Leadership « Feral Jundi

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Training: We Have Shooting, First Aid, Driving, and EP Courses, But Where Are the Leadership Courses?

Filed under: Leadership,Training — Tags: Afghanistan, courses, Driving, first aid, Iraq, Leadership, security contracting, shooting, Training — Matt @ 10:42 PM

Training: We Have Shooting, First Aid, Driving, and EP Courses, But Where Are the Leadership Courses?

09/11/2009

You know, I really dig all the action schools out there. That stuff is fun, and they are also vital to our core skill set for working in this industry. But something is severely lacking in the training industry, and that is leadership training.

It is not enough anymore to say ‘I was an NCO or Officer in the military’, or ‘I was a Police Sergeant at my old PD’. Nope, what we need is industry specific leadership/management training, and I just don’t see it out there.

Better yet, we need to see companies putting more of an emphasis on good leadership out there, by setting up training for their contractors, managers and regional managers. So much money these days is spent on shooting and all the other sexy stuff for overseas spin ups, but you see absolutely no training at all for leadership stuff. The companies make a god awful amount of money on these contracts, and the least they could do is spend the money for this training, and go over what they expect out of their leaders and aspiring leaders. To actually institute some system of management that will give the contractors out in the field, a better chance at doing well out there.

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Monday, August 31, 2009

Disaster Response: The Security Officer and Incident Command

Filed under: Disaster Response,Industry Talk,Leadership — Tags: DHS, Disaster Response, floods, hurricanes, Incident Command, security contractors, terrorism — Matt @ 12:05 AM

I read this story below, and it reminded me of how little respect folks have for the security officer of a facility, all the way up until something awful happens. Something like a terrorist attack or natural disasters or a response to a influenza virus outbreak like Novel Influenza A (Swine Flu). It usually takes a really bad deal to remind everyone how important an initial response and attack is, in order to combat these type of things.

But what this story missed, and was ‘oh so close’ to mentioning, was the importance of Incident Command to the initial response to an incident like a pandemic. Incident Command is the answer, and it is also something that has been federally mandated by DHS. But what does that really mean, you might ask?

It means that the US government has recognized the power and efficiency of such a system, based on it’s usage during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the hurricane responses the last couple of years and the fires that ravage the west every summer. It is a simple command language and structure, that all units involved can rally around and understand. That is a powerful thing, because the emergency response that is most organized and most flexible to answer the rapid pace of an evolving incident, will win. It has been proven time and time again, hence why it is the preferred command structure for emergency response in the US.

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Building Snowmobiles: PMC’s and the Streisand Effect

Filed under: Building Snowmobiles,Kaizen,Leadership — Tags: Blogs, Building Snowmobiles, Forums, John Gilmore, Kaizen, Leadership, private military companies, security contractors, streisand effect — Matt @ 1:55 AM

I know, I know, this is ridiculous and far to immature to pay attention to….. Or is it? We see PMC’s continue to try and hide stuff, along with politicians and celebrities and a multitude of other types of organizations and individuals, and that evil internet just keeps facilitating the discovery of wrong doings. The Streisand Effect (SE) is a prime example of how trying to hide stuff is sometimes not the best idea.

I wanted to put this together for the readership, to emphasize how important it is to the true Jundi-ist to ‘have the courage to do what is right’ and ‘be the guy that does it right, when no one is looking’. Especially for the companies out there who claim to have cleaned up their act or try to sweep under the rug any kind of wrong doing. Pay heed, you will be found out, and it will get all over the net, and especially if you didn’t want it to.

Companies have to know, that at one point or another, what comes around, goes around. If you treat an employee bad, or screw over another company, or damage the reputation of a customer, all because of your lack of Kaizen/leadership/customer service and satisfaction, then of course someone is going to tell the world about your crap. And the way they do it these days, is through the internet. You may want to censor it, but unfortunately for you, the internet usually finds a way. That is not a threat from myself or anything, that is just the reality of what we are talking about.

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Sunday, July 26, 2009

Leadership: Amid Reviews, DynCorp Bolsters Ethics Practices

Filed under: Industry Talk,Leadership — Tags: company philosophy, DynCorp, Industry Talk, Leadership, mystery employee, Olive Garden, security contracting — Matt @ 11:44 PM

Glad to see DynCorp taking these steps and I hope they make good with their promise of ‘strengthening it’s ethics programs’. But what DynCorp really needs to focus on, is insuring they hire the right folks into positions of management. The quality of leadership out there is what will make or break your company out there. Some ethics program manager posted in a nice comfortable office at headquarters will not be an effective tool for monitoring your management.

It is a nice visual step, but the focus needs to be on the folks that will implement your ethics policies in the first place–the leaders. And if your high paid managers suck, then get rid of them. Matter of fact, get rid of the regional manager in charge of that guy as well, because obviously he didn’t care enough about company policy or doing things right to keep things in check. Remember the Sun Tzu and the 360 Concubines story I posted? Well have the courage to do what is right, and get rid of your poor managers with authority.

Send the message to your leadership that you demand excellence, and the rest will follow. You actually have to care about what is happening out in the field, dedicate the necessary resources to monitor what is going on out in the field, and correct things as quickly as possible.

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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

History: Sun Tzu and His Army of 360 Concubines

Filed under: History,Leadership — Tags: concubines, History, Leadership, sun tzu, war, Wu — Matt @ 1:59 PM

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu and His Army of 360 Concubines

The king of Wu tested Sun’s skills by commanding him to train a harem of 360 concubines into soldiers. Sun divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. When Sun first ordered the concubines to face right, they giggled. In response, Sun said that the general, in this case himself, was responsible for ensuring that soldiers understood the commands given to them. Then, he reiterated the command, and again the concubines giggled. Sun then ordered the execution of the king’s two favored concubines, to the king’s protests. He explained that if the general’s soldiers understood their commands but did not obey, it was the fault of the officers. Sun also said that once a general was appointed, it was their duty to carry out their mission, even if the king protested. After both concubines were killed, new officers were chosen to replace them. Afterward, both companies performed their maneuvers flawlessly.

Sima’s biography claims that Sun later proved on the battlefield that his theories were effective, that he had a successful military career, and that he wrote The Art of War based on his tested expertise. His descendant, Sun Bin, also became a famous scholar of the military arts.

Link Here.

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