Just like every other Weekly Operations Brief at NIOC Pensacola, I witnessed something new. The difference last week was that my observations had little to do with the subject matter and everything to do with the words chosen to communicate the progress since our last brief. For the first time […]
Leadership Musings
Mid-Life Crisis…Not Here (at Least Not Yet)
As I was enjoying the last weekend prior to my 40th Birthday, I started to contemplate the idea of the stereotypical “Mid-Life Crisis” that some “grown men” express by buying sports cars or chasing after younger women. I then picked up my iPad to read a bit from Rick Johnson’s […]
Because All Goals Require a Team Effort…
I am in the process of meeting individually with each of the 150+ members of our team to discuss their personal goals, among other things. Given the high caliber of person the Navy continues to attract and the fact that Cryptologic Technicians are far above even the average Sailor, I […]
Empathy, Personal Connection and Effective Communication
Over the years, I have been guilty of incorrectly using the terms sympathy and empathy. Empathy – The ability to co-experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experience of another without them being communicated directly by the individual. Sympathy – The ability to understand and to support the emotional […]
Commuting Dilemma: Fun Trumps Work (For Once)
As mentioned in an earlier post, my family very much enjoys the nomadic lifestyle. Once we are notified of an imminent move, we begin picturing life in our new home with new friends and enjoying new adventures. (That is not to minimize the adventures, friends, and memories we created in […]
Change of Command
I haven’t made the time to post for almost a month now, as I have instead been making the time for other things. Of all the wonderful things I have enjoyed over the past month, by far the most significant was the NIOC Pensacola Change of Command Ceremony held on […]
Wealth: Freedom of Choice
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 […]
The Beginning, The End and The Journey Connecting Them
It doesn’t necessarily take personally witnessing death to realize how short life truly is. In fact, death needn’t be involved at all to be reminded how quickly things come to an end. Last month I was in Great Lakes and had the pleasure of talking with new recruits about their […]
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 […]
Menteeship
The Navy has been focused on mentorship for longer than I can remember. We have witnessed forced mentorship, where mentors are formally assigned to individuals. We have seen models where mentorship opportunities are facilitated, as we let relationships take shape on their own. And we have seen varied initiatives that […]
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 […]
Letter to Me
It’s spring and with it comes nice weather, baseball and much happiness for those of us not fond of winter. Those of us in the Navy also recognize it as the season of promotion board results. Last week, many good friends received news, both positive and other, about their promotion […]
Life: A Succession of Plan Bs
In my readings of late, I have seen time and time again that the most successful business plans are executed as they were originally intended. In each instance, there was a Plan A, but the business that actually made it to market was a Plan B. I have been giving […]
The Whole Person
Over the past few weeks, I have had varied involvement in two selection boards considering a large number of applicants desiring to serve in our Navy. In the process, our prime directive has become “The Whole-Person Concept.” That model is intended to overtly encourage all of us to acknowledge applicants […]
Courage to Question Your Convictions
We all know that to have the courage of your convictions means to hold strong to your personal beliefs despite what others are thinking, saying, or doing. There are countless examples of heroism displayed by people having the courage of their convictions, but what about a person who doesn’t display […]
Employee or Crusader?
It is unfortunate that today’s economy is preventing so many good people from enjoying employment in a traditional sense (i.e. they have a job for which they are compensated monetarily). Even more unfortunate are the individuals who are compensated for their time, yet feel no passion for what it is […]
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 […]
Curling: Sweepers, Sweepers Man Your Brooms
A few nights after the Olympics commenced, I stumbled across a broadcast of the curling competition and decided to put the metaphor to the test. My first thought was to not only see how curling might relate to parenting but also assess potential crossover into other disciplines near and dear […]