#54: Dr. Joe Ross — The Four D's of Goal Setting

January 04, 2021 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living

Today, I’m super pumped to bring you an interview I did with the first person to ever introduce me to the concept of high performance at West Point, Dr. Joe Ross (Retired, US Army). Joe has a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Walden University and a Masters of Education in Psychology and Athletic Counseling from Springfield College.

Dr. Ross is also a 1995 West Point graduate, where he was a three-year letter winner and co-captain of the 1994 Army Football team. As an Infantry Officer, Joe led 144 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and deployed to Kosovo in 2001. The Secretary of the Army commended Joe’s unit for capturing two insurgents on the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) top ten most wanted list and bringing the Serbian and Albanian leadership together to start a dialogue of reconciliation. Joe also managed all logistics for over 1,000 personnel, directed human resources for over 4,000 personnel, and helped write the Soldier’s Creed.

In 2009, Joe joined the Army Football coaching staff as the Special Teams and Fullback Coach, where he helped lead Army Football to the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl victory. At West Point, Joe also served as the Director of the Military Enhancement Program and was asked to collaborate on a Presidential committee to review and design procedures for wounded warriors in transition.

Joe is now the President and Co-Founder of HigherEchelon, Inc., an Organizational Performance consulting firm with offerings in leadership, technology, and engineering to both public and private sector clients. Joe has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, college and professional sports teams, top tier Universities, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Defense. Joe led the creation of Higher Echelon’s flagship program, The Resilient and Adaptable Leader ©.

Dr. Ross and HigherEchelon’s success leading government and commercial programs has been recognized numerous times by industry. In 2019, HigherEchelon was named Contractor of the Year at the Madison County Small Business Awards and won the Program of the Year award at the D.C. GovCon award ceremony for their work piloting the VA Women’s Health Program, which was recently expanded by Congress.

Since 2012, Joe has also been the lead consultant for Army Game Studio in developing GoArmy Edge, a free software application adapted to help football athletes learn their team’s playbooks, make proper reads and play calls, and mentally practice their assignments in a virtual environment before taking the field. GoArmy Edge takes virtual coaching, simulation and training to a new level through unprecedented detail and customization, helping improve football team performance through more effective and safer player practice capabilities.

Additionally, Dr. Ross leads numerous government programs including the General and Flag Officer Transition courses for the Army and Navy, and a cognitive training pilot for the TSA.

On this interview, we discuss Joe’s influences growing up, his tips for high performance, having a mental edge, his keys to leadership, leading through change, transition advice he gives to military generals and flag officers, and many other exciting topics.

You can follow, or connect with, Joe on LinkedIn here.

Find out more about HigherEchelon at their website or on LinkedIn.

If you’d like to begin the work of goal setting as outlined by Dr. Ross on this episode, click on the button below to access the goal setting tool by HigherEchelon.

Goal Setting Tool

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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 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.

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

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#52: Chris Atwell (My Pastor) — On Cancer, Suffering, and Peacemaking

November 23, 2020 by Cal Walters in Leadership, Intentional Living

Serving in the Army, we move around a lot. Each time we move, it takes time to build community and find connection. One way we build community is getting plugged in to a local church. In 2019, we relocated from Texas to Charlottesville, VA, for me to complete the Graduate Course at the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. This course is attended by all Army Judge Advocates after they are promoted to the rank of Major, and all students that successfully complete the course receive an L.L.M. in Military Law.

During our year in Charlottesville, we really enjoyed attending Portico Church. Today, I’m very excited to share a special conversation I had with the pastor of Portico, Chris Atwell. Chris Atwell is the Lead Pastor of Vision and Instruction at Portico Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, a church he planted in 2004. Chris is also an area leader in Acts 29’s U.S. North Atlantic Network. He serves as the Dean of Students at Grimké Seminary. Chris is married to Jenn, and they have three daughters.

This is my first time sitting down with a pastor or religious leader on this show, but it was really special for me. No matter what your faith background, I hope you’ll enjoy this conversation about a faith that has really had a big impact on my life and worldview.

Chris is also a huge UVA Basketball fan.

Chris gets quite vulnerable with us and shares his battle with cancer, how he dealt with suffering, his perspective on leadership in the non-profit space, and his views on peacemaking—something that is always relevant but certainly relevant right now in the US.

Chris brought up the following books during our conversation.

Gospel-Centered Discipleship

By Dodson, Jonathan K.

The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict

By Sande, Ken

The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future

By Booth, Jeff

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#51: President Bob Caslen & Dr. Mike Matthews — On Grit and the Character Edge

November 11, 2020 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

Today, I am so privileged and honored to bring you insights from two great leadership minds, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Robert Caslen, who currently serves as the 29th President of the University of South Carolina, and Dr. Mike Matthews, Professor of Engineering Psychology at the United States Military Academy. President Caslen and Dr. Matthews bring over 80 years of combined experience to their brand new book, The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity.

