Leadership is my opiate. This analogy, although crude, gives one the sense that an exceptional leader must be addicted to the need to lead. There are many activities that men and women come to find as enjoyable. Many enjoy golf, some love the theatre, and still others long for the outdoors. Leaders have a God induced need to lead. Several years while we were at breakfast Evangelist and Author Nicky Cruz made a profound statement that would surprise many. He told this author that ministry is his mistress. My knee jerk reaction was a subdued shock. Today after having tasted the victories and defeats, and the highs and lows, despite the vicissitudes of life, I too have the mistress Nicky has. I

The Problem with Indiscipline The General Savage walked into an undertrained organization. The report was that the group had lost their will to fight. Will is described as having an inner drive that keeps you going when exhausted, hungry, afraid, and cold (Shinseki, 2004). In light of the morale problem, the lack of discipline grew at an alarming rate. The culture of indiscipline; the men not saluting, soldiers out of uniform, and the officers drinking habits set up the military for failure. The General began to clean house; he had little choice to do otherwise. One scene that sets the tone for the General’s house cleaning is his encounter with Colonel Gately. Gately walks into his office; t

The Importance of Teamwork General Savage had to turn a luckless group of men into a well-disciplined confident team. Time was of the essence. He had to do his job rapidly and resolutely. Simply put, the job was to drive his men until they could not take any more and then drive them again (Zanuck, 1949). Those in charge, the commanding general, felt that was the only way to win the war. Loyalty is an issue of team integrity. To illustrate this concept better, one can look at the scene in the movie that talked of a crippled airplane. A crippled airplane has to be expendable; the one thing that is never expendable is your obligation to the team/group. This group has to be your loyalty, your on

12 O’clock high - Be, Know, Do This trip down memory lane - the backdrop of the 1949 movie 12 O’clock High - serves to illustrate several provocative insights to the concept of leadership. Although in the military realm leadership is at an entirely different level, the principles of leaders as a change agent remain the same. 12 O’clock High depicts the importance of teamwork, the problems of indiscipline, and the value of confidence. The main differences between military leadership and secular/civilian leadership lie in the fact that decisions are combat related resulting in life or death. For this reason leadership development is much more systematic, much more of a priority in the Army tha