Leadership Stories
Subscribe to John’s Substack for his latest writings.
Two by Two
For eight years Rick Rescorla made a Manhattan bank practice walking down the stairs. On September 11, 2001, they knew the way.
Leadership Lessons from The Odyssey
What Homer's oldest lessons still teach about power, restraint, loyalty, and leadership, as Christopher Nolan's film sends millions back to the poem.
Would You Have Stayed at Thermopylae?
Before he was the man at the Hot Gates, Leonidas was the brother who stayed, and inherited a mess he didn't make.
From Battlefield to Boardroom, and All Points In Between
"You guys in the military just don't know how much you're worth." John on the breakfast that changed how he saw a veteran's skills.
"Unflinching Courage, Extraordinary Heroism, Inspirational Leadership": Medal of Honor Recipient Edward Schowalter
Wounded again and again near Kumhwa, Lieutenant Ed Schowalter kept leading his company until the objective was taken. John visits his grave at Fort Benning.
Joan of Arc: The Short but Eventful Life of the Maid of Lorraine
A peasant girl from Domremy talked her way to the future king, lifted the siege of Orleans, and saw him crowned before she turned 18.
Father Damien's Legacy: Leader by Example and "Martyr of Charity"
He volunteered to live among Hawaii's exiled leprosy patients on Molokai, served them for 16 years, and died of the disease himself.
Douglas MacArthur: "I Shall Return!" It Didn't Happen Exactly the Way (or Where) You May Have Thought
MacArthur's famous promise wasn't made on a Philippine beach. It came at a small train station in South Australia after a harrowing PT boat escape.