As a member of the military I have realized that I need to be more careful than most with my words. I am vulnerable to bringing home damaging words and phrases, even tones of voice that seem normal at work, but at home are disastrous. Part of my readiness to deploy includes my need to be sure my family knows how much I love and value them. So it is best if I don’t say anything that I later need to correct in case I have to leave at short notice. I know the responsibility of leadership and I want my wife and children to live vibrant lives and not be crushed.

I think I’m like a lot of military professionals in that I pride myself in being able to make a good plan. After all, I’ve had over 20 years of training and practice in making plan after plan and having them tested, refined, tested again, criticized, tested again, refined and the final test of all, executed. We in the military should be good at making plans, and not just one plan either. We have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C, each of which have branches (contingency plans) and sequels (follow on plans) – all designed to ensure that when we set out to achieve our mission, our execution is robust and effective. The success of our plans in achieving a mission is where the rubber hits the road in the military. It can accelerate or decelerate our careers. It can lead to honor or to shame. Plans are pretty important, and I haven’t restricted my planning only to what I do in the military.