ENS Zaki Rucker is an Information Warfare Officer. After enlisting in the Navy and attending boot camp in 2004, Zaki attended the Modern Standard Arabic course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. He then spent six years at Fort Gordon as a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive before being selected […]
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Family, Intersections, and Legacy
Simultaneously starting a new job and planning for a new year is proving to be rather fortuitous. Like many people, before I settle into a new job I arrive with a list of goals (short and long term) that I plan to help the team accomplish over the course of […]
Thanksgiving, Giving Thanks, and Just Plain Giving
Over the last week while I was experiencing yet another wonderful Thanksgiving with family, like so many others, I spent a good portion of time reflecting on the many things for which I am thankful in my life. As my list continued to grow, I got stuck thinking about the […]
The Power of the Voice Over
I recently partnered with two remarkable military leaders to write a paper we titled Sharing Our Message: The Migration from Embedded to Social Media. In it, we contrast two military operations. One failed in part due to an absence of embedded media, while the other was a strategic success in part […]
Chiefly Expectations: A JO’s Perspective (Guest Post)
LT Ryan Haag is an Information Warfare Officer. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he served onboard the USS Hampton (SSN-767) as the Electrical Officer and Assistant Weapons Officer, at U.S. Second Fleet as a TLAM Senior Mission Planner and Flag Aide. After obtaining a lateral transfer, he is […]
Rolling With The Wind
Sometimes it’s just obvious that certain people come into our lives for a specific reason. Nine weeks ago, the class I am currently attending started and as customary with any first day of school, we did the standard around the room introductions. It did not take long for any of […]
New and Improved?
Last week, I made my final post on Connecting the Dots (CTD) 1.0 and have migrated to this forum, which I affectionately refer to as CTD 2.0. There is no doubt I will have the need to make incremental tweaks to the site. So many, in fact, that I will […]
My Top 10 TED Talks
I have been watching TED Talks for several years. In fact, I often spend Sunday mornings with TED. Given the popularity of these videos, I am continually surprised at the number of people I meet who have never heard of TED. Though there are many videos I watch repeatedly, I […]
The Daily Readboard
It’s been almost eight years since I got serious about making personal improvement a deliberate part of my life. Prior to that turning point, anything I may have been getting better at (less physical fitness) was not especially intentional. I had been listening to the great Jim Rohn and was […]
Settlers and Shapers
As we spend our days carving out a living, most of us do so by switching between chasing our pension and pursuing our passion. I don’t know that I have been “chasing” either over the last few years, but I do know that I have been fortunate enough to simultaneously […]
Culture: Defined
I recently attended Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) training and can confidently state that much like the training received for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, it was both extremely well thought out and presented. There were many great takeaways from the session related to the primary topic, […]
Making Personal Recommendation Meaningful
Note: I am repeatedly reminded of how fortunate I am to be surrounded by such great people. The below post (my second guest posting) comes from a Shipmate whom I have known since 2005. A leader, a critical thinker, and outspoken thought leader, LCDR Kevin Ernest is now serving as […]
Enjoy the Taper…
It’s less than two weeks until the big event. I say “event” and not “race” because my upcoming half Ironman is far from a race for me. It’s an “event” and more than that, it is an “experience”. I’ve only done one other Ironman event and that was Ironman Austria […]
Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda, Did…
As information continues to become more easily accessible, two very different things begin to happen. The Indecisive Leader quickly becomes more overwhelmed and finds it even more difficult to commit to a decision, while the Decisive Leader is just as quick to make a decision as he was a decade ago, […]
Apologize? Only If You Care
There are many personal attributes I value in my friends and Shipmates and there are a few that are absolutely non-negotiable. I won’t share the entire list and will instead focus on one characteristic that I cannot overlook…a willingness to take personal responsibility. Now, there are many ways we can […]
Luxury Items No Longer
It was a long time ago, but Plebe Year at the Naval Academy is an experience I will never forget. As time goes on, the memories may become a little exaggerated, as we recall “The last real Plebe Year” just as any graduating class, but certain experiences will remain crystal […]
Fulfillment
The team with whom I currently serve is made up of Sailors and civilians. We have far more Sailors than civilians, but our civilians are equally valued and critical to our success. Civilians bring much specialized expertise to the team and the continuity they provide is vital to our ability […]
More Commitment
Those of us who serve in the Navy are very familiar with our three core values, HONOR, COURAGE and COMMITMENT. We personally witness, read stories about, and celebrate a long history filled with examples of heroic actions exemplifying a tradition founded on those three values. Those values are re-enforced at […]
Collective Ownership
Collective Ownership is a rather simple concept founded on the philosophy of a shared commitment to making decisions (and following through on them) based upon the benefit for the greater good. This is not necessarily a democratic model where majority rules, but a model whereby all angles are considered, empathy […]
Dr. Maxwell, I Respectfully Disagree
Last week, a little more than 20 of us from the Command were fortunate enough to attend a speaking engagement featuring John Maxwell (Leadership Author) and Chris Gardner (Pursuit of Happyness). Making the time to attend this event was important to me because I have a strong desire to both […]