SPECIAL
MILITARY
TRIBUTE
ISSUE #5
SEPTEMBER/
OCTOBER
A NEWSLETTER OF QUIPS, QUOTES, JOKES AND ANECDOTES, TO MAKE YOU
LAUGH AND CRY AND ANSWER WHY, AND HOW TO GET FROM WHERE YOU
ARE NOW TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE, THROUGH THE POWER OF A STORY
FROM DAN’S BOOKS, RESEARCH, SPEECHES AND SONG HOOKS.
A man was sitting in a bar when two large men stormed through
the door, walked up to him, beat him up, and left him unconscious
on the floor. As they left the bar they told the bartender, “When he
wakes up tell him that was Karate from Korea and Judo from
Japan.” The man came to and left the bar. A few minutes later the
two large men returned laughing. As they were finishing their
drinks the man they beat up also returned, walked up to them and
knocked both of them out. As he was leaving he told the bartender,
“When they wake up tell them that was a crowbar from Sears!”
“Plane Truth” – by dan clark
Once I was flying on Delta Airlines into Dallas, Texas, when we
hit huge wind turbulence. The plane was knocked around
violently in the sky. When we landed, the plane hit the runway
hard, we bounced, then hit again, bounced, then hit a third and
final time, skidded, and screeched. In response, the flight
attendant came over the P.A. system and said in her thick southern
drawl, “Welcome to Dallas, Texas. If you enjoyed your flight, tell your
friends you flew Delta Airlines. If you did not enjoy your flight, tell your
friends you flew Southwest.” Everyone suddenly tuned in, laughed and
listened. She then said, “And please remain seated with your seat belt
fastened while Captain Kangaroo bounces us the rest of the way to the
gate.” Now we were rolling with laughter. As we deplaned an elderly
woman walking with her cane in the aisle in front of me, stopped at the
door and asked a uniformed man, “Are you the pilot?” He smiled and
proudly answered, “Yes, ma’am.” She then asked, “Did we really land,
or did we get shot down?” Wouldn’t it be amusing if just once, a flight
attendant continued with the next part of the script by telling us the
real and total truth, “In the event of a sudden loss in cabin pressure,
masks will descend from the ceiling. As you start screaming and realize
we are in a 400 feet per second vertical dive, pop your cookies on the
person in front of you, place the gold cup over your face, and if you are
traveling with more than one child, pick your favorite to help with their
mask, and may your soul rest in heaven for an hour until the devil
knows you’re dead!”
Dan Flying With The Air Force Thunderbirds
Dan Being Attacked By The Amazing Security Forces Dogs At Dover AFB
A Sergeant phoned the armory warehouse and asked the young private to give
him an inventory update. The private answered, “We have 25 tanks, 1000 M16’s, and a fatheaded Sergeant’s jeep.” Angrily the Sergeant blurted, “Do you
know who this is?” The private replied, “no.” The Sergeant yelled, “This is the
Sergeant!” The private gasped and asked, “Do you know who this is?” The
Sergeant answered “no.” The private blurted, “Good, bye bye fathead!”
A 3rd grade teacher assigned her students to interview their parents and return
to school prepared to tell a story with a moral. The next morning little Julie
shared, “My dad raises chickens. We had 12 eggs and only seven hatched.” The
teacher said, “Good, and what’s the moral?” Julie replied, “Don’t count your
chickens before they hatch.” Next little Sally shared, “We also have chickens and
my dad sells eggs. We were driving to town and hit a bump and the eggs in our
basket flew out and smashed on the windshield.” “Good,” the teacher replied.
“And what’s the moral?” Sally answered, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Little Johnny had been waving his hand the entire time and finally the teacher
could not ignore him any longer. He smiled and intensely said, “My Aunt Hazel
flew in the back seat of an F-16 in Desert Storm. She always kept a fifth of
whiskey in the cockpit for good luck. On one mission she got shot down and had
to eject. Afraid the bottle would break on impact she quickly chugged the fifth
before she parachuted out. She landed in the middle of 100 bad guys and shot
and killed 50 of them until she ran out of bullets. She then killed another 25 with
her bayonet until the blade broke. Finally, she killed the last 25 bad guys with
her bare hands!” Mortified, the teacher asked him what the moral to this horrific
story was?” Proudly little Johnny replied, “You shouldn’t mess with my Aunt
Hazel when you know she’s been drinking!”
