A recent Amazon customer review of Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style
“I write police promotional textbook exams and assessments for a living [...]. I'm always seeking out new and cutting edge books in the fields of police supervision, management and leadership.
So, I was very pleasantly surprised after I finished reading this unique leadership book. It presents an impressive amount of information on leadership in a fun and interesting format - with liberal use of relevant and humorous quotes, experiences and analogies. Your retention of the material will be extremely high because of the author's unique writing style and the attention-grabbing format. Both authors are highly qualified and experienced to present this material - but that's not the primary reason you should consider this book. If you are in law enforcement, entering law enforcement or looking to advance your law enforcement career, this book not only covers the basic leadership experience in a way that is lively and interesting, it makes you relate to and almost experience the hardcore, daily struggle all law enforcement supervisors and managers have with how to select, train and "grow" quality law enforcement personnel.
It took a lot of guts to write a leadership book in such a unique format. And guts is what you'll need in Poker .. and in Leadership ... and this book, if nothing else, will make you see how you can embody these leadership skills.”
More Information
www.pokerleadership.com
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Leadership
An Except from Leadership: Texas Hold 'em Style
You cannot survive without that intangible quality we call heart. The mark of a top player is not how much he wins when he is winning but how he handles his losses. If you win for thirty days in a row, that makes no difference if on the thirty-first you have a bad night, go crazy, and throw it all away.
Bobby Baldwin on Poker
Morale is incredibly important in any organization; it affects everything. It affects how people treat one another, their work quality and even the way in which they answer the phone. It is elusive in nature but palpable in its impact. If morale is low, it is a problem even if everything else in an organization is strong. Karl Von Clausewitz, a Prussian military general and military theorist, identified morale as a fundamental military principle. Since Clausewitz published On War, morale has developed into a concept seen as critical to organizations. Unfortunately, morale is difficult to define and in many circles has become somewhat synonymous with motivation. But, morale is not about motivation.
READ ON
http://www.pokerleadership.com/excerpt_chapter_25.html
You cannot survive without that intangible quality we call heart. The mark of a top player is not how much he wins when he is winning but how he handles his losses. If you win for thirty days in a row, that makes no difference if on the thirty-first you have a bad night, go crazy, and throw it all away.
Bobby Baldwin on Poker
Morale is incredibly important in any organization; it affects everything. It affects how people treat one another, their work quality and even the way in which they answer the phone. It is elusive in nature but palpable in its impact. If morale is low, it is a problem even if everything else in an organization is strong. Karl Von Clausewitz, a Prussian military general and military theorist, identified morale as a fundamental military principle. Since Clausewitz published On War, morale has developed into a concept seen as critical to organizations. Unfortunately, morale is difficult to define and in many circles has become somewhat synonymous with motivation. But, morale is not about motivation.
READ ON
http://www.pokerleadership.com/excerpt_chapter_25.html
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Emergency Management: Implications from a Strategic Management Perspective
This study argues the necessity for and the benefits of a strategic management approach in current emergency management systems. Strategic management is characterized as a long-term process for developing a continuing commitment to the mission and vision of an organization, nurturing a culture that identifies with and supports the mission and vision, and maintaining a clear focus on the organization's strategic agenda throughout all its decision processes and activities. Recent emergency management practice demands that more strategic approaches and management styles be utilized than before. This study addresses the following benefits of the integration of strategic management into emergency management: forward thinking, professionalization, capacity building, goal identification and achievement, increased public support, increased funding, and greater accountability. This study offers the following suggestions for fostering strategic planning in emergency management practice: centralize planning and decentralize execution, strengthen the intergovernmental response process, build cooperation among public and nonprofit organizations, provide training for operating emergency management strategic planning, and recruit professional emergency managers. Implications for future research are also presented
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE
http://www.bepress.com/jhsem/vol5/iss1/1/?sending=10037
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE
http://www.bepress.com/jhsem/vol5/iss1/1/?sending=10037
Sunday, February 10, 2008
America Supports You: AMVETS, DeVry Offer Vets Scholarships
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 8, 2008 - Veterans pursuing higher education through DeVry University may be eligible for scholarships up to $1,000, but the deadline to apply is quickly approaching. Applications for 2008 AMVETS/DeVry University scholarships are due Feb. 15. Veterans and their family members are encouraged to apply for one of 10 scholarships being offered for 2008 spring semester.
The scholarships of up to $1,000 may be applied to undergraduate and graduate programs at both DeVry and its Keller Graduate School of Management for online and on-site programs, AMVETS officials said in a recent news release. Applicants are eligible for scholarships every semester of enrollment, up to $9,000 throughout the course of a degree plan.
Those wishing to apply must submit an essay, a copy of a valid DD 214, a resume, a letter of recommendation and their most recent completed tax return. A full listing of eligibility rules and an application form can be found on the AMVETS Web site, www.amvets.org.
AMVETS partnered with DeVry and its school of management last year to provide up to 30 scholarships per year at a value of up to $1,000 each.
