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Vol. 3, No. 5  

The Journal of Leadership Applications

Editorial Comments

While in Israel over the holidays, I gave my presentation, "The Stuff of Heroes: The Eight Universal Laws of Leadership" to senior officers of the Israeli Navy. This was at therequest of VADM David Ben-Baashat, Commander of the Israeli Navy, who hosted my presentation. I had met Admiral Ben-Bashaat in Israel previously during a similar presentation to MBA students at the University of Haifa. 

Speaking With ADM Ben Baashat after Presentation

About thirty admirals and senior captains were in attendance. As always, I "customized" my presentation for my audience. The eight universal laws of leadership don't change --- but it is important that those who hear the presentation are able to relate to the concepts I present. So my customization consists of using examples to illustrate each point that or concept that I speak about. 

In the past, I have spoken to a number of military groups, but also to various corporations, industry trade organizations, and even the FBI. In every case, I researched and presented examples which illustrate each point, and these examples relate directly to those to whom I speak. 

In speaking to the the Israeli navy, I sought naval examples from three main areas: naval commandos, submarines, and so-called "fast boats." The latter being smaller, but highly maneuverable boats and ships employed for a variety of purposes. These are the main types of operational forces in the Israeli Navy. My examples came from all over the world in many wars, and many countries, not all on "our" side. 

For example, I told about  a U.S. Navy submarine commander, Lieutenant Commander Howard Gilmore, who gave his life to ensure the safety of his submarine and its crew in fighting Japan during World War II, and a young navy SEAL by the name of Robert Kerrey (no relation to Senator John Kerey, the recent Democratic candidate for president) who got out in front and though severely wounded led his SEAL team in an amazing and successful raid during the Vietnam War and later became a U.S. Senator and Governor of Nebraska. But  I also told the story of an Italian Prince who headed up a flotilla of naval commandos using special torpedoes which repeatedly sunk numerous ships right in the stronghold of Gibraltar based within a permanently grounded, and "abandoned" ship right across the bay. This Prince, Junio Borghese, actually planned to do the same in New York harbor, and might have succeeded had Italy not been defeated first. And I spoke about a courageous German U-boat captain, Kapitanleutnant Gunther Prien, who against all odds penetrated the heavily protected port of Scapa Flow and sunk the British Battleship, Ark Royal, at the beginning of World War II.

Doing the research for this type of customization of my speeches and presentations is not easy, but it is much easier because over the years I have developed a system or a model to help. Though I follow the model, it still takes a lot of time and effort, but the results make it worthwhile, and my audience is able to relate much better to my speech. Moreover I am able to get my concepts across much easier than if I just used fixed material with a fixed set of examples.

All this brings me to my article this month: Ready, Aim, Fire. This too, is a simple model. It can make your implementation of strategy much easier than would otherwise be the case. Give it a try!

As always, a subscription to The Journal of Leadership Applications continues to be free, supported by my Institute of Leader Arts. We solicit your comments and articles. Please write me personally at wcohen@stuffofheroes.com . 

Here is a little about each article we have this month.

Ready, Aim, Fire

           William A. Cohen,  Touro University International and The Institute of Leader Arts

As I mentioned in my editorial, Ready, Aim, Fire is a model. The idea is not only to hit a target, but to hit the right target, at the right time, at the right place, and with the right amount of firepower. In this article, I show how this can be done in applying any strategy. The example I use, however, is the introduction of a new product or service. Please beware. We're not talking about destroying the competition or applying battle techniques to business. Rather, we're looking at Ready, Aim, Fire as a model for success in any human endeavor.

Our Military Expedition to Persia         

           Xenophon

Xenophon was a general from ancient Grecian times. World famous management thinker Peter F. Drucker said his book, written more than 2000 years ago was the first systematic book written on leadership, "and still the best." In this excerpt, the chapter tells how Xenophon, not even a military man, became a general, and more importantly in this material, you will be able to see why.

Knowledge Relatedness and the Performance of Multibusiness Firms

Huseyin Tanriverdi
University of Texas at Austin

N. Venkatraman
Boston University

This study, published online in the Strategic Management Journal  (October 2004) V.26, I. 2, pp.97-119) examines the corporate performance effects of cross business knowledge. That is, the effect of knowledge not just in a single area, discipline, or industry, but in multiple areas. Noting the comments of Peter Drucker again, Drucker believes strongly that an effective executive should be come an expert in more than one field. As an example of his own theory, Drucker was once both a professor of management, and a professor of Japanese art. In this study, the authors found that the synergism among diverse knowledge sets significantly improves performance.

William A. Cohen, Editor

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