2
Dan Serving As
The Master Of
Ceremonies At
th
The 50
Anniversary
Celebration Of
NORAD, Cheyenne
Mountain With U.S.
Secretary Of
Defense Robert
Gates, Canadian
Defense Minister
Peter MacKay And
U.S. Four Star
General Gene
Renuart.
“The Tale Of Two Stories”
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous
for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything
from bootlegging booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer
nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was
very good at legal maneuvering which kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid Eddie very well, and set his family up
in a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The
estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high
life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities that went on
around him. Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved
dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education.
Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with
organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his
son to be a better man than he was and grow up with a Special Sense Of Self.
As the years went by, it became obvious to Eddie that even with all of his
wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't
pass on a good name or a good example. Without them, his boy would never be
able to reach his full potential and would be forced to settle into negative
insecurity. So, one day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision and decided to
rectify wrongs he had done. He went to the authorities and told the truth about Al
"Scarface" Capone. Testifying against the Mob meant he would lose everything, but
in order to clean up his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of
integrity, he did what he had to do. Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a
blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son
the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police
removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem
clipped from a magazine. The poem read:
"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just
when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live,
love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."
Story Number Two
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander
Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the
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3
Dan speaking to
the Security
Forces in
Baghdad.
Dan visiting
with brave
soldiers from
th
the 4 Infantry
Division after
his speech at
Camp Buehring
in Kuwait.
(Tale Of Two Stories – continued)
South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was
airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to
top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and
get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier and
reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was
returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a
squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet. The
American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He
couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could
he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He
must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of
Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one
surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken
formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was
finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to
clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible,
rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in
another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped
back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The
film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent
of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy
aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became
the Navy's first Ace of World War II, and the first Naval Aviator to receive the
Congressional Medal of Honor. A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the
age of 29. His hometown would not allow the memory of their WW II hero to fade,
and today, O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois is named in tribute to
the courage of this great man.
The next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to
visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located
between Terminals 1 and 2. And what do these two stories have to do with each
other? Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
We must always remember: “It is the soldier, not the reporter, who gave us
freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who gave us freedom of
speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer or the fanatical off-the-wall
college professor, who gave us freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who
salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who has given the psycho, insensitive protestor freedom to burn the flag.”
4
Dan Shooting An M-16 And A 50 Cal. Machine
Gun At The Firing Range At Maxwell AFB.
“Fit To Fight?”
My close friend, country comedian Bubba Bechtol, is the proud president of
Bubbas Of America. He is 5’ 11” tall, weighs 300 lbs, and always wears a midriff
tee shirt that exposes his navel thinking it makes him sexy like Shania Twain.
His opening line is always, “You think you’re successful? I beat anorexia. In fact,
I got it into permanent remission, it ain’t comin back! I haven’t always been this
big. My doctor put me on a dehydrated food diet for six months and one day I
got caught in the rain. I gained 107 pounds in four minutes. It was awful!” One
time I had an experience with Bubba when he had chest pains and I took him to
the doctor to have him checked. When the doc asked him why he had let himself
go so far off the scale, Bubba made the excuse, “My weight is a medical
problem.” The doctor had a great sense of humor and replied, “No, the only
medical problem you suffer from is that your body retains too much chocolate
fudge cake!” Of course Bubba had his own comeback, “Seriously Doc, obesity
runs in my family.” The Doctor countered, “No, no one runs in your family!”
