, there has been a great amount of media coverage about his life and legacy. Regardless of politics and personal opinion of the man, there is something he said that I think we all can appreciate and respect. It is a brief statement McCain made in response …
Good, bad, or indifferent, we all have habits. We know that some of our habits aren’t so great, and most likely we have some thoughts in the back of our minds about habits we think we should probably strive to have—like healthier eating, more exercise, better sleep patterns, etc. But which habits are most important? …
Last week I wrote about W. Edwards Deming and his management philosophy that can essentially be summed up as “focus on fixing the system, not the person.” The article was very well received, and of the dozens of comments, almost all voiced strong support of this philosophy. However, there were also many people who disagreed …
American engineer and statistician W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was passionate about improvement. Throughout the 20th century Deming’s philosophies and expertise helped to improve efficiency and quality of countless processes and products throughout the world—an impact and legacy that will far exceed his own lifetime. Deming is best known for his influence and impact on the post-war …
Where do you do your best thinking? And why do you think that is where you do your best thinking? I posed this question to my LinkedIn colleagues a few weeks ago, and as I read through the dozens of responses, I quickly noticed some patterns. While this was not a professionally conducted study or …
A couple weeks ago I posted this question on LinkedIn: “Where do you do your best thinking, and why do you think that is where you do your best thinking?” Nearly 60 people answered the question (you can see the original post and read all the comments here) and I was delighted by the wide …