- Project Manager in Oil and Gas Industry
When I relocated to Texas after 5 years managing in Buffalo, NY, I took over a team where one of the representatives had gone through initial training with me. Lori and I had known each other for 10 years.
Two months into being her boss, Lori asked me point blank, “What is your problem? This is not the Dave Anderson I expected.”
My response was: “Lori. If I don’t roar now, I will never be able to roar later.” Continue Reading…
The litmus test for good leadership is character. Rarely do I read history, watch the news or read the paper and learn about a leader who failed because of incompetence. The most common reason a leader fails is a shortfall in character.
What happens in the months, days, or minutes that lead to a fatefully bad decision by a leader? What happens when he willfully decides to compromise his character? What happens when a leader ignores his moral compass and takes a path marked by dishonesty, fear, or selfishness?
This is the first post in a series of five on character tests. Continue Reading…
When I relocated to Texas after 5 years managing in Buffalo, NY, I took over a team where one of the representatives had gone through initial training with me. Lori and I had known each other for 10 years.
Two months into being her boss, Lori asked me point blank, “What is your problem? This is not the Dave Anderson I expected.”
My response was: “Lori. If I don’t roar now, I will never be able to roar later.” Continue Reading…
Every male freshman (plebe) entering West Point has a mandatory class that few other colleges offer much less require. Boxing.
Each morning that boxing was on my schedule I woke up thinking about it. I would sit in calculus, chemistry or computer programing class thinking about boxing. It didn’t matter that I had tests or other graded exercises in those classes. Boxing dominated my thoughts.
I knew that day, no matter how well I did when I stepped into the ring, I was going to get hit multiple times in the face. What did I learn during plebe boxing that prepared me to lead? Continue Reading…
Courage is a buzzword I defined previously as: To act without regard for perceived or actual personal risk.
Is there anyone alive who does not wish to be courageous? For courage to be part of my character, I must develop to the point where I am habitually acting in a courageous way in both the big things and the small. I have written that character:
Based on this premise then, the first step in developing into a person who habitually acts in a courageous way, I must begin by thinking about what courage looks like in practice. Continue Reading…
Character is now a buzzword. I use the term buzzword here to describe words that we hear frequently yet are rarely defined by the speakers. The GOP nomination fight is full of buzzwords. I hear athletes described on Sportcenter using some of the same buzzwords as the politicians use. The problem is, if you dig into those words’ real meanings, you would see how much of a stretch the speakers are making.
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