How the Marines Train Leaders

The man nominated to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, has some thoughts on building leaders in Fortune Magazine. Here are some nuggets:

When you have to make a decision about someone's future, or what kind of weapons system to invest in, or any other kind of businesslike decision, you should not let anybody rush you. On a battlefield, you don't have time to gather a lot of opinions.

It's better to be doing something than doing nothing.

The most effective decision may be the least predictable one.

And the General and I see a problem in the following:

Some things today—cellphones and e-mail—are not healthy for growing leaders. Before cellphones, if the boss was away, the next person in line had to make a decision. It was either right or it was wrong, but you had to accept responsibility. You learned and grew from that. Now it's too easy to call for advice. Senior leaders have to start saying, "Look, if it's not dying or burning, don't call me."

I'm glad to see somebody with stars on their collars finally said that. Read the rest here, it's worth it.