Crisis, Complexity, and Confusion: Making Change in Large Organizations—DeMarco Banter (video)
With all the COVID impacts, I had the opportunity to speak with the Society of British Neurosurgeons Symposium on making change in large organizations. Click Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond—How To Get a Diamond To Shine
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine! Most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 87 to 118 miles in the Earth's mantle. Diamonds are made to shine using grit. All gems are cut and polished by progressive abrasion using …
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Pony Optimism or the Wisdom of Ronald Reagan
By J. William DeMarco “There must be a pony in here somewhere." Optimism... something I struggle with...but I am getting better... Our future will not be determined by our complaints....life is full of issues, surprises, events we never saw coming... and I have yet to have a bad assignment or a bad job...so, perhaps it …
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Drafting Character: DeMarco Banter
In my day job we spend a great deal of time focusing on developing leaders of moral character, so I was ecstatic when I came across a story from Tony Dungy from his days with the Colts. Dungy mentions the extreme talent of draft prospects coming out of college. At times, players would have plenty …
Leader Development in the V.U.C.A. Environment: Neo-DeMarcoian Thought
How many times have you heard our environment has changed—it’s now more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) today than every before? I’m not 100% convinced this is true. Go back just in American history. Did George Washington live in uncertain times? Did Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, or LBJ live in uncertain, complex, …
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The Strong B+ Leader: “A New Theory of Leadership”
Years ago, as a squadron commander, it dawned on me that sometimes the best performers in the squadron were not the individuals with the strongest pedigree. I know many of you are thinking, “Really Bill? It took you that long?” Those who know me understand; it just takes me awhile. In many conversations I referred …
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A Simple Man’s Map To The Stoic Path—Neo-DeMarconian Banter
A while back we started a series on schools of philosophy and we began with the Praxium or the Jedi School. Today we ponder the Stoic School. For the past several years now I have been studying The Stoics. I first became interested from listening to podcasts by Tim Ferriss and reading biographies of George …
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Bootleg Innovation in the Military–or what happens when Punk Rock goes Mainstream
The massive military bureaucracy is daunting to any junior or mid level solider, marine, airman, sailor dare we say—any person working in a bureaucracy—giving way to an entirely different form of innovation. If an Airman on a flight-line has a problem or a solider in field finds or discovers a new tool—it can take years …
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Innovation and a Culture Of Conformity: DeMarco Banter
“Success no longer goes to the country that develops a new fighting technology first, but rather to the one that better integrates it and adapts its way of fighting …Our response will be to prioritize speed of delivery, continuous adaptation, and frequent modular upgrades. We must not accept cumbersome approval chains, wasteful applications of resources …
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