Mike's Rules for (Successful) Command...

One thing I found pretty unique about my career as an Army officer was every time I was appointed to a command or senior staff position at battalion or brigade level, I was, at least in the beginning, one grade under the authorized rank for that slot. My first company command was as a 1st lieutenant, and my four years as a battalion commander were all as a Major. This had its good and bad points and I learned a lot of things the hard way. There were a few times in the early company days when I escaped the executioner's axe only because I claimed I was just a dumb Lt. and didn't know any better. That usually worked once, maybe twice depending on which headquarters I was under at the time. I always made sure to promise I wouldn't do the same thing again. That usually helped.

These early experiences, however, led to the postulation of Mike's Rules for (Successful) Command:
#1. It is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.
#2. Never volunteer information.
(2.a. Make them ask the questions.)
(2.b. They might not know the right questions to ask.)
#3. The effective range of an excuse is zero meters.
#4. No whining.

I used these rules throughout my years in service and they came in quite handy -- especially Rule #1; and occasionally Rules #2, 2.a and 2.b.; and even rule #3 (more than once).

As I have said before, one of the jobs of senior officers is to mentor/coach young officers. Oscar Wilde once said “The only thing one can do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” So in that vein, when I was the brigade G-3 and later the Deputy Brigade Commander I used to pass these rules out to officers. I put them in the form or business cards (Rules of Engagement for Briefers) when it was time for unit status reports (I only included rules 1,3 and 4 for them. I reserved #2 for my own use). I knew my boss's hot buttons and what he would usually zero in on at these briefings, so the cards were meant to help them escape the axe. However, Bill Cosby said it better than I could: “A word to the wise ain't necessary — it's the stupid ones that need the advice.” One of my CGs used to enjoy reminding commanders to observe Rules 3 and 4. For some reason, however, they usually failed to see the humor in his comments.

I guess now that all that is over and I am retired (although I understand they can still call me back until 2019, if I'm still alive by then), I can add these two rules to the list:

#5. “If at first you don't succeed, you'll get a lot of free advice from folks who didn't succeed either.” (Author unknown).

#6. “When you give advice, remember that Socrates was a Greek philosopher who went around giving good advice. They poisoned him.” (Author unknown).

Hooah