executive leadership – Page 4 – Colonel Mickey Addison

2 February 2015Technique Only

Staying On Course to Your Goals

Each new year the resolutions fly…we promise to lose weight, eat better, work harder, read more, you name it. Now that we’re at the end of January, it’s time to take stock of our goals and re-commit to them. Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once spoke about the snooze button, and how it was really superfluous. […]

19 January 2015From the Blogs

Learning from Starbucks About Mission

One of my core tenets is leaders must give teams a sense of mission: In my book Leading Leaders, I recount the story of a friend of mine who took over leadership of a volunteer re-sale shop. “She and her leadership team began by listening to the volunteers and addressed their personal concerns about the […]

12 January 2015Practical Leadership

Move the Chains

The phrase “Hail Mary” to describe a desperate long pass down the field entered the NFL lexicon after a Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings playoff game in 1975 when Cowboys’ quarterback Roger Staubach connected with receiver Drew Pearson in what turned out to be the game-winning play. Despite the glamour of the Steve Sabol narrated NFL films, few […]

3 February 201428 May 2020Mickeys Rules, Practical Leadership

Rule #9: Walk The Horses

Rule #9: Walk The Horses There’s a great scene in the 1949 John Ford film She Wore a Yellow Ribbon that contains a lesson in leadership. You guessed it: they were walking their horses. What does “walking horses” have to do with leadership? Just this: leaders can and must try to get the best out of […]

21 January 2014Practical Leadership

I Really Don’t Like Meetings

I know, I know, sometimes meetings are necessary, but in my experience very little actual work gets done in most meetings. Yes, of course, senior leaders still need to be informed, so the “status/update brief” is a necessary component of running most large organizations. Yes, sometimes we need to have a meeting to set the […]

1 November 2013Practical Leadership

What Got You Here Won’t Make You Successful Here

When I was going through the executive leadership curriculum at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (now the Eisenhower School), speakers and readings continually repeated the notion that executive leadership was different; that the skills we learned as majors and lieutenant colonels would not make us successful as colonels and generals. At the time, […]

14 September 2013Practical Leadership, Technique Only

5 Secrets of Commanding Time Management

Like all leaders, a military commander must manage their time carefully. It’s the only resource of which we never get more! These have worked for me as a commander and leader, perhaps they’ll work for you. 1. Organize your day, don’t let your day organize you. Whatever scheduling tool you use, remember that it’s your […]