How to Use Combat Lessons From Iraq To Improve Your Business

Many business leaders overlook leadership lessons from the military because we don’t think they cross the chasm between the harsh realities of war and the world of business.

I would argue that, regardless of the differences in operating environments, the same leadership principles do apply. In fact, the leadership principles tried and tested in the most extreme combat conditions must be applied in the world of business! If business leaders are not leveraging leadership lessons from the military then we are doing ourselves and our organizations a great disservice.

For example, how many times have we seen a power struggle between two mid-level business unit managers while the leader of these managers is too scared or preoccupied to take action to resolve the situation. When the lack of action by the leader allows the squabbling to continue, inevitably the whole business suffers. Morale drops, production and sales fall, customer relations are hurt and eventually the bottom line of the business feels the impact. The inability of a leader to take decisive action to resolve internal strife will damage your business.

This inaction and lack of decisiveness is not tolerated in military leadership. Lack of decisiveness costs lives in combat. Plain and simple.

It seems pretty easy to transfer this lesson from the military arena to the world of business but what about other leadership lessons?

50 Powerful Leadership Lessons from Authentic Leaders

I recently attended the 2017 Global Leadership Summit put on by Bill Hybels and his Willow Creek organization. It was an amazing leadership training event that was attended by over 400,000 people through a global simulcast!

The speakers were amazing and the entertainment between speakers was world class.

What follows are the top one-line lessons from the two day event.

50 Leadership Lessons From the 2017 GLS

Bill Hybels

6 Things I Learned From My Dad That Are Foundational to My Success

One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” George Herbert

 

How often do we take for granted the foundational lessons that we were taught as kids not realizing that without those lessons we would not be the people we are today? I know I am guilty of this so, because this Sunday is Father’s Day, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about what I learned from my dad that contributed to my success so far in life.

I grew up on the outskirts of a small town in northern Alberta called Peace River. My parents were both from farming backgrounds and were comfortable with a very uncomplicated and frugal lifestyle. By the time I came onto the scene, my mom was a substitute school teacher and my dad was in the dairy business, neither of which were very lucrative. We never had running water until I was about 10 years old and we heated our house with a wood fireplace as much as we could (but the old furnace did kick in during those cold northern winters!) To say we were part of the lower income bracket is probably an understatement!