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By Retired Army Colonel David W. Sutherland, Chairman, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services– a member organization of The Fedcap Group

“If ye break faith with us who die” John McCrae, 1915

This weekend marks Memorial Day, a sacred day of recognition in the United States. At Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, we will spend the weekend remembering, honoring, and mourning the United States military members who died while serving in the Armed Forces – some of whom we served with over the course of our military service.

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By Retired Army Colonel David W. Sutherland, Chairman, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services – a member organization of The Fedcap Group

Serving in the military was one of the highlights of my life. I say this, because many of those service members I served with and many of those veterans I now advocate for, are wired to serve.

I was the Commander of 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq during “surge” operations in the volatile Diyala Province. My formation consisted of more than 5,000 of our nation’s finest men and women in uniform. For 15-months, they poured their hearts and souls into the mission; a mission that many deemed impossible.

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“The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.” ~ Kenneth H. Blanchard

We were recently in a small group discussion with a client. As is often the case, some of the participants had institutional biases that had to be peeled back, disarmed and redefined. The most significant was a reluctance to recognize the importance – and impact – of higher headquarters on local leadership. In other words, it was the inability to look at the larger macro-organization and those who influence the overall success of any business: better known as the objective big picture view & impact on the ground-level where we all work. Some leaders – in just about any room – can become myopic and preoccupied with the perceived boundaries of their own ground-level group. They can be hesitant to accept the notion that their people and their environment might also be influenced by those whom they report to as well.

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Never say, “Because I said so.” It is an unbearable phrase that kills discussion and creates the culture of “No.”

The best leaders understand how they make decisions, their individual level of comfort with decision-making, and how they best receive, process and seek information when making decisions.  
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by David W. Sutherland

The idea for the book, Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King, was a profoundly simple journey with my friend and co-writer, Paul McKellips. It was conceived from our shared experiences and born from our hearts.

So, why did we write the book?

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