Articles
Think Like a Commander
By Lou Crist Several years ago, during an interview, I was asked, “What is the most important thing an S2 does?” The question took me aback. After some thought, I answered that the S2 should impart their understanding of the enemy to the commander....
Ep 165: Fascism, Communism, and the War for Middle-Earth with Joe Loconte
Dr. Joseph Loconte joins Joe for a powerful exploration of faith, imagination, and courage in times of crisis—how two Oxford professors used story to resist the darkness of their age and inspire generations to come. As a historian and author...
Burned Brakes and Broken Habits: Bringing a JMPI Mindset to the 2d Cavalry Regiment
By Sam Balch The Paratroopers stand quietly in the PAX shed, helmets on, heavy rucks pulling on their shoulders, face paint applied, and parachutes strapped tight. A Jumpmaster moves deliberately down the line, inspecting every strap, snap, stitch,...
Education Without Execution: When the Best Year of Your Life Doesn’t Prepare You for the Fight.
by Sungkuyn “Eddie” Chang After completing the Advanced Operations Course (AOC) at the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC), all students completed an online after-action report survey for the Quality Assurance team at CGSC....
The Power of Panta Rei
By Joe Byerly When I was a kid, there were a handful of professional athletes I used to idolize. They were at the top of their game. They had money, fame, and even got to ride around in limousines. I don’t know why, but that was a big deal back...
Ep 164-A Blueprint for Leading Change with Phil Gilbert
Phil Gilbert joins Joe for a masterclass on leading lasting change—how to move large organizations, overcome cultural antibodies, and build systems that make transformation stick. As the former head of design at IBM, Phil was tasked with one of the...
You Belong at the Table, but Bring your Own Chair: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in a Culture of Meritocracy
By Lindsey Umlauf Have you ever felt that you were one misstep away from being found out as a fraud? Despite your objective success and merit, does the phrase ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ resonate? If so, you may be experiencing Imposter...
The Battle of the Three Selves
By Joe Byerly Here’s what happened this weekend: Friday: One more drink. One more hour around the fire pit. Then I’ll head home. I’ll deal with the consequences tomorrow. Saturday morning: What the hell was I thinking? I’m exhausted. The...
Ep 163- The 7 Rules of Power with Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer
Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer joins Joe Byerly for a candid and provocative discussion about power—what it is, how it works, and why more good people need to learn to use it. Drawing from his influential books Power: Why Some People Have...
Two Salaries
By Joe Byerly When we compare jobs or career fields, sometimes we tend to default to one number: salary. How much does it pay? What will our financial quality of life look like? What are the monetary perks of the job? I hear this a lot from...
Are You an Ultralearner?
By Joe Byerly I recently finished Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott H. Young. This is an interesting read and in many respects can serve as the self-development bible for those addicted...
The Centurions: 10 Passages that Will Make You Reflect on War and Leadership
By Joe Byerly Recently, I read Jean Lartégy’s The Centurions. The novel follows a group of French paratroopers through their tour in Vietnam, time as POWs, their return to France, and their subsequent deployment to Algeria. Although it was written...
3 Lessons Books Taught Me in 2019
Since starting this website in 2013, I’ve included a year-end reading list every December. But last year I did something different. I took the time to reflect on the books I read and distilled 5 major life lessons from them. In doing so, I found...
Before You Commission, Read These 5 Books
By Oren Abusch-Magder Former Defense Secretary Mattis famously once wrote, “Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed before. It doesn’t give me all the...
The Goal of Self-Development: Knowledge vs. Wisdom
By Joe Byerly “For even sheep do not vomit up their grass and show to the shepherds how much they have eaten; but when they have internally digested the pasture, they produce externally wool and milk. Do you also show not your theorems to the...
4 Fiction Books I’m Excited About Reading This Summer
By Joe Byerly I love beaches and books, and this summer there are four titles I’m looking forward to checking out while enjoying the ocean. The Parade by Dave Eggers (Available Now) I had to snag this synopsis straight from the...
Can You Learn to Take Initiative?
By Joshua Spodek Chatting about my upcoming book, Initiative, a friend and fellow blogger, Joe Byerly of From The Green Notebook, asked if people could learn to take initiative. I saw his question as rhetorical, since he’d read an advance copy, so...
The Books that Influenced Adm. William H. McRaven
In a recent New York Times interview Adm. (ret) William McRaven shared the books that have most influenced his thinking throughout his military career. He offered the following list: On War by Carl von Clausewitz The Art of War by Sun Tzu The...
How Writing Books Gave Me an Education
By Joe Byerly This is the final question, in a five question interview with author Robert Greene. Joe: Because of writing, I’ve had the opportunity to interact with academics and those with advanced degrees and it can be a bit intimidating. You...
Leaders Worth Studying: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
By Joe Byerly This is the fourth question, in a five question interview with author Robert Greene. Joe: In your books, you’ve examined the stories of hundreds of leaders. Who are some great and bad leaders we should study? And what do you think is...
