By traditional measure my first professional mentor was a failure. Continue reading
Category Archives: Leadership
“V” is Not Always for Victory
So you are executing flawlessly, but are you doing the right things?
After the first World War, the fledgling Royal Air Force struggled to prove its worth as an independent service. Continue reading
The Scramble
To succeed under pressure we have to trust.
Every day brings the same routine for the Royal Air Force’s pilots. Wait. Stare at magazines, but never turn the pages. Watch the hands twitch around the clock face.
As the morning wears on the pilots think, “It’s almost too late, the Germans won’t be coming.” Continue reading
Coming Up Short
Can we earn our employee’s respect through critical feedback?
Eighteen thousand feet above the Isle of Wight, enemy German planes swarming around him, George Westlake’s engine went silent. Continue reading
Breathing Room
Does productivity equal performance?
During the Battle of Britain England’s secret weapon was the Dowding System, and its heart was the Filter Room. Continue reading
The Mahogany Bomber
Are we leading our teams from behind our desks?
Squadron Leader Don MacDonell’s pilots had a thirty minute release. The weather was deteriorating and Group command didn’t want them sitting in their planes waiting for the skies to clear. The Germans wouldn’t fly in this weather. With the grey clouds scudding across the hills, they’d never be able to find their targets. Continue reading
Threat or Feint
Are we focusing on the right things?
September 15, 1940. It was 10:30 in the morning and ten miles from the French coast, off Cape Nez Griz, forty German planes were racing toward England. Continue reading
The Tizzy Angle
What is the cost of perfection?
Somewhere in the skies over the English Channel a wing of bombers sped toward England, and the best minds in the Royal Air Force had no idea how to stop them. Continue reading
Four Decisions
Do we empower our teams to make critical decisions?
Do we give our employees the autonomy to do their jobs? We probably think we do. But are we putting our trust in the same people? The people we always go to. The people we trust to do the job. The “heroes” on our project. Continue reading
The Thin Red Line
Do you stand up for what you believe, regardless of the cost?
In 1940, Air Chief Marshall Hugh Dowding did, and he’s the reason, despite Tobruk and Normandy, despite the Band of Brothers and the Red Army, that we do not speak German today. Continue reading