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#55: Gen (Ret.) David Petraeus — Get Results and Win as a Team

January 17, 2021 by Cal Walters in Leadership, Intentional Living

General (Ret.) David H. Petraeus served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands, five of which were in combat, including command of the Surge in Iraq, command of U.S.

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General (US Army, Ret.) David H. Petraeus is a Partner and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, which he established in May 2013. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Optiv and FirstStream, a venture investor in more than 15 startups, and engaged in a variety of academic endeavors. Prior to joining KKR, General Petraeus served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands, five of which were in combat, including command of the Surge in Iraq, command of U.S. Central Command, and command of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Following retirement from the military and after Senate confirmation by a vote of 94-0, he served as Director of the CIA during a period of significant achievements in the global war on terror, the establishment of important Agency digital initiatives, and significant investments in the Agency’s most important asset, its human capital.

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General Petraeus graduated with distinction from the U.S. Military Academy, and he is the only person in Army history to be the top graduate of both the demanding U.S. Army Ranger School and the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. He also earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

General Petraeus taught international relations and economics at the U.S. Military Academy in the mid-1980s, he was a Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the Honors College of the City University of New York from 2013 through 2016, and he was for 6 years a Judge Widney Professor at the University of Southern California and a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute, Co-Chairman of the Global Advisory Council of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Senior Vice President of the Royal United Services Institute, and a Member of the Trilateral Commission, as well as a member of the boards of the Atlantic Council, the Institute for the Study of War, and over a dozen veterans service organizations.

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Over the past 15 years, General Petraeus was named one of America’s 25 Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report, a runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year, the Daily Telegraph man of the year, a Time 100 selectee, Princeton University’s Madison Medalist, and one of Foreign Policy magazine’s top 100 public intellectuals in three different years. General Petraeus has earned numerous honors, awards, and decorations, including four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, two NATO Meritorious Service Medals, the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger Tab, and Master Parachutist and Air Assault Badges. He has also been decorated by 13 foreign countries and is believed to be the only person who, while in uniform, threw out the first pitch of a World Series game and did the coin toss for a Super Bowl.

On this episode, General Petraeus was very kind to let me explore what life was like for him growing up and how his parents shaped him. We also discuss how he met his wife, what it’s like to be a grandparent, his time at West Point, Ranger School, his impressions of President Bush, President Obama, and President-elect Biden, the role of mentors in his life, and much more.

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In this interview, General Petraeus discusses the importance of “getting the big ideas right,” one of the four tasks of strategic leadership. For more of General Petraeus’s views on strategic leadership, visit the Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School.


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January 17, 2021 /Cal Walters
Preparation, Army, West Point, Ranger School, Bush, Obama, Biden, Mentors
Leadership, Intentional Living
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#53: Josh Bowen (Founder, 3x5 Leadership) — On Reflection, Feedback, and Leading with Love

December 06, 2020 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

Today, I'm really excited to share my conversation with Josh Bowen, Founder of 3x5 Leadership, an incredible platform for leadership development.  As you will see during our conversation, Josh is genuinely passionate about making people and organizations better through leader development.  His website has had over 330,000 visits and impacts

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Today, I’m really excited to share my conversation with Josh Bowen, Founder of 3x5 Leadership, an incredible platform for leadership development.  As you will see during our conversation, Josh is genuinely passionate about making people and organizations better through leader development.  His website has had over 330,000 visits and impacts over 8,000 leaders on a consistent basis.  Josh is a graduate of West Point and earned his Masters in Organizational Psychology and Leadership from Columbia University.   He is member of the 2020 DoDReads Board of Advisors and a co-host of the DoDReads Podcast.  He’s also a husband, father, and active duty Army Officer. 

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On this episode we discuss his passion for leadership development, how 3x5 Leadership started from humble beginnings, his process for reflection and capturing lessons, some of his crucible leadership moments, feedback, his favorite books, and much more. 

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On this episode, we specifically discuss the Feedback Primer produced by 3x5 Leadership. Below are the links to those insightful articles:

Part 1: Let’s Start with Why

Part 2: Being Mindful in Sharing Our “Truth in Love”

Part 3: On Leaders Creating Their Own Feedback Loops

Part 4: Innovating Feedback Across Your Team

Part 5: Making the Abstract Tangible – 3 Example Feedback Loops for Your Consideration

Part 6: Conclusion – Now Get Out There and Get Started!

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Below are some of the most popular posts on 3x5 Leadership:

Leadership By Wandering Around

The Emotional Side of Leadership: Why You Need to Care About Emotional Intelligence & What to do About It

“Big Rocks” Leadership

A Model of Effective Goal-Setting for Leaders

Discipline Through Accountability and Enforcing Standards


Josh recommended the following books during our conversation:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
By Covey, Stephen R.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
By Brown, Brené

Thanks for listening! According to Feedspot, we are one of the Top 30 Leadership Podcasts on the internet!

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Partner with us financially at Patreon

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December 06, 2020 /Cal Walters
3x5 leadership, failure, feedback, West Point, Army
Intentional Living, Leadership
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#34: LTG (Ret.) Bob Caslen (West Point Legend/USC President) — On Service, Character, & Failure

April 18, 2020 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

Today, I am so privileged and honored to bring you insights from a true hero of mine, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Robert Caslen, who currently serves as the 29th President of the University of South Carolina.  Go Gamecocks!  General Caslen served 43 years in the United States Army.  His military career culminated in 2018 as the 59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

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Today, I am so privileged and honored to bring you insights from a true hero of mine, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Robert Caslen, who currently serves as the 29th President of the University of South Carolina. Go Gamecocks! 

