Tactics: Seeing Something No One Else Has Seen…

“Fred sipped the coffee. “Ever heard of the Battle of Gaugamela?” “No,” Holden said. “Darius the third, emperor of Persia, had two hundred thousand soldiers under his command. Bactrians, Arachosians, Scythians. Some Greek mercenaries. On the other side, thirty-five thousand soldiers, and Alexander of Macedon. Alexander the Great. Five Persians to every Macedonian. It should… Read More

Rewards: Earned not Given…

I have a philosophy in life that rewards should be earned and not given, and the excerpt below brilliantly exemplifies that philosophy: There is a good story told, of one of Napoleon’s marshals, Lefebvre, the gallant old soldier who became Duke of Danzig. A civilian friend was once envying him his house and decorations and other awards. At… Read More

Linking Capability & Vision…

“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!” I understand the quote is attributed to Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, or Erasmus of Rotterdam, a 16th-century Dutch Renaissance humanist. He was also a social critic, Catholic priest, teacher and theologian. The quote is an idiom. The basic idea is, if surrounded by people less… Read More

Linking Confidence, Mastery & Profession..

“Officers can never act with confidence until they are masters of their profession.” Major General Henry Knox (25 July 1750 to 25 October 1806) Continental Army, and later US Army, officer who also served as the first US Secretary of War from 1789 to 1794.

Ordering versus Asking

“In action it is better to order than to ask.” General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton (16 January 1853 to 12 October 1947) from his book ‘Gallipoli Diary’ published in 1920. Ian Hamilton was a British Army General who participated in operations in: The Second Boer War (1899 to 1902); Service in Japan (from 1904… Read More

Government Leadership: Retired Military Officers versus Lawyers, Scientists, Activists & Professional Politicians

So, this article was published on Linkedin on 08 December but I have only just read it. Written by Bob Ulin, Transition & Executive Coach, and Chairman & CEO, Center for Transitional Leadership, Inc. “A recent article in POLITICO noted “(General) Kelly’s military background raises interesting questions for his leadership of the department, said one… Read More