Great character is tough to define in the abstract, but simple to determine when it’s embodied in the lives of great individuals. In order to illuminate what worthwhile character looks like, my visitor today has actually composed a book which consists of profiles of 10 of history’s most significant admirals, marking out both their inspiring and problematic qualities, along with how these qualities intersected with their ability to lead. His name is Admiral James Stavridis, he served as the leader of United States Southern Command, United States European Command, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and is now the dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. On today’s show, the admiral speak about a lot of the figures in his latest book, Cruising Real North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character, consisting of Themistocles, Sir Francis Drake, Horatio Nelson, and Chester Nimitz. We have a look at what these people succeeded, what they did improperly, and how their qualities, choices, qualities, and overall ethical compass affected their leadership and impact.

Program Emphasizes

• The distinction between leadership and character (and why they’re frequently incorrectly utilized interchangeably)
• The complicated reality of human nature, and how we can learn even from failures of character and management
• Who was Themistocles? What can we gain from him?
• What about ancient Chinese commander Zheng He?
• Sir Francis Drake’s decisiveness
• Why Horatio Nelson was maybe the best admiral of perpetuity
• What we can gain from the scholastic Alfred Thayer Mahan
• Why was Chester Nimitz the “admiral’s admiral”?
• Grace Hopper and the power of intellectual interest

Resources/People/Articles Mentioned in Podcast

• My first interview with Admiral Stavridis
• Pol Pot
• 43 Books About War Every Guy Should Check Out
• 36 Books Every Young and Ambitious Male Must Check Out
• Themistocles
• Zheng He
• Sir Francis Drake
• Horatio Nelson
• How Leaders Build Great Teams
• Should a Man Be Influenced By History?
• AoM series on resiliency
• The Impact of Sea Power on History
• Admiral Grace Hopper
• How to Be an Imaginative Genius Like da Vinci

Connect With Admiral James Stavridis

Admiral Stavridis on Twitter

Admiral Stavridis’ site

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