Dave Anderson | Tag Archive | Leaders of Character

December 25, 2016 maximios

Business magazines publish article after article discussing a company’s culture. The articles often focus on perks, the color of the office walls, or the fact there is a ping pong table where the conference table used to be.

Who cares! I don’t care that I get to play ping pong at work if I can’t trust the guy I just beat to be honest with me later. A pig with lipstick on is still a pig. Continue Reading…

At 2:30 in the afternoon, I took a risk. An audience of 700 people had been listening to best selling leadership gurus since 8:00 AM. Now I had 10 minutes to make an impact on this group.

I decided to change the first half of my talk and ask the 700 attendees to actively participate in my talk. All I did was ask them to yell out their answers to a simple question.

“When you think of the best leader you ever worked with or heard about, what is one trait that you admired most?”

I just returned from my 25 year West Point reunion. It was great to be with friends who went through the same trials and tribulations I did in order to graduate from America’s premier leadership development school.

A few quick impressions:

Those guys looked old!
We aren’t losing our hair. We are gaining forehead.
West Point did an incredible job developing leaders in the Class of 1988!

The purpose of West Point is to produce leaders of character who are prepared to provide selfless service to our Army and the nation.

“No excuse, sir.” Of the four approved responses a West Point plebe may use, this one was hardest for me to say. But, everything we did at West Point had a purpose.

The purpose of teaching 18 year olds not to make excuses actually fulfills West Point’s purpose: To provide our nation with leaders of character.

A leader of character takes responsibility no matter the circumstances. A leader of character does not make excuses.

Continue Reading…

In a nutshell: Inflicting pain on myself or someone else is a test of character and courage.

There are some decisions I make in leadership, I know are going to hurt. They may hurt me, or they may hurt others. In these situations, it may not be my integrity being tested. It is most likely my courage.

This is a copy of the last blog written by a student from the Brook Hill School who went to Uganda over spring break. It also happens to be my 16 year old son, Jake.

I may be biased, but this is better than anything I have ever written.

See what K.I.S.S. means to a 16 year old.

#Prouddad

Simplicity In Rwemikoma

PCM Ministries

Today’s student perspective comes from Jake:

Time slows down in Africa. Emmy D comes to pick us up at least 45 minutes later than the agreed upon time every day, if we are lucky. Some of the Type A’s around here are annoyed at least somewhat by this, however, when you take a step back, it is quite refreshing. Continue Reading…

“What leadership book have you ever read that states, ‘A leader does what is right unless it will cost him personally.’” There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. It was not the empathetic answer Stan was looking for. The question: “What can I do? She’s my boss.”

Cowardice and courage are obvious before and during battle. In 1991, I witnessed another 1^st Lieutenant back out of mission that I later volunteered for as a result of his cowardice.

In another part of the battlefield, I had a friend dismount from his tank and walk his platoon through a minefield while under enemy fire. That act of courage earned him a Silver Star. Those examples of cowardice and courage are easy to identify.

But, cowardice and courage in the business world are not always as obvious. Sometimes they appear in the big moments when others are watching. At other times they occur when no one is around to see them.

I define courage as acting without regard for perceived or actual personal risk. Continue Reading…

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The grizzled veteran manager proudly declared, “My top priority is to take care of my team.” It sounded like I found a kindred spirit. I believe the leader’s job should be centered on his people.

But what I had discovered was a selfish, hard headed and insecure man. Over time, I learned he was not taking care of his people. He was looking out for #1. Continue Reading…

My four years at West Point began and ended at Michie Stadium. July 1, 1985 was a beautiful sunny day filled with fear and anxiety as I said goodbye to my loving parents and hello to the not-so-loving upperclassmen.

The principles of leadership taught at West Point served me well as a young platoon leader in combat in Desert Storm, as the CEO of two different companies, as a husband and father, and now as a pastor.

Guest Blog By Fritz Hager, Jr.- Fritz has a unique leadership background that he will share periodically as a guest blogger. I have watched him lead as a cadet, as a lieutenant in combat (Silver Star), as a CEO, as a father and now as a pastor. Continue Reading…

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