Friday, November 3, 2023

"Brilliant" on the basics? Some commands don't even have the light on.


If you were to assess your command in these six categories, how would you score? 
The foundation for success in any command can, in part, be attributed to these six areas that form the enduring foundation upon which a successful career can belaunched: 
 
1. Sponsorship/first 72 hours:
Proactive interaction by a sponsor and ombudsman can solve many issues before the Sailor and family arrives aboard. Paving the way for a smooth transition and making each Navy family feel like a genuine part of their new command can ensure a family commitment of support to enable success for all. 
 
2. Assign a Mentor:
Leader’s should be proactive in mentoring; give junior Sailors and peers the benefit of your experience. There are formal and informal means in which to execute an effective mentorship program. Each of us can attribute our own success to a great mentor. Ensure our Sailors understand the value of senior and peer mentorship. 
 
3. Indoctrination:
A great sponsorship program must be followed up by an effective indoctrination program. This will send a strong, positive signal that we value the talent and skills of the Sailor and we have a plan to integrate them into the team. Additionally it immediately sets the tone on what you expect of the Sailor and also what should be expected from you. Requirements and best practices can be found in OPNAVINST 1740.3C. 
 
4. Leadership: 
Career Development Boards (CDBs) - Leadership involvement, primarily by the CMC, the Chief’s mess and the Command Career Counselor, is critical to the success of every Sailor. CDBs are required within 30 days of a Sailor reporting aboard, and again at 6 and 12 months. (Many commands can't get EVALs/FITREPS done on time and you can imagine their success in accomplishing the CDB requirement).
 
5. Ombudsman program:
Ombudsman are trained to disseminate information from the chain of command to the families, including official command information, Quality Of Life opportunities, and community information. They can also provide referrals and are instrumental in resolving family issues before the issues require extensive command attention. EverySailor and Family member should know the Command Ombudsman. How do you advertise your Ombudsman? 
 
6. Recognition:
The end of tour should not be the only time a Sailor is recognized. Recognition can also include mid-tour awards, Flag Letters Of Commendation, letters of appreciation, and highlighting accomplishments in the POD and other public venues. Be creative, praise in public, and make your Sailors know they are appreciated. Something as simple as public recognition, a hand shake or a pat on the back often means more than an official award.

Sunday, August 27, 2023

 


The power of letters. Our Navy's leadership's willingness to recognize our greatest generation's contribution to the good of our country. I asked Admiral Dave Gove to recognize my OCS instructor as "Honorary Navigator of the Navy". This act of generosity cost less than a dollar and paid off in years of good feelings and warmed an old Sailor's heart. CWO4 Exum was wounded at Iwo Jima at 18 years old while landing Marines aboard an LCS. He served from WWII, through the Korean War and Vietnam War, retiring in 1985. His only personal award for achievement was a Navy Achievement Medal in his last tour for saving a ship from sinking in San Francisco Bay (1985).

Sunday, June 18, 2023

The number 1 handwritten letter influencer in the United Kingdom



 I did a random survey of 100 people on my Socials about who the number 1 handwritten letter influencer in the United Kingdom was.

The results are not surprising to me.

Dinah Johnson, founder of The Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society in Swanage, Dorset, United Kingdom was easily #1.

You can find her here https://thehandwrittenletterappreciationsociety.org/

I was member #0005 and she now has over 1100 members.

Her manifesto is simple:

MANIFESTO:

  • We believe that a handwritten letter is one of the loveliest, most personal things, anyone can receive.
  • We feel people may be missing a handwritten letter or two in their lives.
  • We pledge to keep handwritten letters alive by encouraging people to carry on writing them.
  • We see a person’s handwriting as a thing of beauty.
  • Along with handwriting we feel all stationery and the Postal Service are wondrous things and something to be used regularly.
  • We want others to be the collectors of their loved-ones’, friends’, and sometimes (if they are lucky) famous people’s handwriting.
  • We would say “Just go for it!” You don’t need to be Jane Austen or Thomas Hardy to write someone a letter.
  • In a pledge to encourage intimacy through letter writing we would only urge caution regarding sharing whole letters on-line. Those with permission are a wonderful insight and inspiration but those without kind of puts a spanner in the works and defeats the object of writing personal letters.
  • We would definitely love to see the places where people write letters, e.g. dining room table, study, library, on a bus, in the summerhouse/treehouse/shed, tearoom, train, up a mountain, on a boat, in a classroom, in fact, anywhere you like.  It doesn’t always have to be the same place – just send us a photo to inspire us . (See Gallery.)
  • Finally, may your love of handwritten letters be forever ignited and rekindled.

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Inordinately Fortunate

 

I was inordinately fortunate during my early professional career.  I worked for some truly awful leaders.

Thus, during the subsequent free time that life sometimes provides, I always had a full wagonload of professional grist waiting to grind.  The important questions were always the same.  Why had my bosses acted without apparent thought?  Why didn't my supervisors understand the effects their actions had on people?

Why had our team always done everything the hard way?

