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COMMENTARIES

  • The importance of self-assessment

    With a Unit Compliance Inspection just on the horizon for the 375th Air Mobility Wing, I thought some words should be stated about the importance of completing a thorough unit self assessment. In my Air Force career I've learned that the key to unit success is ensuring that a complete job risk

  • Veterans Day: 'Find ways to express our gratitude for veterans'

    11.11.11. These numbers have significant meaning for most of us because we recognize it immediately as the time, date and month that marked the end of World War I. For those living 92 years ago, it meant an immediate end to a global conflict and hope for a future filled with negotiations, not

  • Leadership: What has worked for me...

    As we go through our careers, we work with many different personalities and many different leaders. There are those whom we work with very well and then there are those with whom we just can't figure out what they want or need. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to support our leaders

  • Leaders are readers!

    "Other than religion, sex, and politics, leadership may be the most discussed subject in the world. The reason is very simple -- without effective leadership, very little happens; with effective leadership, anything can happen."That's the opening statement in the book, "Exceeding Expectations,"

  • The back-breaking road to recovery

    As someone who has been physically fit his entire life, I never thought I would fall into the category of somebody who had to "overcome a fitness challenge." However, a few months after completing my first marathon, all that changed while I was on vacation in Beijing, China, in June 2008. I was

  • Three easy steps to becoming a great leader

    Over the years, people have conducted extensive studies to try and determine the elusive secret to great leadership. Or, more specifically, what makes an individual a great leader. It's easy to tell when someone is not a great leader, but determining what it takes to become great is not so easy.

  • As winter comes...know your uniform wear

    Summer and autumn start to become distant memories as the temperature drops and the first snow fall of the year approaches. All signs that winter is about to make its grand entrance. The problem is North Dakota winters are long and utterly freezing, just to call them cold would be a vast

  • A bass or a catfish -- which are you?

    Part of being a leader is finding effective ways to impart key concepts into the hearts and minds of those we lead.  One way to do this is through the use of comparative word pictures, or metaphors. When briefing my squadron, I often only display pictures or images since most people remember more of

  • Diamond sharp

    I recently read an article in a management journal that compared the process of producing quality diamonds to producing a good manager. In the diamond-mining business, it takes more than 250 tons of rock to produce a one-carat diamond. This process mirrors in many ways how we develop new leaders and