I recently spoke to the partners and employees of SynFiny, a Cincinnati-based global consulting firm, about my leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs.  I was asked to talk specifically about how to change corporate culture.  I began my talk by asking an important question, “What do you do, and what steps do you take, […]

It was my privilege to speak to a group of about forty or so business leaders at the McKinsey Leadership Forum.  Other speakers included my friends Admiral (Retired) Eric Olson, former Commander of the U. S. Special Operations Command, and Beth Colbert, former McKinsey Partner and Head of Office of Personnel Management when I was […]

Monday morning I was up at 5:30 a.m. in my hotel room in the Hyatt Regency Kyiv in Ukraine.  I exercised in the hotel fitness center and cleaned up.  I met my host John Boestler, CEO of Combined Arms, at 8:30 a.m.  We were driven to the veterans hospital Lisova Polyana in the Obolonsky district […]

Bob McDonald was recently interviewed by UATV during his visit to Ukraine to talk more about how the year-old The Ministry for Veterans Affairs can model itself after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. McDonald who is the former CEO of Procter & Gamble, and, the eighth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs shared insight […]

On this Independence Day, July 4, 2019, let’s recommit ourselves to serving others, to a higher purpose, which is what has made our country great.  At President Kennedy’s Inaugural Address on January 20, 1961, he said these famous words, “And so, my fellow Americans:  ask not what your country can do for you — ask […]

Last week participants gathered for an opening session at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, where they heard from President George W. Bush, General Peter Pace, former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald, and former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, among others. Participants were selected after a rigorous application and review […]

Last week I flew to Washington, D. C. and drove to the Westin Hotel in Annapolis, Maryland, to attend the 5th annual Service Academies Global Summit.  I was going to represent RallyPoint and also to speak.  The conference began with a reception.  Attending the Summit were graduates and current students of all of the nation’s […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zMwcc6fsWA A special thank you goes out to RegularVeteran.com | twitter.com/RegularVeteran | instagram.com/RegularVeteran | Facebook.com/RegularVeteran for doing such a great job hosting this video blog!

I was so proud of my colleagues at the VA.  They shared their data which demonstrated a continual decline in the usage of opioids and an increase in alternative treatments for pain management that include acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, and whole health coaching.  Dr. Robert Sproul, Pharmacy Pain Program Manager and a leading voice nationally, […]

Thursday morning Diane and I were up before 6 a.m.  I was suffering a cold, so I slept in rather than exercised.  Plus, I wanted to get ready for the day’s events.  We went down to the Washington Room of the Thayer Hotel, where we met Claudia Phillips, who is Director of Events for the […]