REFLECT
The Climb to Power Conceals
By Joe Byerly We often hear that power reveals. That once someone has it, their true character is finally exposed. But what’s less often acknowledged, and arguably more important for you and I, is that the climb to power conceals. The...
More Than a War Story: The Power of Reflection
By Joe Byerly Better than Reality TV One of the greatest benefits of military service is the number of life experiences we pack into a year; sometimes even into a single week or day. We bring together people from different backgrounds, cultures,...
What Fairy Tales Teach Us About Power
By Joe Byerly Have you ever actually read the original Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen? It’s pretty dark. There are no singing crabs, cute blowfish, or happy endings. It’s a story about a girl who gives up something of great...
No One Warned Me About This Part of Leaving the Military
By Joe Byerly Before I retired from the military, everyone told me the same few things: “You’ll struggle with purpose.” “You’ll miss the mission.” “You’ll miss the people.” And they weren’t wrong. I’ve felt all of that to some degree. As I’ve...
Power and the Popularity Trap
This is Joe’s latest series on Power. Check out his first post here! By Joe Byerly The need to be liked is something many leaders wrestle with. But when the desire for popularity is mixed with the desire for power, it creates a toxic brew—one...
Insecurity, Power, and Tyrants
By Joe Byerly Why do people chase power? Many of us fool ourselves into thinking our pursuit of power is noble. We want to make a difference. We want to bring about change. We want to make things better. But lurking just beneath those reasons is...
Judgment Comes Full Circle: I’m the Major Now
By Sara Roger Chaos, uncertainty, deadlines, endless meetings, new guy syndrome. You might call these facts of life, but for me, they were the ingredients in this week’s signature dish: “Fill the Gap for the Brigade Operations Officer.” For the...
Why FightCamp Is the Perfect Garage Gym Setup for Veterans Getting Back in Shape
By Joe Byerly After 20 years in the military, staying physically fit is hardwired into who I am. But I’ll be honest, my body doesn’t bounce back the way it used to. My knees aren’t fans of long runs or high-impact workouts like CrossFit anymore,...
What George Marshall Would Tell Today’s Leaders
by Aaron Childers The military places a large amount of responsibility on young leaders from the moment they assume their positions. This can be overwhelming at times, but it isn’t a modern problem. In fact, some of the struggles that...
Why Every Leader Needs to Create a “Me Manual”
By Joe Byerly One of the first pieces of advice I received when I joined the Army was to create an “I love me book.” This binder became a repository for all my awards, evaluation reports, orders, and even handwritten notes from senior leaders. I...
Diving with Death: Navigating Scary Conversations in Mental Health
By Stein Thorbeck I want to tell you a story to make you better at supporting people in pain. I was glad to be there when it happened, despite the difficulty. Further, I was thankful to know something about struggle. My experience with depression...
From a Company Commander to Platoon Leaders: Relax—and Check Your Ego
by Michael Everett Relax. Be where your feet are. Be yourself. Learn how to Army. Read, write, learn. Own being the leader of your platoon. You are about to be handed the keys to a platoon and officially begin your time as a platoon leader...
Wayne Gretzky and Coup d’oeil
by T.G. Bradbeer In his classic work, On War, Clausewitz describes the concept of Coup d’oeil as “an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmering of the inner light which leads to truth.” This ‘inward eye’ refers to the ability...
How To Be a Data Literate Leader—And Why It Matters
Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash by Justine Meberg As the Army shifts focus from asymmetric to peer threats, modernization involves significant change. New hardware and software will gather and process increasingly more information across a vast...
It’s Not Innovation Versus Readiness—Innovation Is Readiness
By James Ashworth, with Rebecca Segal The U.S. Army has been charged to transform in contact, using deployments and exercises to stimulate innovation. To do so successfully, while still training your tactical mission, requires a conscious approach...
From a Staff Sergeant To Future Platoon Leaders: Own Your Roles and Responsibilities
by Cindy M. Lopez As you senior Cadets approach Commissioning, I hope that you are all as excited as I am for you. As a Non-Commissioned Officer, I do have a few requests from you. When I first pinned the rank of Sergeant (SGT), I had only...
Why You Should Reinvent the Wheel
by Todd Schmidt How many times throughout your career has someone told you to not reinvent the wheel? Scientists estimate that the wheel has been around since about 3500 BC. Originally used for manufacturing pottery, milling, irrigation, and...
What I Learned about Leadership from a 24-Year-Old Sales Manager at Best Buy
by Stein Thorbeck It’s probably unfair to name a single greatest leader I have worked for. But if someone held a gun to my head today and forced me to name someone, I would think about impact. I would tell them the name of a leader who changed the...
The Beowulf Problem
by Cherian Zachariah Beowulf spoke and made a formal boast for the last time: “I risked my life often when I was young; now I am old. As king of the people, I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning, if the evil one will abandon his fort...
How Aristotle Challenged Me to ‘Embrace the Suck’
by Scotty Fargo Aristotle was all for the embodiment of excellence, characterized well by his quote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” This article serves as a reflection of what I have learned as a cadet...
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Negative Capability: The One Skill Military Leaders Need
Photo Courtesy of Lucasfilm By Joe Byerly In the early 1970s, a young George Lucas had an idea to create a movie the likes of which no one had seen (or experienced) before. It would be a mix of science fiction and mythology. But there were...
Rise to the Level of Creativity: Assessments from Large-Scale Combat Operations
by Daniel R. DeNeve, Kevin J. Quigley, & Larry Kay Army units at every echelon struggle to meet mission and training requirements due to lack of creativity, critical thought, and disciplined initiative. While repetition and trauma facilitate...
AI for the Win: Four Game-Changing Resources for Your Organization
by Joshua Caballero The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. -Alvin Toffler Innovation is no longer a choice but a necessity in today’s constantly...
The Importance of Property Accountability and Readiness
by Jakob Hutter From helmets to Humvees, property accountability is a critical aspect of sustaining operational readiness. Property accountability refers to an organization’s ability to effectively track, manage, and report on equipment and assets....
Building Cohesive and Effective Teams
by Mitch Butterworth “It is not what [leaders] know or how bright they are that leads to success or failure; [rather] how well they work with others, and how well they understand themselves.” – R.J....
4 Types of Officers; and How to Develop Yourself and Others
By Joel Smith The Four Types of Officers As a young officer I read German General Kurt Von Hammerstein-Equord’s four officer categories; they are 1) the clever, 2) the industrious, 3) the lazy, and 4) the stupid. “I divide my officers into four...
The Impact of Moral Efficacy on Army Readiness
by Marc Meybaum, Cole Cannon, & Brian Martinez You stand in the hot sun of a motor pool staring down at a sea of equipment layouts. You have been desperately trying to manage the ream of property book pages as you conduct your change of command...
Lessons from Large Scale Combat Operations, Part III
by Larry Kay, Josh Cosmos, Dan DeNeve, Nicole Courtney, Jeremy Mounticure Editor’s Note: In this final article of our three-part series, the authors will describe the staff’s attempt to create “decision space” for the commanding general, while also...
Lessons from Large Scale Combat Operations, Part II
by Larry Kay, Josh Cosmos, Dan DeNeve, Nicole Courtney, Jeremy Mounticure Editor’s Note: This is the second of a three-part article, stay tuned for the final part tomorrow. In the previous article, the authors discussed the importance of aligning...
Lessons from Large Scale Combat Operations Part I
by Larry Kay, Josh Cosmos, Dan DeNeve, Nicole Courtney, Jeremy Mounticure Editor’s Note: This is the first of a three-part article, stay tuned for the next two parts over the coming days. The division is the Army’s principal tactical...
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