1 of 365 books in 365 days

(2004). Be, know, do: Leadership the Army way: adapted from the official Army leadership manual.

I had originally read this book in 2006. It is a direct look into the US Army Issued field manual 22-100 "Army Leadership". Unlike most organizations the military cannot recruit generals, lieutenants, and the like, from the other competing armies of the world. Their leadership quality depends on the soldiers they recruit, the training they give them and the leaders they develop within!
This is a great book for those individuals that want to understand the fundamentals on how to develop leadership from within the ranks. It helps to understand that you need to work with what you have and the importance of having a depth of leadership within the organization. There are several facets of this book that can be applicable in today’s corporate environment. Most notably being the point that success is only achievable through teamwork. All too often, in the corporate world, we find there is a lack of core fundamentals for successful teamwork. According to the manual the US Army lists six core components in order to have a successful team: trust, communication, loyalty, selfless service, respect and discipline. "Teams don't come together by accident..."(p.93).
It doesn't matter your point of view of war, the army or politics in general. The fact remains that in any organization there are core components for a successful team. Since the dawn of time there have been armies and the US Army figured it out on creating successful teams. For centuries the armies of the world require that the soldier/the team respond immediately to given orders and do it without question. A leader, in the military, needs to know that the last thing they need to account for is insubordination. Because the fact is that it may cost someone their life if an order isn't followed. Then again it's the leader’s responsibility to only give orders that will benefit the team, the mission and the nation for which it serves. Being ethical and moral will create undying loyalty from ones followers. The challenge is to create leaders that will be ethical, moral and be able to create teams that will bring about success for the organization. A leader must also create leadership that can take ones place, without hesitation, if one should leave, fall or fail. This book can help one gain insight into the understanding of these concepts. The book is 159 pages and took me 3 hours to read. Good read.

Writing Doctorate level papers

As I approach the upcoming Masters hooding, and commencement, ceremonies I find that I should've paid more attention in English class. The correlation you ask? Here I am about to walk across as a Masters of Science graduate (and currently pursuing my doctorate) and I realize that my writing ability is sub-par for that level of a scholar. Maybe I'm being hard on myself but I find that it takes me way to long to write a 10 page paper! In reflection, I need to become better organized with my thoughts and outline. PRIOR to just jumping in and writing in an ad-hoc fashion!
Sometimes I feel like I'm playing the asteroids video game and ideas are coming at me fast! So I turn, shoot (write it down) and then here comes another completely different idea (all the while trying to stay in the center of the screen). And on occasion an Asteroid (idea) that is too big, too fast, comes barreling towards me which causes me to move from the center! Have you ever tired to re-center yourself after you've moved when you've played Asteroids? Almost impossible in my book. You're better off doing your best and waiting to get killed so you can start from the middle again. If you're still in English class or you're taking a writing class then I encourage you to pay attention. You're going to need those skills whether you like it or not!

Ready. Set. Re-Set! Then Go!

I find it interesting that we come up with these great ideas and fail to prepare adequately. It's now Cinco de Mayo and I haven't begun my journey. I have so many excuses but none are good enough to repair the assault on my self esteem. On May 1st I wanted to start reading. I really did! But I didn't get to because I spent precious time building a custom made bookshelf. One thing lead to another and it went from 9am to midnight! I was exhausted and asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Sunday came with yet another project of putting together bunk beds and trying to recover from my over used muscles!

I felt like Jack Tripper in "Three Company" after he tried to impress a girl by going to the gym. I think I was trying to impress my wife with building a custom made bookcase. Exhaustion and power tools are a bad idea by the way. Monday I spent another 8 hours on the bookcase and Tuesday I caught some kind of "bug" and slept approx 18 hours. It could’ve been dehydration from being outside on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I feel better today but I can't get enough water!

I suppose I say all that because won't "life" get in the way over the next year? Reading takes time, focus and just doing it! So I am going to allow myself one mulligan and reset my reading starting line to Monday May 17th. I have the Master's Hooding ceremony the weekend of the 14th and I won't have any time to myself. So I am going to forgive my inability to start and plan effectively and allow this one mulligan.