A husband and wife are shopping at Walmart when the husband grabs a case of
beer and puts it in the cart. His wife complains, “What are you doing? We can’t
afford that.” He says, “It’s on sale and only ten bucks.” She says, “Put it back,”
and he does. Moments later they are in a different isle and the wife picks up a
$20 dollar jar of face cream. Her husband says, “What are you doing? We can’t
afford that.” She says, “It makes me look beautiful.” He said, “So do 24 cans of
Budweiser and they are half the price!”
A new officer idolized an older General who had never lost a battle, & asked
what his secret was? The General explained that he always led his men into
battle wearing a red shirt. The new officer inquired, “Didn’t that draw extra
attention to you?” The General answered, “Yes, but if I got shot the red color of
my blood perfectly matched the color of my shirt, so my men never knew what
was really happening and kept fighting. You should try it.” The new officer said,
“Thanks, I will. Lieutenant, bring me my brown pants!”
5
Dan Speaking
To The Troops
On The USS
Harry S. Truman
Aircraft Carrier
In The Persian
Gulf.
“Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” – reported by dan clark
Tom Brokaw refers to my parents and grandparents—and maybe yours too—in
his best-selling book as The Greatest Generation. Psychologists tell us that we are
defined by our significant emotional experiences, and this generation was identified
through military service and defined by how they responded to the call to duty for
honor and country when America came under fire in World War II.
America was brutally attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We had
been pacifists and isolationists up to that point in World War II. Amazing how this
unprovoked bombing quickly changed our mind-set and altered our center of
gravity. We immediately declared war on Japan, but without the strength of our
navy, we lost battle after battle in the pacific. The morale of our fighting force and
general population was shaky at best with no better prospects for the future. With
the majority of our battleships destroyed in Hawaii, the Japanese navy was clearly
the most powerful in the world.
General Hap Arnold desperately sought a way to swiftly improve American
morale, rekindle hope, strengthen our center, and shift the momentum of the war.
But how? He decided to call upon Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle - who was
known as the “Master of the Calculated Risk” because of his success as an aircraft
test pilot and national air-racing champion. Arnold asked Doolittle if he thought it
was possible to fly the land-based B-25 bombers off the aircraft carrier USS Hornet
and bomb Japan. Clearly this would demonstrate to the Japanese emperor and the
people of Japan that they were not invincible. The emperor had promised the
military and his fellow countrymen that Japan would never be attacked and, as the
superior global power, would never be vulnerable.
Doolittle called Arnold back and reported in the affirmative. U.S. Army and Air
Force volunteers were solicited. Doolittle explained to the volunteers that their
mission would be a special, dangerous, secret, one-way mission that could end in
enemy territory and that the pilot’s lives would be in jeopardy. And like all great
leaders, Doolittle had vision with optimism stating, “this had never been done, not
off a carrier, but with training it could be done.” The entire 17th Bombardment
Group of a hundred-plus pilots, crew members, and maintainers volunteered
anyway! To prepare for the raid, sixteen B-25 land-based bombers were stripped
down to bare bones equipment to minimize weight and were loaded onto the
Hornet. Never before had bombers taken off at sea from a carrier, and instead of the
usual five hundred feet of runway needed for a land-based takeoff, these pilots
were given less than four hundred feet. After being detected by a Japanese fishing
boat, the “Raiders” were forced to take off much sooner and further away from
Japan than they had anticipated. This meant that their mission suddenly turned
from a one-way trip with no planned airfields on which to land to a flight in which
they might not even have enough fuel to get them
(more)
6
(Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo – continued)
to land. All eighty men went anyway! On the morning of April 18, 1942, their
commander, Jimmy Doolittle, took off first, and the rest followed. These sixteen B25’s with five crew members each took off one by one in brutal, crashing waves and
stormy seas, heading low and slow over the ocean toward Japan. And they made it!
With only a thousand pounds of bombs aboard, each plane took out specific
targets in Tokyo and throughout Japan, including manufacturing plants and oil and
gas refineries. In the grand scheme of things, the physical and economic damage
rendered by this raid was minimal. However, the emotional damage to Japan’s
center of gravity changed the entire outcome of the war. No longer did the people
believe the emperor’s promise that they could not be attacked. No longer did the
Japanese government completely control the hearts and minds of the people.
