Leadership training happens every day, it just goes unnoticed.
Unnoticed? Yes, unnoticed except by those who have had some training.
Like me.
Twenty-one hours of Leader Preparation Program time.
You may call me a Fort Ord Leadership Academy graduate.
This is why I’m such a fan of education for the young and old, and you should be too.
Remember the excitement of kindergarten?
Let’s have a cookie and milk, and take a nap. (Hey Ms Spooner)
Remember first grade with the bathroom in the classroom and wondering why kids took so long?
Seventh grade, the first year of Junior High, was as big time as the big time gets.
The freshmen were giants and getting bigger. They gave hope to the new kids: we wouldn’t be little for long.
Tenth grade, the first year of high school, was a stunner.
Some of the kids I grew up with were playing varsity sports?
You probably saw the same thing.
Little Joe came back as big Joe; slow Dan came back as fast Dan; timid Tommy came back fearless.
It was a time that was full of anticipation and anxiety, pretty much what I suppose every high school is always full of.
Everyone had big decisions to make.
People dropped out, got a job, and moved on; some graduated and promised themselves they’d never step foot into another classroom the rest of their lives.
Those people usually become teachers.
This was baby boomer education in the earliest of the 70’s.
We had academic counselors who recruited for the local saw mill.
College would be a waste on someone like you. Just get a job at Weyerhaeuser.
That student finished with a master’s degree. (Hey Ms Choat)
Weyerhaeuser finished as a casino.
War Office
What’s more bad-assed than being a certified by the United States of America War Office?
That’s how I read it. Cream of the crop.
What it means is knowing how, and when, to shut up.
As a writer, this is an important skill set . . . for understanding those who don’t know the tricks of the trade.
Leadership training opens the door on what is said, and what isn’t said.
During a wonderful evening of food and drink with a couple who’ve grown on me, a neighborhood friend who joined in asked my wife questions about where she grew up, and how.
Wife: I had a happy childhood.
Guy: That must be nice for you.
My leadership training bell rang.
This was either acceptable dinner table talk, or my chick was getting hustled by an intriguing gentleman who may want to meet over coffee and continue the conversation.
He knew how and when to shut up, which impressed me, leaving just enough of a pause, a dramatic pause, to make room for a question about his childhood.
First of all, if I’m talking childhood memories with old people, I’m seventy for God’s sake, keep it short and sweet.
You may have a spiritually revealing moment that shines a new light on everything, but why not work it out on your own before sharing it?
In the key of ‘I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now’, take your time.
Unless you’re hustling, then time is of the essence.
On the way home I explained to my wife what the guy was doing; she didn’t agree.
Neither did the other people there.
But none of them have taken leadership classes put on by the War Office.
It’s called strategic thinking and I know it when I hear it.
What Not To Say In Leadership Training
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