I love being an American.  I love our Nation and all it stands for.  I spent 35 years of my life protecting our freedoms and our way of life.   I am concerned about many things, however.  One is that we as a Nation have a short term memory.  Last week was the 14th anniversary of 9/11, and day when we as a Nation were attacked on our very own soil and over 3000 Americans lost their lives.  In many cases, the day passed as just another day.   Many Americans have forgotten that dreadful day.  They seem unaware of the fact that the folks who attacked us on 9/11 are still out there, and they still hate us.  They hate our democracy and our ideals, and they have dedicated their lives to destroy us as a Nation.  The only way we keep that from happening is to continue to take the fight

I believe that there is strength in diversity.  We as a society should embrace diversity, and not shrink away from it.  Celebrating diversity provides for an environment where many different thoughts and ideas come into play.  When I visit with corporate and community leaders across the Nation, I am always looking closely at their “inner circle”, the folks closest to them.  If those folks look just like the leader it is an indication of a potential problem.  There is a lack of diversity.   On a larger scale, I continue to find myself worried about the future of our Nation. Unfortunately, there are elements in our society who want to emphasize divisiveness over diversity.  They want to drive a wedge between us.  I saw this in Iraq during my service there.  Folks there committed specific acts of terror to inflame tension between the Iraqi Shias and Sunnis.   We can’t allow that

It has been said that the hardest thing about getting a new idea in, is getting the old idea out.   That is what is going on now in the US Army.  Two female Soldiers have successfully completed the most challenging course the Army has to offer – US Army Ranger School.  They are to be commended for their efforts.  They knew how difficult the course was going to be, but they volunteered to attend anyway and accepted the challenge.  They worked thru very difficult tasks and situations, and then successfully completed the course.  I am very proud of them.   I am disappointed, however,  that folks can’t (or won’t) accept the fact that they competed the course successfully.  There is way too much negative traffic on social media today.  Some folks allege that the US Army lowered their standards at Ranger School so that the female Soldiers could graduate.  I don’t buy

Individuals and organizations that want to excel must always do their very best.  Everyone within the team must perform to his or her maximum potential everyday.  This includes all aspects of our society: Family, churches, corporations, government, etc.   To get folks to work up to their maximum potential, leaders must be demanding.   They must set high standards for both themselves and their partners / employees, and then demand that folks work to achieve those standards.  And…once those standards are achieved they should “raise the high bar” and demand that folks attain those results as well.  That is the essence of high performing organizations, always doing better.  As Robert Browning once said “ A man’s reach should exceed his grasp”.   To do that, leaders must carefully communicate what the standards are, and what the expectations are for employees to achieve those standards.  To be an effective leader, constant communication is critical.  There

Sarah and I travel a lot, both inside and outside the US. The trips allow us the opportunity to see things outside of our own community, and I am not sure I like what I see.   I worry about the direction our Nation is taking, especially when I see other countries.  We just returned from a week long vacation in Ireland.  The country was immaculate.  The people were friendly and welcoming.  I never saw a police officer the entire time I was in Ireland, but everyone felt safe and secure.   Thomas Friedman wrote a book entitled “That Used to be Us”.  Generally, the book compares the way our Nation used to be, the way it is, and the way it should be.    We must all ask ourselves “Are we where we want to be as a Nation?”  If the answer is no (and I think it should be), we must ask