Articles
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...
The Command In-Brief: Stepping Off On The Right Foot
by Matthew Smith and Thomas Hale There is a lot to ponder as the summer begins, many Field Grades are in the twilight of their command preparation. Consequently, there is a lot to ponder prior to taking the guidon as a battalion commander. Through...
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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....
Be the Duck
By Zachary Mierva The cabin was very quiet. A few passengers made phone calls or sent text messages to loved ones. Some were saying their prayers. Others would say they were making peace with the situation. If they were going to die, they said,...
Using ‘Mental Models’ to Outthink the Enemy
From ARMY Magazine, Vol. 66, No. 9, September 2016. Copyright © 2016 by the Association of the U.S. Army and reprinted by permission of ARMY Magazine. By the end of August 1944, Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s Third Army had left a swath of...
The Evolution of Leader Development
In 1920, as commander of 3rd Squadron, 3d Cavalry, then Colonel George S. Patton Jr. held a series of sixteen lectures in which we he imparted the lessons he had learned from a mixture of self study and his own experiences in World War I to the...
Resources for Iron Majors and Company Grade Officers
By Joe Byerly Company Command and S3/XO time are two critical seasons in an officer’s career, and one of the keys to being successful is to show up prepared. Below are three resources that leaders can tap into to help prepare ahead of time...
Surviving Headquarters Company Command
By CPT Scott Nusom There are few assignments in the Army that produce the same unique leadership challenge as commanding a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) and what makes the HHC command so challenging is learning how to productively...
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