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 …

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 …

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 …

Power: DeMarco Banter

"The measure of a man is what he does with power." --Pittacus Pittacus ( /ˈpɪtÉ™kÉ™s/; Ancient Greek: Πιττακός; c. 640–568 BC) was the son of Hyrradius and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. He was a native of Mytilene and the Mytilenaean general who, with his army, was victorious in the battle against the …

Three Things Organizations and Individuals Need to Thrive: DeMarco Banter

Recently I was listening to a podcast where a speaker mentioned the three "M"s:  Mastery, Membership, and Meaning.  The problem is... I listen to way too many podcast and I can't recall where it came from.  Of course I found several web pages devoted to the three, and in some cases four, "M"s--don't recall where …

A Simple Stoic Leader Philosophy We Can All Utilize—DeMarco Banter

or...Leadership Philosophy 201/We don’t need no stinkin’ philosophy—do we? Leadership Philosophy 101 was penned as part of a course I was teaching on leadership and command.  The piece has generated a great deal of discussion—both pro and con. Many of us have a desire to lead, some of us enjoy pondering leadership, and others assume …

The Four Leader Types…and Give ’em Hell Harry…DeMarco Banter

Just log onto any news site or turn on any 24/7 news feed--where are the true leaders? Several years ago I set foot on a massive aircraft carrier-the USS Harry S. Truman.  On this behemoth, there's a room dedicate to President Truman with a replica of the famous sign the POTUS famously had on his …