I had spent hours on these questions.

For the answers to these and other penetrating leadership questions, read Rear Admiral Dave Oliver, Jr.'s book, LEAD ON! A Practical Approach to Leadership  

You can get a preview HERE.

My signed copy is available for loan.  Shoot me an e-mail.

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Writing is writing

 




Planning to write is not writing.  Outlining a book is not writing.  Researching is not writing.  Talking to people about what you are doing, none of that is writing.  Writing is writing.

E. L. Doctorow


Today, I received letters from two NIOC COs, a NIOC XO, a NIOD OIC, a retired Navy Captain colleague, my sister, a priest and a NWC graduate attending the Warfighting school.  As you can imagine, it was a very good day for me. These men and my sister understand what it means to write.  

As per H.L. Mencken's example, I will send out my responses by day's end.  I will be writing.

"Write on, write on, write on."  Matthew McConaughey (Uvalde native)

Monday, June 20, 2022

10 Reasons I've Enjoyed Posting To This Blog Over The Years



In no particular order.


1.  It allowed me to engage with a wonderful author and to write the Chapter 1 opening vignette for a Wall Street Journal/Amazon best-selling business book.  Dr. Stephen Covey and Bono 'open' for me.
2.  It gave me the opportunity to help a Pulitzer prize winning author with research for his story on The SeaWitch in TIME magazine.
3.  It has allowed me to remain connected to the Navy's cryptologic community, which I love.
4.  It earned me an invite to speak at a Women In Defense forum and to contribute ideas to numerous professional publications.
5.  It has allowed others to freely express their frustrations on a variety of topics important to them. 
6.  It allowed me to expand the network of Sailors of all paygrades that I mentor and with whom I share lessons learned.
7.  It allowed me to collaborate with the former CNO on avenues to gain recognition of the Navy as a TOP 50 Employer in the United States.
8.  It allowed me to keep alive the memory of some stellar Sailors.
9.  It has allowed me to write everyday, which I love.
10.  It has connected me to some great Navy veterans and many others who proudly serve today.

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Seth Godin's NEVERs - My ALWAYS

 Seth Godin - Delivering on never

I will never miss a deadline
I will never leave a typo
I will never fail to warn you about a possible pitfall
I will never charge you more than the competition
I will never violate a confidence
I will never let you down
I will never be late for a meeting
There are lots of sorts of never you can deliver to a customer. You can't deliver all of them, of course. Picking your never and sticking with it is a fabulous way to position yourself.

Mike Lambert - Delivering on always

I will always answer the mail.
I will always give my best advice.
I will always deliver on a promise.
I will always give you a second chance.
I will always have your back.  (You know who you are).
I will always remember every Sailor.
I will always try to make it better.
I will always have something to add to this list.

What's your always?

Monday, May 30, 2022

For Memorial Day - Two notable Marines: Top Rogers and PVT Roznowski - generations apart (This was written in 2002)


First, let me tell you that it is a true honor and privilege to be a part of this ceremony today.  I love the United States Marine Corps.  I love the Marines.  In fact, I am a proud member of the Marine Corps family.  For you to fully understand how I feel about TOP ROGERS, I have to tell you about another Marine.  50 years ago this month, my wife's Uncle Richard Roznowski shipped out from San Diego to Korea.  He was a private fresh from Recruit Training at Parris Island in South Carolina.  He was trained as a machine gunner.  In high school, he was a boxer and football player at St. Joseph's Catholic school in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  50 years ago during the Korean War, I think that it was every Catholic mother's secret wish that one of her sons would become a priest to ensure his ascent into heaven.  I'll tell you that at that time in our country’s history it was every father's wish that his son would become a Marine and raise some hell.  And that was no secret.

Richard spent less than one month in Korea.  In September of 1951, a Navy Chaplain and a Marine Corps Reserve Officer visited 1304 Guns Road in Bellevue, Wisconsin and delivered an American flag, a prayer book for Catholic servicemen, 3 medals including this Purple Heart and a letter from his Commanding Officer.  Richard was dead.  I cannot recount the grief of his mother Elouise, his father Bernard or his brother Jerry.  But, I don't doubt that Richard fulfilled both his parents' wishes - He certainly made it into heaven and he even raised some hell.

So, I ask each of you today to consider that words have meaning and actions have consequences.  Why do I tell you this?  Because you need to know that I am going to use some words to describe Top Rogers that have lost their meaning through overuse in our every day language.

I met Top Rogers nearly 10 years ago and I've followed his career with keen interest ever since.  He is the finest Marine I have ever been associated with in my 26 years of Naval service.  I have not said before this of any other Marine.  I will never say it again.  I do not mean to even remotely suggest to you that Top Rogers is a politically correct Marine.  He is not, was not, and never will be.  He speaks his mind freely to all who will listen, kind of like our Master Chief John Vincent. So, don't ask him what he thinks unless you really want to know.  Because, he will tell you.  And you, in all probability, will not like it.  

