Articles
Sometimes, They Have to Touch the Stove
By Joe Byerly Now that I’m a parent of kids who are getting older, I find myself wanting to play more “life defense”—to protect them from the bruises and blows of growing up: failure, misfortune, consequences. I think we all do this to...
Ep 148- Wandering into the Woods: Sarah Blake Morgan on Ego Death and Finding Purpose
Send us a text In this powerful conversation, award-winning journalist turned Army officer Sarah Blake Morgan joins Joe for a raw and reflective discussion on identity, purpose, and what happens when we step away from the life we always thought we...
Letting Go of the Uniform, Not the Lessons
By: Joshua Risner In the Right Place I turned 15 on 9/11. I was raised in a patriotic household in rural America, by a family that valued and demonstrated service to others, to the community, and to the Nation. Like so many others, 9/11 was the...
Three Lessons for the Commissioning Class of 2025
by John Geracitano Sixteen years ago, I was a struggling lieutenant—well-meaning but clueless. Despite caring deeply about my unit’s success, its soldiers, and my leadership role, I couldn’t grasp the “big picture.” Navigating the many demands of...
Because the Plot Demands It: On Roles, Responsibility, and Character
By Joe Byerly I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the various roles we play in life—and the responsibilities, behaviors, and costumes that come with them. Every role, from parent to spouse to commander to CEO, comes with a contract. Sometimes...
Ep 147- On Character with General Stanley McChrystal
In this powerful conversation, retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal joins Joe to discuss his new book, On Character: Choices That Define a Life. Drawing from decades of military leadership and personal reflection, General McChrystal...
The Case for Sharing Your Personality Test Results at Work
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ian Thompson By Jared Massie All service members should take a personality test. This helps you see yourself as others do and generates positive cycles of self-reflection. Additionally, personality tests cultivate an...
From the Red Notebook: Leadership Lessons in What Not to Do
By Ray Ramos History is filled with cautionary tales. Not just of tyrants and generals who fell from grace, but of leaders undone by smaller, quieter failures—ones that rarely make headlines but still erode trust, corrode teams, and cripple...
Soul vs. Ego
By Joe Byerly I would love to play guitar in front of a crowd at a bar, watch them sing along, and then take requests for their favorite songs. I would love to have a custom-built shed in my backyard that I built myself. I would love to hike the...
Ep 146- It’s Not Balance, It’s Trade-Offs: Lessons in Leadership and Life with Lieutenant General Mary K. Izaguirre
Send us a text In this episode, Joe sits down with Lieutenant General Mary Izaguirre, the 46th Surgeon General of the U.S. Army and Commanding General of Army Medical Command, for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, vulnerability, culture,...
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Unlock Your Potential Through Journaling
By Melissa A. Czarnogursky “The brain enjoys writing. It enjoys the act of naming things, the process of association and discernment.” –Julia Cameron I had the wrong perspective on journaling. Throughout my military career, mentors...
Lessons in Efficiency from a Literal Gatekeeper
David Greggs I recently visited a major amusement park with my daughter and received a lesson in efficiency while we waited in line for a ride on a hot day. The park was not very crowded, so we had the place to ourselves for the most part. We made...
Weaponize the Neurodivergent
by Dr. Katy Davis, Lt. Col. Erik Davis, and Lt. Col. Nick Frazier. While the US Army hit its recruiting goal for 2024, the target is much lower than previous years, and following a deficit of 25,000 recruits from the previous two years One...
Revitalizing Resilience Training to Prevent Army Suicides
by Major General Windsor S. Buzza Since 2009, the U.S. Army’s suicide rates among all soldiers have exceeded age-adjusted national norms by an average of 20%. In my current role as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), I have...
The Critical Role of Presence in Leadership
By Command Sgt. Maj. Brian A. Hester and Master Sgt. Katie Smith Presence is undeniably powerful. As a Soldier with 34 years of experience, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of a leader’s presence. Traditionally, this presence...
Adaptive Problem Solving: Leadership Tools for the Modern Battlefield
by Chris Duncan Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine represented a paradigm shift for the way the world fights wars. For the units who were activated on an Immediate Response Force (IRF) deployment to Poland in anticipation of this threat, the...
Staying in Touch: How to Make Networking a Little Less Awful
by John Goetz It was a normal Monday morning as I opened my Outlook inbox to review the emails received over the weekend. As the messages populated, an unexpected wave of excitement washed over me as I zeroed in on one name. A former commander of...
Do I Make Good Decisions?
By Joe Byerly Do you make good decisions? If you think the answer is yes, how do you really know? A decision may seem sound at the moment, but time can reveal a different outcome. I can think of several decisions that felt right initially but led...
Was My Military Career Worth It?
By Joe Byerly I recently grabbed a drink with some friends in Southern Pines, NC. As I sat sipping my beer, one of them turned to me and asked, “Now that you are at the very end of your military career, was it worth it?'” He and his...
Cultivate Workplace Creativity With These 3 Methods
by Tommy Miller At the core of ever-changing warfare, human curiosity demands that we uncover new problem-solving approaches to create effective solutions. Just think about how much the Army and its warfighting tactics have changed from the...
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