Transcription
Here. Thank you for uh being here to support uh the scouting. So, I'm going to start with with something easy. I'm going to I'm going to call my inner Oprah here and try to learn a little bit more about who you really are. So, so when you get up in the morning, what does your entire morning routine look like? We have to start with the easy ones, right?
Yeah. Uh well, I think about probably body, mind, and spirit. do a little workout after uh four decades in the Marine Infantry. It's kind of beat into you. Uh so I I do my push-ups. I I I work myself out pretty good. And then then uh kind of in between all those things, I remind myself I'm not 18 years old anymore. And I do a little reflection. Uh enter some emails, kind of get the the bad ones out of the way early. uh so we can look forward to a better day and uh read something called the Daily Stoic. Takes about 3 minutes and uh about two hours after I wake up, I'm ready to go.
Okay. Uh well, we'll all try to find What time do you get up?
>> Well, uh probably pretty early like about 4:30.
4:30. Wouldn't want to miss anything happening out there, I guess. So, so, so let's move on. You've you we just talked about this book. This is the book on leadership. It's right here. Uh it's it's it's a spectacular book. It has over 5,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. So So in 5 minutes or less,
>> I paid all those guys.
>> Yes, that's a uh in five. But I do recommend you go get the book. This is this is a fabulous uh uh sort of recollection of what you've learned. But in sort of just a few minutes or less, what are your secrets, the biggest secrets to leadership skills?
Uh while leaving a few of them secrets, so we go buy the book.
>> Yeah. I don't know if there's any real secrets to it. It seems almost uh timeless when when you're in leadership positions as many of you have been. Uh but I was reminded this morning just we all need a morning like this, don't we? Where we get around people like this and we listen to Ricky. Uh and just uh I'm reminded that if you're if if you want to be a good leader, number one, don't ever take your success seriously. That's the biggest poison. you'll you'll stop learning. Every day is a school day as a leader and I'm reminded the older I get, the younger my teachers are. Uh and listening to young Ricky today was just was just uh motivating. It's all get out. I think uh one of the things is you got to be a good listener. Uh consistent with the scout values. You've got to put others first. That's what leaders do. Uh it's not about you, it's about the team. Uh, as Maline Albbright used to say, there's no us and them in the US Constitution. It's we the people. So you you you pull people together. You put others first. You remind yourself, too, you don't get to declare yourself a leader. I mean, you the president of the United States can commission you as an officer in the Marine Infantry and with the advice and consent of the Senate, you're now an officer and a gentleman. Your troops will tell you whether or not you're a leader and they'll be evaluating you every day. and they'll be evaluating you at times very unfairly, but welcome to leadership. Uh, so what you need to do is have a model. My model was player coach seemed to be the right model for me. And then I studied someone that goes back to one of Claudia's ancestors, uh, Dr. Rush, one of his colleagues, George Washington, who was truly, I think, the most boring leader I have ever studied. But I was wondering how did this officer uh take these free men across America and slaves who if they served for a certain number of years became free men and turn them into a disciplined army uh and beat the red coats, the best small army in the world that was going to humble Napoleon a few years later. You know, there was no guarantee we'd get this big experiment we call America. And that revolutionary army army was led by a man who believed in a leading philosophy of enabling others. Now he's a big commanding intimidating guy, but he taught himself to listen. And he does it as a young officer in the British forces. He does it as the general. He does it as president. And he would listen with a willingness to be persuaded, not just to listen and say, "Thank you. I'm going to go do what I'm going to do in the first place."
Uh you mentioned I'd commanded you know 200,000 US troops in central command. I also had 50,000 allied troops. The other countries had trusted us enough to put their troops under our command. Think about that. And I would caution my American officers. Not all the good ideas come from the country with the most aircraft carriers. Good ideas come from everywhere. And you're never too old, never too senior not to be wrong. So Washington would listen and he would learn. He stayed non-judgmental. He stayed curious. He didn't judge early. He was willing to be persuaded. But what was he really doing there? He was showing respect to others, subordinates, the French generals who came to advise him. Everybody he showed respect. And then would find a way to help them. Listen, learn, and then help. His troops at Valley Forge didn't have blankets, didn't have socks. went out, raised money, got money, used his own money, and bought him stuff. The fighting was bad. And remember, he gets defeated time after time. He'd always move to the worst part of the battlefield to reinforce his troops, keep them keep them fighting, and then he would lead. So listen, learn, help, lead. And it's never gone wrong whether I was dealing with somebody I call your majesty or Mr. Prime Minister or Mr. President. Uh, and it didn't go wrong when I was talking to Lance Corpals 18 years old in the infantry. People so young they got their name infant soldier, young soldier. That's how the infantry got its name. And most of those lads are not old enough to buy a beer legally in California. The little buggers figured out by the way, but but I would just tell you that listen, learn, help, lead, and be a player coach.
>> Fabulous. Fabulous. Uh speaking of leadership, in your in more touchy subject, but very interesting, right? In your resignation letter from uh Secretary of Defense, uh you stated that your views on treating allies with respect and also being cleareyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held. You are such a professional. uh tell us what led you to this point to write a letter with such clear words and and would you do anything different today?
>> No, I I don't look back. I wouldn't do anything different. I would just tell you I was raised by the greatest generation and they taught us that uh serving your country is a privilege and a responsibility. Uh whether it's Republican or Democrat, if you're asked to serve, if you're ready to serve, you go in and serve. But I'm also from the American West and I don't trifle with