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I am a big Zig Ziglar fan. I read his book “See You At The Top” when I was an Army recruiter. I was struggling with my job as I was really wanting to go to a Ranger battalion. Somehow the Army got the “Rs” mixed up. Mr. Ziglar’s book helped me to understand how to win. Winning doesn’t come by itself. It takes planning, execution, and then planning starts all over again. Being responsible for production in any capacity takes a huge amount of planning. To be successful you have do what it takes to win. There are many courses of action that can be taken to be successful. Planning to lead is a step that helps a team be successful. There has always been the argument on whether leaders are born or have learned to lead. I agree with both arguments. Leading does come natural to many but that doesn’t mean you stop learning. I learn everyday from the decisions I make. As this blogs continues to grow I want to share my experiences as I prepare myself and others to lead and win. I have been blessed in my life that I was taught that winning does take planning and leadership experiences along the way have made me who I am.  I saw a quote from Zig Ziglar on Facebook this morning. He said that “you were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. Today I will be involved in a leadership class at work. Other leaders and I will be able to interact and help ourselves to become better leaders for our company. Preparing to lead will help us as we grow our team of winners.

I recently read an article by the Chairman of Jet Blue, Joel Peterson. He writes about what is takes to become a CEO and stay there. This led me to deep thinking of where I am on my goals in a leadership capacity. I have been blessed to be part of many teams that gave me the opportunity to grow my skills. Just recently I have been able to reconnect with members of a unit that I was assigned to in Erlangen, Germany. Catching up with them has been a remarkable experience. We were all brought together in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma to become the 3rd MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) battery made for the United States Army. I learned so much from the leaders of C Battery 1/94 FA.  I learned what it takes to be a leader versus a manager. A leader is not afraid to make the tough decisions. A leader knows how to make it about the team and not about himself. Throughout my career in the Army, Wal-Mart logistics, SAIC, and now with BAE I have been given the opportunity to realize my dreams of leading teams that were high performing. I was and am successful because of the teammates around me. One of the skills Mr. Peterson writes about is wisdom.In my daily prayers I ask God for wisdom. It gives me the peace of mind that I will make the right decisions at the right time.  My last question when I am interviewing job applicants is if they could have one super power what would it be. There is not a right or wrong answer but my answer is wisdom. With this superpower I am able to lead others with a servant mentality.

It is early morning, Saturday, July 1st. Early rising has just become a norm for Michele and me. My thoughts this morning are about how to be a more effective leader. I read and listen a lot (Michele  may dispute the listening part) about the actions of people around me. Leadership is a passion of mine. I always want to be part of a team that is successful and has fun being together. I learned this early in life when I was playing Little League Baseball. I was part of  2 championship seasons with the Moline Elks. Being a part of Morris football was special where winning became common.  Throughout my life I have been influenced by mentors who I watched closely. Some didn’t even know they were there. Guys like Johnny Austin showed my how to be a great First Sergeant. I was only 17 when I met him and he would influence my life forever. As my own team takes a 5 day well deserved break I hope that I can continue to influence them to keep being successful. We are a high performing team that will need to grow in some other areas to become even better. I am up for the job because of the mentors and experiences I had the last 51 years of life.