DeVry, which offers programs in 25 states and Canada, as well as online, started the program as a way to honor veterans and their families, officials said.
AMVETS is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. The service organization is a longtime proponent of higher education, offering a variety of scholarship programs to veterans and their family members.
(From an AMVETS news release.)
Feb. 8, 2008 - Veterans pursuing higher education through DeVry University may be eligible for scholarships up to $1,000, but the deadline to apply is quickly approaching. Applications for 2008 AMVETS/DeVry University scholarships are due Feb. 15. Veterans and their family members are encouraged to apply for one of 10 scholarships being offered for 2008 spring semester.
The scholarships of up to $1,000 may be applied to undergraduate and graduate programs at both DeVry and its Keller Graduate School of Management for online and on-site programs, AMVETS officials said in a recent news release. Applicants are eligible for scholarships every semester of enrollment, up to $9,000 throughout the course of a degree plan.
Those wishing to apply must submit an essay, a copy of a valid DD 214, a resume, a letter of recommendation and their most recent completed tax return. A full listing of eligibility rules and an application form can be found on the AMVETS Web site, www.amvets.org.
AMVETS partnered with DeVry and its school of management last year to provide up to 30 scholarships per year at a value of up to $1,000 each.
DeVry, which offers programs in 25 states and Canada, as well as online, started the program as a way to honor veterans and their families, officials said.
AMVETS is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. The service organization is a longtime proponent of higher education, offering a variety of scholarship programs to veterans and their family members.
(From an AMVETS news release.)
Friday, February 08, 2008
Team's Approach Focuses Iraqi Police on Sustainment
By Sgt. Daniel D. Blottenberger, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 7, 2008 - Iraqi police expansion in Baghdad has reached an all-time high in the past six months, and with new recruits filling the ranks, police forces are improving by the day. As 18th Military Police Brigade police transition teams assess improvements with the numbers of Iraqi police officers and rule-of-law operations at the station level, the brigade's soldiers have begun a transition into a "systems approach" to move the Iraqi police headquarters to the next level of performance in securing the future of the Iraqi people.
Brigade officials call the new approach the enhanced police transition team.
The 18th MP Brigade's EPTT is composed of staff representatives from military police, logistics, communications and personnel leaders who focus on sustainment operations for the Iraqi police force in Baghdad.
"We are energizing the leadership to take responsibility and support their stations," said Army Lt. Col. Thomas Lombardo, the brigade's operations officer.
The brigade sends staff experts to the provincial Iraqi police leadership in Baghdad to support efforts in improving their sustainment systems. The new approach is under way not only at the main provincial headquarters, but also at other levels such as the criminal investigations department, provincial police patrol headquarters and traffic headquarters.
"We are sending individuals with the right skill sets to engage the proper IP sections," said Lombardo, who has deployed with the brigade to Baghdad twice.
The brigade is supporting Iraqi police logistics, personnel management, maintenance, budget, operations, training, leadership and judicial integration.
"You can have all these systems in place, but if you don't have good leadership, none of these things will work. Leadership makes things work," said Lombardo, who has worked directly with Iraqi police leaders in Baghdad since the unit deployed from Germany in October.
Lombardo said Iraqi police leaders are proactive and receptive to the new approach their coalition counterparts are using.
"The stations here in Baghdad are good," Lombardo said. "We can make them better if we can get the ... leadership to take responsibility of their stations and take charge."
Over the past month, the brigade staff has worked with all the provincial levels of leadership in Baghdad to understand the Iraqi police systems and see how the enhanced police transition team can help improve methods of operation. The brigade sent staff experts from each section of operations to the Iraqi police's higher echelons to learn and assess the Iraqi systems.
"Iraqi police have grown in numbers; now their systems need to grow to match their numbers," said Army 1st Lt. David Delong, a communications officer who visited the Iraqi police station's higher echelons in Baghdad recently to examine their communication systems.
"The Iraqi police were very happy to have someone who knows communications to come talk to them and lend some advice," Delong said.
He added that he was impressed with their knowledge of their communication systems, and they knew where they wanted to go with their systems.
Internet communication is important and vital for passing information among police stations and between the stations and headquarters in Baghdad, Delong said. During his visit, he noted problems in Internet connectivity among the police stations. "They are now trying to fix those problems with our help," he said.
The teams are helping distribute communication supplies from the Interior Ministry and set up contracts for Internet connectivity. They also are starting to train the more experienced communications personnel at the police stations so they can train other officers in using the communication equipment.
Army Master Sgt. Thomas Francis, the brigade's maintenance supervisor, recently spent several days observing the Iraqi police maintenance system at the central maintenance facility in Baghdad.
"The (Iraqi police) have a good system in place," said Francis, who has been working in maintenance facilities for 20 years. "The IP work (well) with what they have. They are very organized and have good accountability of their parts, which they often recycle to get the most out of their equipment."
The team plans on helping procure modern equipment for the Iraqi police mechanics and training programs. It's also providing ideas on how to spread mechanics out to the different organization levels to capitalize on their experience and round out the force.
