Colin Powell's It Worked For Me

His Speech to the Third Army starts off in an almost lighthearted tone, “Men, all this stuff you hear about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of bullshit. Americans love to fight” (1). This general mood is kept throughout Patton's speech, including an excess of profanity. Unlike a formal address to a similarly large audience, Patton's way of speaking and structure of words is akin to that of close friends, or soldiers talking in the barracks. As Patton continues to speak, he frequently brings up the importance of a team and the role a soldier has as unit. Even if you are the lowest on the totem pole, he believed that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If every man did his job with the

Colin Powell’s “It Worked For Me in Life and Leadership” (2012) is a riveting book that discusses in great detail the simple but often-fundamental leadership principles that have been consigned to oblivion by most people and leaders. The evocative book provides a basis on which one can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in leadership in all dimensions, particularly at the work place and suggests other areas of improvement that the reader can asses to ensure proper development. Through careful, frequent and honest evaluations from both self and others, it is possible for a person to become the best version of himself or herself; in turn, this contributes to a well-rounded leader.

The book Black Hearts opened my eyes to how leadership from a single Officer can have a grappling effect on such a wide range of soldiers from the lowest of ranks. One of the best takeaways from Black Hearts is to never do anything: illegal, unethical, or immoral. Although this is a easy statement to repeat, Black Hearts demonstrates the difficulties that lie behind these words. It has also painted a picture of how leadership can topple extremely quickly from a top down view. The Army is portrayed in a bad light throughout the book relentlessly. This is due to the concentration of poor leadership of the 1-502nd Regiment (Referred to as “First Strike”), a battalion of the 101st Airborne Division.

These rules and the situations that he mentioned during the lecture shows us the difference when you decide to confront a situation that makes you anxious and when you decide now to do so. I think he wanted to show us is that we have nothing to lose by trying new challenges in our life.

Every day, thousands of speeches are given. Some of those speeches are long and drawn out while others are created in the heat of the moment. But, regardless of its content, there is a huge difference between a run of the mill speech and a great one. That difference being its relevance, memorability, and honesty. Admiral William H. McRaven accomplished each of those components in his “10 lessons” commencement speech given at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. During his speech, Admiral McRaven detailed his time in basic SEAL training and referenced the 10 life lessons that he learned from it. He then ends the speech with a call to action that is met with a tremendous ovation from the crowd. With that reaction, it was clear that

Most people recognize Colin Powell as one of the most admired and popular leaders of our time. Often times in leadership you will not always be popular or admired, so what makes this leader different? It was those core values ingrained in him at early age by his parents that would shape him as a future leader (Koltz & Powell, 2012). As with any great leader he’s had his fair share of trials and tribulations, but like an infantry officer he continued to press forward. Colin Powell has been a visionary and ethical leader since the early days of Persian Gulf to Washington’s corridors (Roth, 1993). Throughout my research he has become a personal inspiration for me due to his ability to inspire and motivate those around him. Let’s take a brief look into his background to provide a better understanding of his leadership style.

“Your guidepost stands out like a ten-fold beacon in the night”. Our nation’s citizens have the responsibility of defending the nation, and must not be too focused or distracted on other matters. The guidepost of our roles in the nation must stand out compared to all other matters. The intention of MacArthur’s speech, to enforce the moral code, is further emphasized through an allusion to Plato: “Only the dead have seen the end of war”. No matter how close world peace may seem to emerge, fighting in our world will never cease; therefore, our nation requires people to continue fighting and winning wars against enemies. As in the moral code, our duties and honor for the country must not come to a conclusion.

In the Fog of War, Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara recounted his experiences when serving for both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Throughout the film he shared eleven lessons that he learned as a result of the war and politics. The lessons range from empathizing with one 's enemy to the fact we cannot change human nature. This essay will discuss some of McNamara’s lessons and how they illustrated institutions, bargaining, cooperation, power and sovereignty.

“A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week,” George Smith Patton, Jr.(Google, Patton)

Deceased philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “War does not determine who is right- only who is left”. Those left are the soldiers of the 1-502nd, specifically Bravo Company 1st plt, and the Janabi family and to a greater extent, the ever-changing global world we all live in today. The tragic events that conspired in a small Iraqi village became a microcosm of how leadership failures at every level shaped the actions of a few soldiers who committed atrocious acts. One can also see how a high operational tempo, along with prolonged violence and death, has on a person’s psyche. It is the ugly side of war that the average American citizen may not want to hear or talk about. For a soldier, it is inevitably what they train their

This shows how respected he was among the Washington staff. This also shows the competence, candor, and integrity Powell posses throughout his term in Washington D.C. Colin Powell continues to advance through the ranks and through the staff jobs he was appointed to. He then served as senior military aide to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, helping to coordinate the invasion of Granada and the bombing of Libya (Biography.com, 2010). To help coordinate these attacks would have to take great courage, because there’s always a chance of casualties. He commits to these plans and excels with both operations.

The second principle, “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” I also identify with Colin Powell’s seventeenth principle, “Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it: Spend time with your families. Corollary: Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.”

* Advise the American soldiers to be wary and mindful of an individual’s inclination to be automatically and unthinkingly consistent. To be cognizant of situations where consistency is being used as a weapon of influence against them. Advise them to listen to their guts or be perceptive of the heart-of-heart signs - the feeling towards something that an individual experiences a split second before they intellectualize about it.

Born November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California, General George Smith Patton, Jr. was one of the most complicated, yet greatest leaders in military history. On June 11, 1909, he attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for a year and then to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 15th cavalry Regiment. Growing up, Patton’s ultimate life goal was to become a hero and a successful leader. In Robert B. Williamson’s book, “General Patton’s Principles for Life & Leadership”, the author takes a personal account of Patton’s principles which he lived and fought for. These main principles consisted of the following: Leadership,

In his book “It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership,” Powell talks about his 13 rules he developed and continues to live by to this day. The rules range from checking you ego and staying optimistic. He gives different examples of his 13 rules with stories and tips that are both thought provoking and value focused regardless if the audience is military or civilian. In my review and analysis I will cover some of