Hal Moore: On Leadership

First up is a book review.  An easy start.

Perhaps there’s a lesson here already.  “Do the easy questions in an exam first, so you get your mind warmed up”.  Maybe the lesson is that “You’re destined to fail as you’ve only aimed low!”  Perhaps there’s no secret author’s meaning at all and it’s just the last book I read since starting the blog.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check out my previous post titled What’s it all about? for some context.  When you’ve done that, come back and we’ll continue.

I first heard of Hal Moore while trail walking at the back of the Cherrybrook Rural Fire Brigade station.  I’m a member of the brigade and when I can, I walk the fire trails and single track around the station, partly to better learn the trails that we may one day need to fight fires from, but mainly just for the exercise and the momentary solitude.  Hal Moore was not on the trails that day.  Hal Moore is in fact, quite dead.  He did a lot of living though.  A decorated member of the US Army, he was considered one of the countries’ finest fighting commanders and spent just over 30 years in service.  No, Hal Moore was not on the trails that day.

I was listening to my favourite podcast, Jocko Podcast, by a guy named Jocko Willink.  We’ll cover more on what I’ve learned from him in the coming weeks.

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Blackwattle Trail

The sound grab that quite literally stopped me in my tracks was “If there’s doubt in your mind, there’s no doubt at all”.  I rewound 30 seconds and listened again.  “If there’s doubt in your mind, there’s no doubt at all”.  I rewound 30 seconds and listened again.  I couldn’t quite get my head around it, so I listened again – you get the picture.

It wasn’t that the hills of the Blackwattle Trail had given me an aneurysm, but when I stood there and thought about it, it’s simplicity and elegance was startling.  I had to know more.

Hal Moore on leadership: Winning when you’re out gunned and out manned arrived a week later, and my journey into his thoughts on leadership began in earnest the following  Continue reading Hal Moore: On Leadership

What’s it all about?

A few years ago, I started learning.  I mean really learning.  Not rote learning from textbooks or lectures, but lessons from the everyday.  I’ve read more books in the last 2 years than the previous 15 combined.  I’ve thought about, reflected upon, considered and deliberated more about my own leadership style, quality and failures, and the styles, qualities and failures of others in the last year than the previous 20 combined.

Why?

It’s a fair question.

Around 2 years ago I was introduced to a fellow who opened my eyes to the infinite ways to deal with people, to approach problems, and ultimately, leadership.

Being mentored by this fellow has shattered the self-imposed limits of my awareness horizon, and in turn I believe, made me a better leader.  We’ve talked about how the choice of different type of radios in WWII German and Allied tanks speaks volumes of the leadership models in place at the time.  We’ve talked about how Napoleon’s strategic approach to defensive tactics can still be used today.  I picked up a book called The First Pathfinders: The Operational History of the Kampfgruppe 100, 1939 – 1941, about a ground-breaking German bomber command, and in an event that surprised even me, picked up another lesson about … Continue reading What’s it all about?