This was such a fun conversation for me. The amount of collective wisdom and knowledge between these two men is amazing. We talk about their book, how someone can develop character and recover from setbacks, the difference between resume and eulogy virtues, the first servant leader President Caslen encountered, positive psychology, my results from the Values-in-Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), the work Dr. Matthews did with Angela Duckworth on grit, Coach Popovich, and the amazing example of 1LT Daniel Hyde.

The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity

By Caslen Jr., Robert L., Matthews, Michael D.

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.

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.

Dr. Mike Matthews is currently Professor of Engineering Psychology at the United States Military Academy. He served as President of the American Psychological Association's Society for Military Psychology from 2007 to 2008 and is a Templeton Foundation Senior Positive Psychology Fellow. From 2014 to 2015, he served as a Fellow for the U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Strategic Studies Group.

Collectively, his research interests center on Soldier performance in combat and other dangerous contexts. He has authored over 250 scientific papers, is the co-editor of Leadership in Dangerous Situations: A Handbook for Armed Forces, Emergency Services, and First Responders, the Oxford Handbook of Military Psychology (Oxford University Press, 2012), and (in collaboration with co-editors David E. Rohall and Morten G. Ender) Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for Diversity, published by Lexington Books (2017). He is a co-author of The Millennial Generation and National Defense: Attitudes of Future Military and Civilian Leaders (Palgrave Pivot, 2013), and co-editor of Human Performance Optimization: The Science and Ethics of Enhancing Human Capabilities (Oxford University Press, 2019).

Dr. Matthews is the author of the highly acclaimed Head Strong: How Psychology is Revolutionizing War (Oxford University Press, revised and expanded edition, April 2020), which explores the vital role of psychological science in 21st century war.

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#50: Cheryl Bachelder (Former CEO of Popeyes) — On Daring to Serve in Business

November 03, 2020 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

Cheryl A. Bachelder is a passionate restaurant industry executive and former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Cheryl is known for her crisp strategic thinking, franchisee-focused approach, superior financial performance and the development of outstanding leaders and teams.

Cheryl joined Popeyes, Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., in November 2007, after serving as an active member of the Board for a year. She brought more than 35 years of experience in brand building, operations, and public-company management at companies like Yum Brands, Domino’s Pizza, RJR Nabisco, The Gillette Company, and The Procter & Gamble Company.

At Popeyes, Cheryl promptly established a Road Map for Results. This strategic framework led to market share gains of eight points, improved guest ratings, and increased restaurant margins (400 basis points in seven years). The improvement in restaurant performance led franchisees to remodel the system and accelerate new unit growth both in the U.S. and abroad. In eight years, the enterprise market cap grew from less than $300 million to over $1.3 billion. At fiscal year-end 2015, Popeyes’ system-wide revenues were $3.1 billion. These revenues were generated by over 2,539 restaurants operated by 360 franchisees and more than 60,000 restaurant employees in the United States, three territories, and 27 foreign countries.

Ms. Bachelder created a culture based on the Popeyes Purpose: to inspire servant leaders to achieve superior results. This purpose was expressed in the six principles of how they worked together. The Popeyes team focus was to serve the franchise owners well; together they pursued a bold ambition for the enterprise. This produced exceptional performance results. In March 2015, Ms. Bachelder published a book chronicling the tenets of the Popeyes turnaround, entitled Dare to Serve, Second Edition – How to drive superior results by serving others.

Ms. Bachelder has served on the board of directors for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., since 2006; board of directors for Pier 1 Imports, Inc., since 2012; the advisory board of Agile Pursuits Franchising, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, since 2009; and the International Franchise Association since February 2015. She also served on the board of directors for True Value Company from 2007 – 2012 and on the board of the National Restaurant Association May 2009 – 2012. In November 2014, Cheryl was certified as an NACD Board Leadership Fellow.

Prior to serving as Popeyes CEO, Ms. Bachelder revitalized brand performance in both retail and consumer goods companies. She was president and chief concept officer for KFC Corporate (2001-2003), creating growth plans for the U.S. business in collaboration with the franchise owners. From 1995 – 2000, Ms. Bachelder served as vice president of marketing and product development for Domino’s Pizza, Inc. She was the brand architect responsible for contemporizing the restaurant chain’s image and launching the innovative Heatwave bag which improved product quality and drove strong same-store sales growth for five consecutive years across 5,400 units. Prior to her restaurant experience, Ms. Bachelder served as general manager of the LifeSavers Division of RJR Nabisco. Her early career years included brand management roles at The Gillette Company and The Procter & Gamble Company.

In September 2015, Cheryl was awarded The Norman Brinker Award from Nation’s Restaurant News. She has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and was named by CNBC’s Jim Cramer as one of his “21 Bankable CEOs” for 2014. In 2012, she was recognized as “Leader of the Year” by the Women’s Foodservice Forum, and received the Silver Plate Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.

Ms. Bachelder holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing, from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She has been married for over 35 years to Chris Bachelder and they have three grown daughters.

On this episode, we discuss her incredible father, Daddy Max, her family’s dinner conversations that contributed to her and all of her siblings being CEOs, the impact of her faith on her leadership, her journey being a female executive, how she integrated life as a business leader with family, how she turned Popeyes around by leading differently, and much more.