Articles
Learning to Live a Halfway Interesting Life
By Joe Byerly It’s been three years since I deployed to Europe on short notice with the 82nd Airborne Division in preparation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nine months since I gave up command of a cavalry squadron in Europe. And six months...
Chasing the Inner Circle
By Joe Byerly Most of us, whether we admit it or not, feel the pull toward the ‘inner circle’ in our professional lives. For some, it’s a passing thought. For others, it’s an obsession that can cost friendships, even family, in the pursuit of being...
Ep 138- Managing Up Without Sucking Up: Insights from Melody Wilding
In this episode, host Joe sits down with Melody Wilding, an executive coach and author of Managing Up: How To Get What you Need From the People In Charge to explore the dynamics of power, status, and influence in the workplace....
Power and the Inner Circle
By Joe Byerly We often think of power as something that belongs to the person in charge. The corporate executive, political leader, or military commander is the one with all the power, right? However, power rarely exists in isolation, it...
The Diminishing Returns of Distant Goal Setting: Don’t Miss What’s in Front of You
by Mike Karlson Twenty years ago, I was finishing Army basic training and Infantry school. My drill sergeants selected me and a handful of other trainees to conduct an After-Action Review with the Battalion Commander. I remember it as a surreal but...
Rev Up Readiness: How Auto Skills Centers Drive Military Excellence
by Mike Murray Being a service member in the United States military comes with a lot of little-known benefits. Most people are familiar with the big benefits, like healthcare, dental, access to commissaries and exchanges, and legal or financial...
The Thing That Will Destroy Us
By Joe Byerly Some of the best things in life start small and grow over time—relationships, financial investments, fitness levels. But the same pattern can apply to something far more dangerous: power. Power isn’t inherently bad; we need it to make...
The Most Important Notebook the Chief of Staff of the Army Carries
By Joe Byerly A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with the Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy A. George when he showed me a small 5×7 notebook he always carries. Inside are nearly two decades of insights and lessons, ideas that...
Gains Disguised as Losses
By Joe Byerly Have you ever been knocked off your feet? I’m not talking about getting sucker-punched in a 1 a.m. bar fight or settling an old high school grudge by the flagpole. I mean those moments when life takes a swing and sends you sprawling....
Ep 137- Understanding the Military Culture Shift with Corie Weathers
In this episode, Joe welcomes Corie Weathers, licensed professional counselor, author, and expert on military culture, to explore the shifting landscape of service, leadership, and the personal challenges faced by military members and their...
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The Army Profession: Reconnecting with our Sense of Duty
by Daniel Blackmon In early December, I was fortunate enough to sit in on a presentation on the profession of arms, given by General (ret.) David Perkins. He asked: “The Army Profession…do we actually have a profession or do we have a...
Pluralistic Ignorance: A Danger to Organizational Culture and Leader Selection
by Shane Hughes “A toxic leader devastates the esprit de corps, discipline, initiative, drive, and willing service of subordinates and the units they comprise.” (Christopher Doty, 2013) The U.S. military prides itself on developing leaders. We...
Stories of Service: Mentor Your Subordinate to Engage with the Public
By Brian C. Gerardi Each year, our nation observes holidays centered on its service members and veterans. These commemorations—Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day—often include invitations (“tasked” or “asked”) to senior service members...
Affinity Over Alikeness: How to Mentor Soldiers Different Than You
by Emma Abusch “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” -Steven Spielberg It’s 0200 and I’m flying to my first no-notice deployment. I look up...
Avoid These Mistakes
by Jacob Loftice I recently had a conversation with an NCO regarding his frustrations with the plan for a certain event. His points had merit, but were diminished by how he conveyed them. Offering a critique coupled with a diatribe about a staff...
Mold in the Barracks? The Hots&Cots App Will Get Leaders’ Attention
(Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hull/U.S. Army photo) By Rob Evans It’s an open secret that military barracks across the Department of Defense (DOD) are inadequate and underfunded. Junior enlisted soldiers often struggle in obscurity, with their leaders...
Leaders Make Meaning: The So-What Beyond Purpose, Direction, and Motivation
by Tom Montano “Wow, so are you guys actually Soldiers?!” The crowds at Mount Vernon asked me this over a dozen times that winter Saturday after our colonial battlefield tactical demonstration. I was wearing my Revolutionary War era blue jacket and...
Thinking of Yourself as Phil Jackson: Team Building Reflections from Command
by Oren Rosen Building your team is important work. And managing that team once assembled is what determines if the team will perform at championship caliber. As a commander, you inherit most of your team—but that does not mean the roster is...
Thinking in Pixels: Developing Leadership Skills from Video Games
by Jakob Hutter Since the early days of ‘Pong’ and ‘Space Invaders’, the realm of pixels has more than just provided entertainment. Where every action has consequences and challenges lurk at every corner, a journey to explore and conquer provides...
Pay It Forward: Mid-Career Moolah for Continued Service
by Sara Roger Picture this: it’s the summer of 2025, and you just finished company command. As you pack up your office, you reflect on the last 18 months: the late-night calls and emails, the last-minute taskings, the oversaturation of...
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