Articles
Leading Up: How to Manage a Toxic Boss
by Andrew Milburn Every year across all services, a number of commanding officers are relieved of their duties due to a “loss of trust and confidence” — that singularly cryptic and unhelpful phrase. I can’t help thinking that at least some of...
Inspire, Enable, Build
By Andrew Webster Soldier development is a critical responsibility that is often overlooked by leaders. This is largely due to concerns about training gates and performance metrics or distractions by discipline issues. Focusing on these outputs...
The Importance of Professional Relationships
by Brennan Randel Taking command of a company can oftentimes feel bittersweet. There is so much to be excited about, yet equally so much to be apprehensive about. Beyond the immense responsibility that elicits this range of emotions, there is the...
The Weakness of OODA: One-Speed-Fits-All is not a Recipe for Strategic Success
by ML Cavanaugh OODA’s not a bad idea. It’s a good one, applied poorly and too liberally. It’s not as if faith in John Boyd’s Observe-Orient-Decide-Act Loop is instantly fatal, more like a chronic illness that weakens the mind over time. It limits...
How I Learned to Get the Most Out of Reading
By Joe Byerly This month, as I transition out of another decade, I’m taking the opportunity to reflect and write on those things I adopted in my thirties that have proved beneficial to me. In this post, I want to share some of the...
Season Finale: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg- Strength in Numbers
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shares the lessons he’s learned leading the 30-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over the last seven years. Additionally, he explains how his parents’ approach to diplomacy influenced...
Making Mistakes
by Brennan Randel Four months into my first assignment out of flight school, I thought my career was over. Our unit was conducting aerial gunnery at a range north of El Paso. Because an Apache can only transport the pilot and the co-pilot, most of...
A Test for Future Generations
Preface by Thomas E. Ricks Editor’s Note: For this Fourth of July, the From the Green Notebook team felt it appropriate to share a copy of the Declaration of Independence so that we may reflect upon the principles upon which this nation was...
S2,E26: Major General Christopher Donahue- You Have to Fight For Your Culture
Major General Chris Donahue, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, shares lessons he’s learned throughout his career and discusses best practices for leaders to shape organizational culture. He also shares his thoughts on why...
Winning at the Point of Contact- People
By Douglas M. Willig “Trust is one thing that changes everything. It’s not a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. Without it, every part of your organization can fall, literally, into disrepair. With trust, all things are possible – most...
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Reflecting on Servant Leadership
By Joshua C. Bowen This past holiday season, I had the good fortune of celebrating Christmas with my family at my sister’s house in Bremerton, WA. She is a Navy Lieutenant (O-3) assigned to an aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis, at Naval...
Do Leaders Need Emotional Intelligence?
Over the holiday break, I had the opportunity to catch up with with Dr. Joshua Spodek, author of the upcoming book Leadership Step by Step and discuss emotional intelligence. The term gets thrown around a lot in the military, but I...
Mentorship: A Strategic Imperative
By Chip Bircher Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. —Jack Welch In the fall of 1915, a young lieutenant fresh out of West Point reported to Fort...
Be The Duck: The Rubber Duck
Editor’s Note: The is the second insightful guest post by Zach. I highly encourage readers to check out his last post: Be The Duck. Zach discusses the importance of leaders remaining calm in intense and chaotic situations. By Zach Mierva...
Victory From the Sidelines
By Christopher Manganaro Coaching a football team and leading a military unit have a lot in common. Both require an understanding of the “game,” practicing multiple plays for different scenarios, and building a quality bench of “players.” Whether...
When Bacteria Beats Bayonets
I originally published this post over at The Zen Pundit as part of The Thucydides Round Table, an eight week deep dive into an exceptional work of history. If you haven’t read Landmark Thucydides yet, I encourage you to pick up a copy,...
An Old Marine’s First Ten Thoughts on Combat
Editor’s Note: It’s an honor to feature this guest post. Below are Lt. Gen Van Riper’s reflections on combat after he retired from the Marine Corps in 1997. By Lieutenant General Paul K. Van Riper, USMC (ret) Pray before...
How Group Dynamics Brought Athens and Sparta to War
By Joe Byerly I originally published this post over at The Zen Pundit as part of The Thucydides Round Table, an eight week deep dive into an exceptional work of history. If you haven’t read Landmark Thucydides yet, I encourage you to...
4 Tips for Transitioning into New Assignments
By Thomas E. Meyer The United States Military provides an outstanding leadership laboratory to grow yourself and your team. Perhaps the most impressive means of continuing personal and organizational growth is a personnel system that requires...
Can Intellectuals Wear Muddy Boots?
Talent management is a hot topic today, and we increasingly read articles and blog posts that are very critical of the military’s management of its personnel. However, the tension between talent management and our promotion system is not a new one....
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