The Tone Range Fan: A Tool for Leaders at All Levels
By COL Ed Arntson and LTC Erik Miller “We must strive to become experts in the human dimension. Wars are fought on land, by humans, and we must always work to become better at how we interact with one another to build trust and cohesion.” – GEN...
What is Power?
By Joe Byerly Two Army officers stand across from each other. Both are in their mid-50s. One slightly older, but only by a few years. Both wear stars on their shoulders. Both have commanded thousands of troops—the elder, tens of thousands. The...
Representing the Uniform, Even When It’s Not On
By Noah Jager When we wake up in the morning and put on the uniform, sometimes freshly pressed or other times rumpled and grabbed from a rucksack, we are expected to uphold the standards that come with our service. With the American flag strapped...
My Commander Is Available 24/7: Is Yours?
By Mike Eads If military leadership is built on presence, experience, and decisiveness, then my commander is unmatched. He is always available—ready to provide guidance, review plans, refine decisions, and offer precise feedback at any hour of the...
Why ‘In the Meantime’ Is the Only Time
By Joe Byerly I’ve been thinking a lot about how we treat the present versus how we imagine the future We’re often too harsh on the present and too idealistic about the future. In the present, we don’t have enough time. We’re too busy. Too many...
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The [Re-iterated] Case for an Apolitical Military
by Brett Tinder We are not political pundits. Our service does not strip us of our rights to vote, but faithful adherence to American civil-military relations requires an ambivalence to political change. An apolitical military benefits the...
The Picture of Captain Dorian Gray
By Micah Ables There’s a portrait hidden in the closet of every company commander – one that bears every unspeakable thing they have to see, hear, and carry. To every young commander or first sergeant who’s seen more than any one person...
On Getting Humbled
By Joe Byerly The words escaped my mouth before my brain could catch up. I saw my commander lean back in his seat, eyes narrowing. His chair creaked like a spring under pressure—until it snapped forward. Then came the ass-chewing. My face...
What Three Hobbits Teach Us About Friendship, Virtue, and the Company We Keep
by Jay Carmody Since J.R.R. Tolkien first published The Lord of the Rings trilogy nearly 70 years ago, authors and fans have published a wealth of articles exploring Tolkien’s characters and universe. One topic worth revisiting for military leaders...
Why We PT (Together), and Why You Should Too
by Garrett M. Searle In 2014, Admiral William McRaven, then Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, made a famous speech at a commencement ceremony for his alma mater, the University of Texas. The thesis of his address was the importance of...
Are you Scared to Write?
By Joe Byerly Every time I sit down to write a blog post or record an episode of the podcast, something happens inside my head. A voice asks me, “Who are you to write or talk about this?” It usually follows up with an equally damaging...
City of Tomorrow: A New Cold War
Editorial note – This blog post is part of our Scribbles series. If interested in submitting creative content, view our guidelines here or contact Cassie Crosby at cassie@fromthegreennotebook.com. By Aaron Utsler Oliver sat in the drab wooden...
Are You Hallucinating or Communicating?
By Joe Byerly Ten years ago, I received the best advice I’ve ever received on communication. My boss said, if no one else sees your vision, it’s just a hallucination. In other words, if you can’t communicate the thoughts in your head in such a way...
Prepare for War
Editorial note – This blog post is part of our Scribbles series. If interested in submitting creative content, view our guidelines here or contact Cassie Crosby at cassie@fromthegreennotebook.com. By Ryan Crosby As a new 2nd Lieutenant,...
Who Are “We?”
By Cassie Crosby The Nation appears fractured with the January 6th assault on the U.S. capitol interrupting America’s most sacred democratic process. If you’re like me, and you’re watching the news 24/7, you can begin to feel like our nation really...
Communicate Like a Boss
By Ryan Crosby Effective communication is a learned behavior and professional skill, requiring deliberate practice, commitment, and consistency to master. At the mid-career level, the ability to communicate effectively is one of the strongest...
Social Media and the Problem of the Iceberg Bias
By Joe Byerly I’ve been thinking a lot lately about social media and the way it forms my perception of others based on the image they project through their social media platforms. I’ve also been thinking about how others must perceive me based off...
We All Need to Have a Little More Briefing Empathy
By Joe Byerly Have you ever been in a meeting and felt like a prisoner? It’s Friday afternoon, you are sitting in the last meeting of the week. The final briefer begins to speak. They see the clock. They know there are only five minutes left but...
Why Leaders Need to Learn the Skill of Writing
By Joe Byerly Anyone who has worked directly for a battalion commander or above probably has experience writing “ghost notes.” These are emails a subordinate writes and addresses for their boss to send to other people. Ghost notes can be weekly or...
A Tale of Two Influencers: Some Advice from the Cheap Seats
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness….” ― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities By Steve Leonard and Joe Byerly Imagine, if you will, two influencers. One, young and brash,...
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