By J. William DeMarco “I am appalled at the aimlessness of most people’s lives. Fifty percent don’t pay any attention to where they are going, forty percent are undecided and will go in any direction. Only ten percent know what they want and even all of them don’t go toward it.” - Katherine Anne Porter …
The Exit Interview
by J. William DeMarco In the Military we have a rather unique "tradition" of the exit interview. When a commander is about to leave, public affairs or in the case of the Bloody Hundredth, the Wing Historian will give a quick interview regarding accomplishments, plans and vision. It seemed to last no more than five minutes …
Welcome to the Machine…or how will this affect our people?
by J. William DeMarco Shouldn't that be the first question we ponder as leaders? Seems like most people evaluate events or decisions based on how they will be affected personally. Leaders need to ask not only how will this impact our people but they also need to look at how decisions will impact those above and next …
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Time, Vision, Priorities….and the tolling on the iron bell…
By J. William DeMarco Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way -Pink Floyd: Time The concept of time is always of interest to me... a while ago I penned a piece NT3 (No Time To Think), a large part of NT3 comes …
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A Saboteur Among You
By J. William DeMarco Pondering individuals and impact this AM: Would you agree that people always (I know big word) project on the outside how they feel on the inside? Every once in a while you meet someone for the first time...and you suspect something is not quiet right--you suspect a poor attitude, yet you …
Monday Questions and Character
By J. William DeMarco I have a pretty strange morning routine... the gym, listen to podcasts, Bible reading, leadership devotional...and then the day begins. This AM, there were several things that just jumped out at me. First, highly recommend the Linchpin Podcast hosted by Andy Traub. This week Andy hosted John G. Miller, author of …
Enlarging the Organization….
Ever have one of those weeks? No...not one of those...but...one of these...where EVERYTHING goes just right? I am a car guy...and have a 1966 GT350 which I love to work on. Sometimes...every once in a while--you turn the key and she just purrs...the glass packs resonate perfectly, tap the gas a couple times and there …
The “Greater Good” Leader
By J. William DeMarco Over the years I have come to recognize there are really two basic types of leaders. Those that are about "personal power" and those that are motivated by the "greater good." Of course, we are all human...and probably slide on the scale of personal power and greater good more than we …
The Innovation Equation: (C + Ap + Im) = In
By J. William DeMarco Innovation = Curiosity + Appreciation + Imagination Came across this equation a good while ago... placed it on a 3x5 card and reflect on it often--probably deserves some deeper thought. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” - Steve Jobs Curiosity is an emotion related to natural inquisitive behavior such …
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Dropping Keys?
Talk about one or maybe three off... listening to a podcast in the gym this morning and the speaker mentioned the Persian Poem and Poet below... loved it! And Googleing the poem... I came across the Chris Guillebeau's blog..."The Art of Nonconformity" looks great! Exactly what came to mind on hearing the poem...but know I …
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