I recently had the pleasure of spending a day on the beach with two childhood friends, Dan and Mark. After catching each other up on our journeys since our last interaction, we began talking of our current place in life and general plans for the future. Dan nonchalantly made a […]
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Roots of a Nomadic Family
Every couple of years the Navy provides us with the opportunity to move to another part of our great nation or even beyond its borders. Though the purpose is to facilitate individual professional development, optimize the contributions of the service member, and ensuring each and every team has optimal experiential […]
Command Leadership School Takeaways
Over the last two weeks, I had the pleasure of attending the Command Leadership School in Newport, RI. The purpose of the two weeks was to help those of us fortunate enough to be selected to be Commanding Officers think about and prepare for the responsibility that comes with the […]
The Millennial Mindset
It is said that thoughts, moods, and attitudes are contagious. I agree 100% and for that reason, I choose to associate with people who are positive and have a passion for life and continual improvement. I do so in hopes of them influencing me when I need it most. As […]
Closing Another Chapter
It’s time to move yet again and like every other time, we leave thankful for the experience and equally excited about the next adventure. Personally, my family and I learned the Memphis area has much to offer in the way of recreation and even culture (took us a while to […]
Passion, Purpose, Progress
As leaders, followers and any variation thereof, we find ourselves needing to influence the behavior of others and incentivize them to take specific action. In the role of a Community Manager, we have the charter of shaping community health which can be generally defined as a combination of both the […]
Big Team, Little Me
“We can accomplish anything provided no one cares who gets the credit.” – (then) CDR Joseph Rochefort In my current job as Information Dominance Corps and Information Warfare Officer Community Manager (OCM), I serve on a team of four uniformed peers and one civilian assistant. Our charter is to collectively […]
Trail of Gratitude
There are many things in life for which I am extremely grateful. When I consider each and every blessing, I see a trail of gratitude lined by others who continue to contribute to my good fortune whether they know it or not. Because my wife and I celebrate our wedding […]
Well Liked and Average…Really?
It’s Parent-Teacher Conference time again, which means both parties get to share positive and constructive feedback (neither of which is mutually exclusive, mind you). After such a conference earlier today, a friend of mine lauded her friend for telling the 2nd Grade Teacher, “Oh, I just don’t care if she […]
All Stop or Full Speed Ahead?
As an avid reader of blogs (so much to learn from so many), there are a dozen that I monitor regularly. Chris Brogan’s is one of them and he recently described a decision point in life as an intersection on the road. It’s not a unique analogy and it wasn’t […]
“Wait Till Your Father Gets Home”
As a child, I rarely heard my mother make the statement, “Wait till your father gets home.” When she did, it was a request for us to demonstrate some patience before doing something we were eager to do. It was not used as the warning or threat it was in […]
Firefighters
As a native of California, fires were a constant on the evening news during the summer season. I remember on many occasions local firefighters traveling long distances to help the cause well outside their assigned jurisdiction. Though neither lives nor property were at risk in the following instance, a small […]
Leadership Versus Power
Regardless of our current employment status (executive, individual contributor, stay-at-home spouse, etc.), each of us is presented with opportunities in both our personal and professional lives to lead on a daily basis. Those of us who take such responsibility seriously create opportunities to lead vice waiting for them to be […]
“Building LEGOs”
When I came home from work today, my 6-year-old son had a friend over and they were making planes out of LEGOs, or as he calls it “Building LEGOs.” By the look on my son’s face, it was clear that something was up and that he was not having the […]
Fourth Quarter
Another week of the football season is behind us, and as always there was plenty of drama in the fourth quarter of more than a couple of games. As a football fan, I enjoy the last-minute comeback as much as the next. However, dramatic fourth quarters are usually a byproduct […]
Authenticity
The adjective “authentic” is used to describe someone or something that is “not false or copied; genuine; real.” There are many people in my life who can be described in such a way. Unfortunately, there are more than a couple who are on the other end of the spectrum and […]
Collaborate, Integrate, and Educate
As one who takes the role of mentor very seriously, I consider myself privileged to be sought out by juniors for career advice. Recently, I was approached by a fellow officer who was fortunate enough to be preparing for his upcoming tour as a Cryptologic Resource Coordinator on a Carrier […]
Basketball Season is Here…so what?
Though it is a sport I never really enjoyed playing and only watch in March, I see the goodness in any team sport. In honor of the fact that the NBA season kicked off last night, I dusted off the only basketball related book I own, “Leading with the Heart” […]
Politics in the Workplace
Many people believe that politics has no place in the workplace. If that is how you feel, think about politics as relationships and your opinion might change. The term “relationships” has a much more positive connotation than “politics,” and at the end of the day, each is all about influence. […]
Feedback
One of the keys to continual improvement is constructive 360-degree feedback. The problem is, we are not accustomed to providing others with honest feedback, nor do we ask others to provide the same to us. Those of us in the Navy are conditioned to receive at least one performance appraisal […]