Immediately after the Doolittle Raid, top Japanese military leaders were
called from the fighting fronts back to Tokyo, along with planes and assets enough
to protect the homeland. Confused by an attack on Japan by land-based B-25
bombers, and never receiving the message from the fishing boat that they were
carrier based, the Japanese believed that the planes had taken off from Midway or
Alaska and, therefore, they moved up by three months their plans to attack and
capture Midway and Alaska. From these strategic and close locations, Japan could
easily attack California and the western United States, conquer us on our own soil,
control, and rule! But moving up their attack plans on Midway left the Japanese
fleet vulnerable, less prepared, and without the number of fighters necessary to
protect Japanese ships. Consequently, America took advantage of this and scored a
decisive victory at the battle of Midway, destroying huge numbers of planes, killing
many of Japan’s best pilots, and sinking major ships. Attacking Alaska and
California became a physical impossibility.
Let us connect the dots from then to now. In hindsight, without each of these
80 Doolittle Raiders relentlessly pursuing individual excellence in preparing for and
executing this one Tokyo raid, Japan would have been unstoppable, World War II
would have been over in 1942, and Americans would be governed by Nazis or brutal
racist imperialists and speaking German or Japanese to this day! We Americans
must never forget what happened on December 7, 1941—or on April 18, 1942, or on
September 11, 2001. Pearl Harbor, Doolittle’s Raid, and the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard United Flight 93 all prove that one
moment in time, one day, one battle, and one thirty- second period over Tokyo
really can change the world forever!
In 2006, I was invited to attend the sixty-fourth anniversary celebration and
final reunion of the Doolittle Raiders held at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in
Dayton, Ohio, and met eight of the remaining sixteen living Raiders. Yes, they all
ran out of fuel. Yes, they all crash landed and bailed out into the rainy darkness,
not knowing if they would land in the friendly Chinese lands or in the brutal
barbaric hands of
(more)
7
Dan sharing the program
with World War II fighter
Ace Lt. Alden Rigby,
Doolittle Raider Chase
Nielson, and “Candy
Bomber” Col. Gail
Halvorsen.
Dan with troops in
Khandahar, Afghanistan.
(Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo – continued)
the Japanese occupying that part of China. And yes, 64 of the 80 flyers made
it back safely - some even returning to fly combat missions over Germany, Asia
Pacific and North Africa with four of them actually getting shot down to become
prisoners of the Germans until the end of the war.
One Raider was killed bailing out and two drowned in the high surf after
ditching their planes the night of the raid. Five others were interned in Russia and
the remaining eight brave Raiders remained in China as prisoners of the Japanese.
The Japanese had decided to make an example of their captives and conduct a trial.
The verdict was decided before the proceeding had begun. Three were sentenced to
death and the remaining four to life imprisonment. The four airmen would spend
the next 40 months being tortured beyond belief as prisoners-of-war, three would
be brutally executed – shot in the head at close range “mafia style” while kneeling
down in a field, and one would die in prison do to dietary deficiencies.
All of these Doolittle Raiders are true heroes, and my interviews, lengthy
conversations and incredible photographs taken with each of them during this
historic visit to Wright Patterson Air Force Base will always be a highlight of my
life! I was honored and privileged to attend the private and sacred “goblet
ceremony” as roll call was taken in alphabetical order. One of the attending Raiders
was designated as spokesman for all who had passed away and reverently
responded when each name was read, “Here.” A unique and special spiritual
atmosphere filled the room while each of the eighty names was called. There
wasn’t a dry eye in the room. At the end, the eight attending Raiders raised their
goblets and toasted those who were ill or who had passed away since the last
reunion.
