Leadership
My Transformation: Why I Needed A Coach, Part IV
“Old Soldiers never die, we just change uniforms.” Spending over half your life working in your chosen profession and then changing to something new doesn’t require a transition, but a transformation. We transition between positions at a job, but when you break a glass ceiling, a transformation is required. When we relocate from one location…
Read MoreTalent is Never Enough: Why I Needed a Coach, Part III
“Proceeding from a false premise usually produces false results.” At the beginning of my Army career, I believed that the key to success was competency, often referred to as talent. With my recent successes in promotion and CEO selections (Why I Needed a Coach, Part II), I assumed this proved my hypothesis, but my premise…
Read MoreLeadership Beyond the Titles
“Great titles do not automatically create great leaders.” (Republished with an updated link to the USA TODAY Online article) Some people believe that once they obtain a particular title, they are a great leader. That could not be further from the truth. Leadership does not come from titles, but the people behind them. There are…
Read MoreRethinking the Complexity of CEO Life
“Leadership can be simple, but it’s not easy.“ The CEO position is complex and requires consistent critical and creative thinking skills. I appreciate ValiantCEO magazine providing me the opportunity to express my views and share my experiences in this article. This blog highlights a few key points on the topic, and I encourage you to…
Read MoreUnconsciously Competent: Why I Needed a Coach, Part II
“Sometimes we do not truly appreciate our abilities.” A coach identifies those blind spots to help us become our best selves. In the Conscious Competence Learning Model (Curtiss & Warren, 1973), we may all experience the four stages. But my interpretation and application of the stages are a little different than what the model may…
Read MoreManaging Oneself: Why I Needed a Coach, Part 1
As a junior leader in the early 1990s, adequately trained in my craft and fully competent, I still had things I did not know. Before switching specialties from Field Artillery (FA) to Military Intelligence (MI), I was filled with apprehension. I had no mentor, there were no other officers to ask, so, in normal Burl…
Read MoreWhat Help Do CEO’s Need?
“The affected group normally knows best what they need.” I like to conduct some research on a topic before I share my curated thoughts. Research on this subject required more effort than I expected. The results of my Google search, “What do CEOs need help with?”, were a series of articles that provided input to…
Read MoreCEO Professional Development: I’m No Superperson
Long ago, as a junior leader, I learned that, “Everything I know is not everything there is to know.” Fast forward 15 years to when I became a CEO; this maxim was even more prevalent. There was much more to know, leading 400 versus leading 40. The number of moving pieces, the complexity of problems,…
Read MoreRebranding: Rejuvenating Your Business, Part II
“Every organization has a brand, whether they created it or not.” There’s almost nothing better than having positive brand recognition. Unfortunately for many companies, their negative reputation has become their sullied brand. Some publicity or exposure is not always better than none. Businesses can sometimes share a few human characteristics: They can evolve and grow…
Read MoreRebranding: Rejuvenating Yourself and Your Business, Part I
“Everyone has a brand, whether they know it or not.” Many people do not realize that everyone has a brand. The unfortunate part is that your brand may not truly convey who you are. According to the American Marketing Association, branding is “the process of creating a unique identity for your business that resonates with…
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