General Caslen served 43 years in the United States Army. His military career culminated in 2018 as the 59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Under his direction as Superintendent, West Point was recognized as the number one public college in the Nation by Forbes Magazine and the number one public college by U.S. News and World Report. Through the establishment of Centers of Excellence at West Point, General Caslen connected the operational Army with West Point research and intellectual capital. He refined West Point’s leadership program by making professional ethics a priority and essential part of leadership and character development. He worked tirelessly to expand the diversity of cadets and faculty alike, and he dramatically expanded West Point’s minority and women populations to reflect the demographics of the Army that West Point’s graduates help lead.

Working with the Director of Athletics, he revamped the athletic program, made it self-sustaining, and fielded 25 competitive intercollegiate teams. He created partnerships with the NCAA and Department of Defense to conduct research into preventing and treating concussions and traumatic brain injury that have led to significant improvements in prevention and care. He stood up the Army Cyber Institute to build expertise and Army leaders prepared for the new cyber fight. And, fulfilling a pledge he made soon after becoming Superintendent, he led a sweeping reversal of Army’s football program and developed a culture of excellence through winning with character, culminating in Army defeating Navy in 2016 for the first time in 14 years, and beating both Air Force and Navy in 2017 to win the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy for the first time in 21 years.

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Before becoming the West Point Superintendent, General Caslen served as the Chief of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, where he served as the senior military commander in Iraq after the drawdown of U.S. and allied forces in 2011. Caslen held several other notable positions including commanding general of Multi National Division-North during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Chief of Staff of both the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT) and the 10th Mountain Division, where he also served as the Division’s Chief of Staff during Operation Enduring Freedom. He also has served in combat and overseas deployments in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras, and Operation Uphold Democracy and the United Nations Mission in Haiti.

He is a graduate of West Point and he holds an MBA from Long Island University and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kansas State University. He was also recognized with an honorary Doctorate from Long Island University.  He is a member of the Kansas State Engineering College Hall of Fame, received a Life Time of Service Award from the American Red Cross, was recognized with the Honorary Rock of the Year Award for his efforts in diversity as the Superintendent of West Point. 

He also received the 2018 Gerald R. Ford Legends Award for lifetime service, and was the 2019 recipient of the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award, joining the ranks of Tony Dungy, John Wooden, and Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, Ford, and George H.W. Bush. Caslen also serves as the Special Advisor on Executive Leadership and Character Development at Higher Echelon. He is a nationally recognized authority on leader development and author of The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity, which is scheduled to be published in October 2020.

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On this episode, we discuss [time marks for audio version]:

  • His favorite things about living in South Carolina [7:00]

  • His “Why” for Serving [9:30]

    • “The greatest among you is the servant among you.” 

    • “People talk about legacy and wanting to see their name on a building as a legacy.  I’d rather see my legacy as the people I had the ability to influence and to improve their life and give them great opportunities for hope in the future.” 

  • How his view of service has changed over time [11:30] 

  • What is means to be a caring leader [13:15]

    • “Caring is not coddling them and babying them.  It is developing them.” 

  • Leadership as helping people achieve excellence [15:20]

    • “Leadership is enabling people to live a life of excellence.  To me, excellence is living to the upper level of your potential.”

    • “When you make mistakes, that’s how you grow.”

  • Developing leaders [17:20]

    • “Instead of leadership by attrition, I believe in leadership by development.”

  • The leader taking ownership over development of team [18:20]

    • “When they succeed, the leader never takes credit.  When they fail, the leader takes all responsibility.  If I’m developing a subordinate and they don’t meet the standard, it’s my fault . . . I look internally and say how did I mess this up.” 

    • “Development is not just giving someone a job description.” 

    • “It takes mental and morale courage to sit down with someone, look them in the eye, and tell them they are not meeting the standard.” 

  • Self-leadership [20:40]

    • “The most effective leaders are leaders that lead from the front and share hardships.”

    • “If you fail on character, you fail on leadership.” 

    • “Character is the internalization of values. . . Those values are a result of your upbringing . . . the people you hang around with . . . the books you read . . . what you read on the computer screen.” 

    • “What comes out of us is the true manifestation of what we’ve internalized.”

  • His morning routine [25:30]

  • His gym workouts and one way he recognizes excellence at the University of South Carolina [27:00]

  • Maintaining a calm, composed demeanor [29:00]

    • “It’s easy to lose your temper, and it accomplishes nothing.” 

    • “As a leader, everyone starts to reflect the personality of the leader.” 

  • Leadership advice for high stress, uncertain environments like COVID-19 [32:30]

    • “The most important part about leadership in a crisis is to create and maintain hope because people in a crisis must have hope . . . The best way to get hope is to be a leader that they trust.” 

    • “You build trust through competence . . . character . . . caring . . . and communication.” 

  • His decision-making framework [35:25]

  • How failure and adversity have shaped him [37:15]

  • Marriage advice and parenting advice [42:00]

  • His upcoming book, The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity [46:20]

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Connect with President Caslen on his website or follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter


Below is President’s Caslen’s upcoming book and another book he recommended on marriage:

The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity
By Jr., Robert L. Caslen, Matthews, Michael D.
His Needs, Her Needs: Building a Marriage That Lasts
By Harley, Willard F. Jr.

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April 18, 2020 /Cal Walters
Service, Character, Trust, Covid, West Point, South Carolina
Intentional Living, Leadership
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