Although in his 90’s, because of his good health and his natural ease in public
speaking, for the last few years the Raiders designated spokesman has been
Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Chase Nielsen (navigator on plane number 6). He was
born, raised and still lives in Utah. I also live in Utah and had shared the program
with Mr. Nielsen several times before this reunion in Ohio. Lt. Col. Nielsen was the
only one from his 5-man crew who survived the raid and was one of the four who
spent the three and a half years in the prison camp. When Mr. Nielsen was captured
by the Japanese he was 6 feet tall, 185 lbs. and 20 years old. For 40 months no one
knew he was still alive. His “Distinguished Service Cross” medal was presented to
his grieving parents posthumously in a special ceremony in Washington D.C. Can
you imagine the grateful shock and tears of joy, when three and a half years later
and at the end of the war, Lt. Col. Nielsen suddenly calls home to tell his father who
answered the phone, “Hi dad, this is Chase. I’m alive and well and was just
released from a Japanese prison camp. I’ll be home soon.” Lt. Col. Nielsen never
caved into the torture to aid the enemy in their propaganda and returned home
with honor, weak and frail, weighing only 103 lbs. Although I was officially invited
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8
(Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo – continued)
as a special guest of the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Museum, I wanted to
attend this event for Lieutenant Colonel Nielsen. Never have I taken greater pride in
calling someone my friend! I love and deeply respect you, sir. All Americans thank
you and pay tribute to the rest of your Doolittle Tokyo Raiders!
(END)
“The Latest Greatest Generation – What Went Right In Iraq”
I find it appalling that grievances nurtured by angry Muslims are being blamed on America as
if the West is responsible for the oppression inflicted on Muslims, in Muslim nations, by
Muslim leaders. Yet, still we come to their aid. It’s not easy to put a country the size of
California with 25 million people back together after decades of suppression, war and
neglect. However, according to the Glenn Beck documentary aired on CNN Television, since
we ousted the tyrant Saddam Hussein in March of 2003, America and our coalition partners
have engaged in magnificent humanitarian service while substantially building a stable
citizen-involved government and security infrastructure that had never before existed. As of
January 2008:
98% of Iraq’s children have now been vaccinated for the first time
Over 4500 schools have been built stocked with 8 million textbooks
250 hospitals have been built with state of the art equipment
25% of Iraq’s Parliament is now made up of women – the highest in any Arab country
40,000 new businesses have started up in the first ever free market
Freedom of speech and the press are finally allowed with 150 newspapers and
television shows in place
Under Saddam no one had cell phones. Now there are over 5 million users
There are 25,000 newly trained Elite Iraqi Special Forces policing the streets & 20,000
new Agents protecting the Syrian & Iranian borders
America has the finest most feared fighting force in the world not because of hard power
and weaponry, but because of “Soft Power” commitment to the three core values of
Integrity First, Service Before Self, & Excellence In All You Do! We will all be better leaders,
managers & people if we have a U.S. Military Mindset: When everybody thinks alike, nobody
thinks very much; Giving half effort doesn’t get you half results—it gets you no results;
Unless you try something beyond what you have mastered, you will never grow; The
purpose of a leader is to grow more leaders; Leadership is an analog job in a digital world.
People first, mission always; Leadership at the lowest level is about presence, programs and
people; leadership at the highest level is about passion, principles and people; A celebrity is
a big name - a hero is a big man; Control the hearts and minds of the people and you
control the people!
Dan at the
entrance of
NORAD –
Cheyenne
Mountain,
Colorado
Springs,
Colorado.
Dan speaking to
military leaders
in the grand
ballroom of
Saddam
Hussein’s
palace in
Baghdad, Iraq.