"There are a lot of mechanics in training, and once they graduate, we will help them distribute the new mechanics to all levels in Baghdad," Francis said.
The new mechanics and equipment will help speed up the recovery process for damaged police cars, thus furthering mission capability, Francis explained.
The enhanced police transition team approach is in its initial stage, and brigade leaders believe the new systems approach is on track. "I feel confident that we are going in the right direction," Lombardo said.
The strategy, he added, is a foundation for the future success of the police in Baghdad.
"Enhanced PTT is a strategy to build on, and in the future, we will hand this off to future brigades to continue," he said. "This system helps us move to our end-state, in which (Iraqi police) move to enforce the rule of law independently."
(Army Sgt. Daniel D. Blottenberger serves in Multinational Corps Iraq Public Affairs with 18th Military Police Brigade.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 7, 2008 - Iraqi police expansion in Baghdad has reached an all-time high in the past six months, and with new recruits filling the ranks, police forces are improving by the day. As 18th Military Police Brigade police transition teams assess improvements with the numbers of Iraqi police officers and rule-of-law operations at the station level, the brigade's soldiers have begun a transition into a "systems approach" to move the Iraqi police headquarters to the next level of performance in securing the future of the Iraqi people.
Brigade officials call the new approach the enhanced police transition team.
The 18th MP Brigade's EPTT is composed of staff representatives from military police, logistics, communications and personnel leaders who focus on sustainment operations for the Iraqi police force in Baghdad.
"We are energizing the leadership to take responsibility and support their stations," said Army Lt. Col. Thomas Lombardo, the brigade's operations officer.
The brigade sends staff experts to the provincial Iraqi police leadership in Baghdad to support efforts in improving their sustainment systems. The new approach is under way not only at the main provincial headquarters, but also at other levels such as the criminal investigations department, provincial police patrol headquarters and traffic headquarters.
"We are sending individuals with the right skill sets to engage the proper IP sections," said Lombardo, who has deployed with the brigade to Baghdad twice.
The brigade is supporting Iraqi police logistics, personnel management, maintenance, budget, operations, training, leadership and judicial integration.
"You can have all these systems in place, but if you don't have good leadership, none of these things will work. Leadership makes things work," said Lombardo, who has worked directly with Iraqi police leaders in Baghdad since the unit deployed from Germany in October.
Lombardo said Iraqi police leaders are proactive and receptive to the new approach their coalition counterparts are using.
"The stations here in Baghdad are good," Lombardo said. "We can make them better if we can get the ... leadership to take responsibility of their stations and take charge."
Over the past month, the brigade staff has worked with all the provincial levels of leadership in Baghdad to understand the Iraqi police systems and see how the enhanced police transition team can help improve methods of operation. The brigade sent staff experts from each section of operations to the Iraqi police's higher echelons to learn and assess the Iraqi systems.
"Iraqi police have grown in numbers; now their systems need to grow to match their numbers," said Army 1st Lt. David Delong, a communications officer who visited the Iraqi police station's higher echelons in Baghdad recently to examine their communication systems.
"The Iraqi police were very happy to have someone who knows communications to come talk to them and lend some advice," Delong said.
He added that he was impressed with their knowledge of their communication systems, and they knew where they wanted to go with their systems.
Internet communication is important and vital for passing information among police stations and between the stations and headquarters in Baghdad, Delong said. During his visit, he noted problems in Internet connectivity among the police stations. "They are now trying to fix those problems with our help," he said.
The teams are helping distribute communication supplies from the Interior Ministry and set up contracts for Internet connectivity. They also are starting to train the more experienced communications personnel at the police stations so they can train other officers in using the communication equipment.
Army Master Sgt. Thomas Francis, the brigade's maintenance supervisor, recently spent several days observing the Iraqi police maintenance system at the central maintenance facility in Baghdad.
"The (Iraqi police) have a good system in place," said Francis, who has been working in maintenance facilities for 20 years. "The IP work (well) with what they have. They are very organized and have good accountability of their parts, which they often recycle to get the most out of their equipment."
The team plans on helping procure modern equipment for the Iraqi police mechanics and training programs. It's also providing ideas on how to spread mechanics out to the different organization levels to capitalize on their experience and round out the force.
"There are a lot of mechanics in training, and once they graduate, we will help them distribute the new mechanics to all levels in Baghdad," Francis said.
The new mechanics and equipment will help speed up the recovery process for damaged police cars, thus furthering mission capability, Francis explained.
The enhanced police transition team approach is in its initial stage, and brigade leaders believe the new systems approach is on track. "I feel confident that we are going in the right direction," Lombardo said.
The strategy, he added, is a foundation for the future success of the police in Baghdad.
"Enhanced PTT is a strategy to build on, and in the future, we will hand this off to future brigades to continue," he said. "This system helps us move to our end-state, in which (Iraqi police) move to enforce the rule of law independently."
(Army Sgt. Daniel D. Blottenberger serves in Multinational Corps Iraq Public Affairs with 18th Military Police Brigade.)
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