tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8762223684746484243.post6781779600691065281..comments2024-03-26T17:28:04.126-07:00Comments on Pick Your Battles: The Stupid and the IndustriousPickYourBattles.Nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16448529287854593110noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8762223684746484243.post-62773617764290955472014-02-21T15:17:11.958-08:002014-02-21T15:17:11.958-08:00Lucabrasi, I don't know how I missed your comm...Lucabrasi, I don't know how I missed your comment. I hope you have had great success leading your people.PickYourBattles.Nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16448529287854593110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8762223684746484243.post-13373523725185090082014-01-02T01:12:04.068-08:002014-01-02T01:12:04.068-08:00Thank you Peter. I enjoyed reading that.Thank you Peter. I enjoyed reading that.PickYourBattles.Nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16448529287854593110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8762223684746484243.post-79570445538544287282013-12-29T19:01:36.229-08:002013-12-29T19:01:36.229-08:00Samuel Huntington writes of the tension between th...Samuel Huntington writes of the tension between the types of officers useful in peacetime --- predictable, procedure oriented, good at building and running military organizations (think finance officers) --- and those most useful in wartime --- creative and unpredictable to the enemy but still reliable to us. In peacetime deep creative thinking often takes a long time to show its value. Early on it may appear to be something that subtracts value, particularly if it "gums up the works" of business as currently conducted. It's critical to convince the peacetime officers to retain and reward the wartime officers. This gets harder as peace gets longer because the wartime officers age out and are replaced by the peacetime officers. Then war comes and brings the Clausewitzian nemesis of chance. The only remedy is to protect and encourage officers who keep stepping outside the box in pursuit of their military professionalism. General George Marshall is reputed to have kept a list of officers such as this and used it when finding Commanders when he was Chief of Staff in World War II. When General Matthew Ridgeway retired after his tour as Army Chief of Staff he was asked to name his greatest accomplishment. His response was "I protected the Mavericks." The rest of us would do well to follow suit.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232127384984542684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8762223684746484243.post-26514408801783561472011-10-25T15:55:30.068-07:002011-10-25T15:55:30.068-07:00I stumbled upon this post while reading another fo...I stumbled upon this post while reading another forum. I have taken the liberty of showing your fine words to people who work for me in hopes that they will recognize the behavior (both up and down the ranks)and work within the rules to nip such behavior in the bud and attempt to trim it from those who are "over grown" into the culture. Bravo, Sir, from an old school SNCO. .Lucabrasihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10760302795571498833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8762223684746484243.post-83366404742456764922011-06-18T11:30:36.936-07:002011-06-18T11:30:36.936-07:00The commander I discussed above is the worst I hav...The commander I discussed above is the worst I have ever known. He is now back at USAFA no doubt dulling the sword some more.PickYourBattles.Nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16448529287854593110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8762223684746484243.post-20250952722218097582010-05-18T13:48:32.771-07:002010-05-18T13:48:32.771-07:00The industrious stupid are a grave threat to every...The industrious stupid are a grave threat to everyone, especially in an authoritarian culture, be it government, military service, or corporation. In the military, the stupid get men killed, i.e. Custer. In the government or corporate sector, money, people, and resources are wasted or looted. On the other hand, in the government and corporate worlds, the moral and competent can be sacked when the agency or company is being looted by control fraud, while the industrious stupid survive and thrive. The German officer did not take fraud into account. Obviously, there were higher moral standards back then.jbmoorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09751110750712243573noreply@blogger.com