MILITARY OFFICERS AND NCO’S MAKE AMAZING CORPORATE CEO’S
Korn/Ferry International, with seventy offices in thirty-five countries, is the
premier provider of executive search, outsourced recruiting, and leadership
development solutions in the world. In cooperation with the editorial staff at The
Economist Intelligence Unit, Korn/Ferry conducted an in-depth survey of
corporations, interviewed many CEOs, and released a significant nine-page report
filled with graphs and intriguing insights into what were the most critical, and nonnegotiable qualities a business leader must totally comprehend in order to be
successful. What Korn/Ferry discovered makes complete sense to anyone like me
who has spent a great deal of time around the military. Military officers and noncommissioned officers (NCO’s) make great/best and right corporate CEO’s. For lack
of space, I only share their executive summary of the lessons learned from military
leaders and how they apply to the corporate business world:
“Large corporations need proven chief executive officers who can handle a
fiercely competitive business environment—and candidates with military experience
may well fit the bill. According to an in-depth analysis of data on S&P 500 CEOs,
military training offers lessons in leadership that can prove invaluable in the
boardroom. Although a statistical relationship between military service and
executive performance is difficult to establish, some correlations are clear.
“This report identifies the major traits that characterize ex-military CEOs and
suggests that management of stressful situations in the real-world setting of
military operations may well enhance performance in a corporate environment.
Significant findings include six leadership traits that are valuable in successfully
running a big business:
Learning how to work as part of a team;
Organizational skills, such as planning and effective use of resources;
Good communication skills;
Defining a goal and motivating others to follow it;
A highly developed sense of ethics; and
The ability to remain calm under pressure;
“Chief executives who served as military officers constitute 8.4 percent of
the S&P 500, compared to only 3 percent of all U.S. adult males who served
as officers.
“As of September 30, 2005, companies led by these military experienced
CEOs delivered higher average returns than the S&P 500 index over the
one-, three-, five- and ten-year horizons.
“Chief executive officers who have served in the military tend to survive
longer on the job, probably because of their market-beating performance.
10
(MILITARY OFFICERS AND NCO’S MAKE AMAZING CORPORATE CEO’S - CONTINUED)
They boast a median tenure of five years and an average tenure of 7.2
years, compared to four years and 4.5 years for all S&P 500 CEOs.
“The most notable correlation we found between military service and
executive performance is that leadership skills learned in military training
enhance success in corporate life.”
Without exception (and I’ve seen this with my own eyes hundreds of times),
the military offers an early opportunity to acquire hands-on leadership experience
that cannot be found in the corporate world or at a similarly early stage in a
person’s career. Young officers manage large teams and multimillion dollar budgets
at an age when the majority of their peers are taking the first steps on their career
paths. And let us not forget that the hardest thing to teach up-and-coming
managers is the value of developing and training strong subordinate leaders, which
is simply part of everyday military culture.
All in all, when considering the option of MBA versus military as a firm
foundation for corporate business leadership, it is obvious to me and others much
more astute than me that “book smart” doesn’t hold a candle to “street smart”
experience. The essence of being a military officer is to figure out how to deploy
forces and resources to get something done, based on a sense of mission, clearly
focused objectives, and knowing what constitutes success and failure.
Military leadership teaches you to be prepared for the unexpected and to stay
cool under pressure because the last thing you want is to appear rattled. An MBA
gives you tools and familiarity, but it doesn’t put you in a real-world situation. An
MBA
teaches
the
analytical
side,
military
teaches
the
people
management/expectation and management/execution side. Every corporation and
organization should be so lucky as to have a former military Officer/NCO as the CEO
of their organization.
The Principles Of Leadership Taught at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point
1. Know yourself and seek self improvement
2. Be technically and tactically proficient
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions
4. Make sound and timely decisions
5. Set the example
6. Know your soldiers and look out for their well being
7. Keep your subordinates informed
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates
9. Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished
10. Build the team
11. Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities
11
(MILITARY OFFICERS AND NCO’S MAKE AMAZING CORPORATE CEO’S - CONTINUED)
Successful Military CEO’s
A sampling of S&P 500 CEOs with military experience (as of September 30, 2005)
Company
3M
Anheuser-Busch
Coca-Cola Enterprises
Colgate-Palmolive
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
ConocoPhillips
Liz Claiborne
Lockheed Martin Corp.
Marriott International
Maytag Corp.
Mellon Bank Corp.
Merck & Co.
