• By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Beyond Legacy Thinking

Download PDF Here Introduction Transforming acquisition into a true Warfighting Acquisition System requires abandoning legacy thinking and applying a standardized, proven Organizational Development (OD) approach grounded in maneuver warfare principles. Shackleton Group’s Corporate Maneuver Warfare® provides that pathway, translating time-tested warfighting logic into disciplined execution that delivers real speed to the fight, not incremental improvement. […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Organizational & Professional Development

Introduction Organizations, much like living organisms, evolve continuously—with or without guidance from leadership. The difference is not whether change occurs, but whether it is intentional. This article introduces the core ideas behind Organizational & Professional Development (O&PD) and why a disciplined, practical approach is essential for leaders who want to achieve consistent, sustainable results. Why […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

From Apathy to Atrophy

Why Mission Focus Matters for Your People and Your SystemsBy Ed Gilchrist & Mike Westman Apathy within an organization is a sure warning sign of things to come, and the slide from apathy to atrophy can happen very quickly. When people lose sight of the mission, it doesn’t just hurt morale. It chips away at […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Restructuring Doesn’t Have To Suck!

Whether leading a small team or running a huge organization, chances are at some point you thought “There’s gotta be a better way to organize.” Maybe you’ve even sketched out org charts at your desk exploring different ideas. If that sounds familiar, this is worth your time. Trying to solve structural challenges in isolation rarely […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Big City Driving

An excerpt from Chapter Eleven of our upcoming book: ‘Suits, Guitars & 3D Glasses, A Practical Guide to Corporate Maneuver Warfare’ He’d spent every morning that summer with his hero, and for that 10-year-old boy, riding around the farm sitting on the passenger end of that long bench seat was the stuff of dreams.  The […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Home-Grown Facilitators

A Great Way to Enable Cooperation, Buy-In & Accountability! So, you’ve identified a particular set of objectives for your organization, and you want your team’s help in defining the best way to accomplish them.  This could be a great opportunity to hand-pick and develop a facilitator by choosing from within your ranks, but it’s crucial […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

3 Steps to Making Tough Calls in the Virtual Environment

Originally Published in Fast Company. From the cockpit of a Marine helicopter landing at night on a pitching and rolling deck of a carrier, to the seeming quiet of a boardroom subtly coaxing a new leader towards a preferred course of action, it has become increasingly clear to me how difficult it is for leaders […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Mastering Facilitation Fundamentals…FIRST!

Originally Published by Training Magazine.  “Gentlemen…this is a football!” Every year in late summer, rookies, walk-ons and old-timers alike would assemble on a training field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The anxiety and tension were palpable as they gathered around the veteran coach in hopes of gleaning some football wisdom from him and maybe even having some […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Leading and Participating in a Virtual Environment

Originally Published in HR Future Magazine. It’s time to dust off your virtual environment skills, and no it not just like riding a bike! Unfortunately, it’s more like skiing after having skipped a couple of seasons. You get back on the slope way too confident before finding out the hard way just how much those […]

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  • By Mike Westman & Ed Gillcrist

Creating a Culture of Leadership

Originally published by the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. “Break hard right now!” the crew chief of the search-and-rescue helicopter yelled over the radio. Until that moment, the flight had been relatively uneventful. The weather was good, and the five-person crew had executed this same routine several times a week. The crew chief’s words shattered the […]

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