Last week, on a flight from Dallas to Nashville, I sat next to a young Army Captain named Drew. I normally don’t talk to the people on the plane. I usually have too much work to do. But I had had a long day, and I was ready for a change of pace.
Drew and I had a fascinating discussion about Iraq, American politics, and what he had learned at West Point and two tours of duty in Iraq.
Our conversation eventually turned to leadership. He knew this subject inside and out. He didn’t have the kind of theoretical, text-book knowledge that you often hear from MBA’s who’ve read the literature but never actually done the work.
Instead, he had the kind of real-world leadership experience that you only get in battle, when the stakes are high, and the bullets are flying. He was only 30, but he had twenty years worth of experience. I was impressed.
In: 
Tags: 