MetLife Inc.
PepsiCo Inc.
Procter & Gamble
Prudential Financial
Verizon
Viacom Inc.
Wal-Mart
CEO
Robert Morrison
Patrick T. Stokes
John R. Alm
Reuben Mark
Bruce Rohde
James J. Mulva
Paul R. Charron
Robert J. Stevens
J. W. Marriott Jr.
Ralph F. Hake
Martin G. McGuinn
Richard T. Clark
Robert Benmosche
Steven Reinemund
Alan G. Lafley
Arthur F. Ryan
Ivan Seidenberg
Sumner Redstone
Sam Walton
Military Branch
U.S. Marines
U.S. Army
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Army
U. S. Navy
U.S. Navy
U.S. Marines
U.S. Navy
U.S. Army
U.S. Marines
U.S. Army
U.S. Army
U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy
U.S. Army
U.S. Army
U.S. Army
U.S. Army
I honor, love and support the men and women in our military! I challenge
every corporation to hire a military veteran, and/or to promote their former
military employees to positions of influence and leadership! I thank each
corporation who supports their National Guard and Reserve units who send
their combat trained civilians into harms way. I also suggest every school
district hire a veteran to be a teacher, a counselor, and a Principal, and every
little league soccer, baseball, basketball and football program to welcome
any vet who wants to coach kids. We welcome you to our neighborhoods and
churches, Synagogues, and Mosques. We want your military mindset and
influence on our streets and in our schools and appreciate the service
through sacrifice you have given to each American who never takes his
freedom for granted!
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DAN PRACTICES WHAT HE PREACHES & PREACHES ONLY WHAT HE PRACTICES!
“We must be willing to pay any price and travel
any distance to associate with extraordinary
human beings, who remind us: you can’t exceed
potential, we just misjudge it; you can’t quit – it’s a
league rule; when your attitude is right your
abilities will catch up; live the life you dream of!”
dan clark
“When you put a hard-to-catch horse in the
same field with an easy-to-catch horse, you
usually end up with two hard-to-catch
horses. When you put a healthy child in the
same room with a sick child, you usually
end up with two sick children. To be great
you must associate with the great ones!”
dan clark
“When we identify ourselves in terms of what
we do instead of who we are, we become
human Doings instead of human Beings –
unacceptable if authenticity, love and
significance are what we seek.” dan clark
DAN’S CLIENTS INCLUDE: Lincoln Financial, Penn
Mutual, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, AIG, GE Capital,
Prudential, Coldwell Banker, KPMG, Fugi Film, Honeywell,
NCR, Samsung, Global Industries, Exon/Mobil, Valero
Refineries, Marriott, Hyatt, Novell, Dell, Pfizer, Merck,
American Medical Assoc, Blue Cross, American Bankers,
League Of Credit Unions, Nacuso, Texas Hospital,
National Trucking, Apple, AT&T, Verizon, Microsoft, OSHA
MPI, ASAE, USDA, Pepsi,
McDonalds, TGI Fridays,
Denny’s, Sonic, Arby’s,
Napa Auto, The Limited,
Nordstrom, Macys, Boeing,
Northrop Grumman, L3
Communications,
Delta
Airlines,
US
Olympic
Teams & hundreds more!
The Purpose Of A Meeting Is To Give Your People An Experience They Can’t Get At
Work, And To Take Them To An Intellectual & Emotional Place They Cannot Take
Themselves! Why Settle For Just A Polished Presenter When You Can Tap Into
The Power, Knowledge & Wisdom Of A Hall Of Fame Professional Speaker? Learn
The Secrets To Personal Greatness & Organizational Superiority From An
Extraordinary Man Who Has Spent A Lifetime Preparing Himself To Educate, Train,
Entertain & Inspire The World!
To Personally Talk To Dan About What He Can Do For Your Organization Phone: 1-800-676-1121.
To Preview Dan’s Demo DVD Go To: www.danclarkspeak.com Or Contact Your Speakers Bureau.
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