He will tell you that his Marine Corps is not the place for social experiments.  You don't need to talk to Top about equal opportunity because he doesn't believe in hyphenated Marines.  There are no Black Marines, White Marines, Hispanic Marines, Asian Marines or even Catholic or Jewish Marines.  These men and women are United States Marines, straight up, tried and true.  They truly are THE FEW - THE PROUD.  They are his Marines and this has been his Marine Corps - America's most valued institution -- fundamentally unchanged in over 225 years.  I don' think we would want it any other way.  I don't think America could afford to have it any other way.

2 years ago, Marine Corps Commandant General Jones was satisfied that the Marine Corps was on the right track when he assumed command.  His first order to the Marines was "continue to march."  

Top Rogers, as you conclude your career I say, "continue to march."  

And I hope you make it into heaven because God knows you have raised enough hell.

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Better than a medal

 I served on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) staff as the Branch Chief for Information Assurance (J6K) and on the Secretary of Defense's staff as Staff Director for the Detainee Task Force from 2003 to 2006.  I am fairly certain I am the least decorated O6 during that time but I am proud to have this letter instead.


.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Is 10,000 hours enough?

 

 

I think this can be applied equally to leadership. Becoming truly great at anything -- (leadership included) -- requires ten years of experience and 1,000 hours of practice per year. 

"Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness," he argues.

Becoming a leader requires "deliberate practice." 

What are the elements of 'deliberate practice'? 

It's designed explicitly to improve performance -- the little adjustments that make a big difference. 

It's repetitive, which means that when it's time to perform for real, you don't feel the pressure. 

It's informed by continuous feedback; practicing leadership only works if you can see how you're improving. 

Bits and pieces paraphrased (and others cut and pasted) from HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW.

Monday, February 14, 2022

The Mustang

 


The Mustang, aka Methuselah

Task & Purpose

The Mustang has more Good Cookies (Good Conduct Medals) than a box of Chips Ahoy, and he’s an officer. He has campaign medals that no one even recognizes. Where the hell is Kosovo, or for that matter “Southwest Asia,” anyway?

The junior enlisted troops love the Mustang. They think it’s cool as hell that someone went from enlisted to officer. The senior enlisted troops are not nearly as enamored, because the Mustang doesn’t fall for their bullshit. “It doesn’t take all day to do that, gunny. If you need time off, how about you just freakin’ say it?”

The Mustang is not, objectively speaking, that much older than his contemporaries. But whatever happened during those seven or eight extra years of enlisted service, it sure looks like it got to him. As they say, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.” Apparently the Mustang hasn’t just been around the block, he’s been around the planet. Twice.

Stolen from: https://taskandpurpose.com/humor/6-types-majors-meet-military/

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Ethical Challenges


 There is no getting around the fact that every promotion and new position brings with it a new host of challenges, demands, relationships, problems, opportunities, and even new, and maybe previously unseen ethical challenges. ...It is only a smart thing to be ready and prepared to address all of these issues.

               - U.S. Army War College student observation

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Smartest person in the room? Not by a long shot.

 


I met with a small group of IDC officers some years back and one of my fellow Captains wanted to make sure all of us understood he was the smartest guy in the room.  It wasn't a declarative verbal statement. But, you readily understood his intent. He professed his sincere apologies for arriving late to our meeting.  It wasn't long before he made it known that his schedule was way overbooked and he really didn't even have time for the meeting we were currently involved in and he would have to depart early.  Thank goodness one of his Sailors brought him his coffee and he had time to take a few sips before he jaunted off for his next meeting for which he was already late.  Good thing he was a Captain and those 40 Sailors didn't mind waiting.  Quite the busy man.

He wasn't the smartest person in the room, nor was he even the smartest man in the room.  Self importance is not a virtue in most environments requiring servant leadership.

Thursday, February 10, 2022

One of the 5 characteristics of a leader

Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale - One of the five characteristics of a leader

Must Be a Moralist

First, in order to lead under duress, one must be a moralist. By that, I don’t mean being a poseur, one who sententiously exhorts his comrades to be good. I mean he must be a thinker. He must have the wisdom, the courage, indeed the audacity to make clear just what, under the circumstances, the good is. This requires a clear perception of right and wrong and the integrity to stand behind one’s assessment. The surest way for a leader to wind up in the ash can of history is to have a reputation for indirectness or deceit. A disciplined life will encourage commitment to a personal code of conduct.

My short brochure about the VADM Stockdale Inspirational Leadership Award is here.

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Timeless advice from Joe


Many professionals do not want to write because they feel by doing so they are telling people how to think or that no one will even care what the author, regardless of rank, thinks about a subject. What I have learned over the years is that published ideas, both good and bad, serve as a fuel for workplace conversations. And these conversations, which are a form of professional development, can have positive second and third order effects that the author never intended. 

For example, an article about improving performance counseling could lead to leaders reassessing and eventually changing their counseling programs in a unit on the other side of the globe. The changes may not be exactly in line with the article, but it was the article that got that commander or first sergeant thinking and talking about counseling in the first place.

Much more is available HERE.