August 2nd, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Your organization cannot stay sharp if you stop growing. How do you stay sharp when the world keeps changing? When I was flying the F-14 Tomcat, yesterday’s skill was not enough. I could have a great hop on Monday and need to be better on Tuesday. … Read more
July 26th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) The numbers tell a story. Leaders need to learn how to read it. Building Financial Acumen Have you ever sat in a meeting and heard people throw around terms like ROI, EBITDA, cash flow, accrual, P&L, and balance sheet? Everyone around the table nods. You nod … Read more
July 19th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Great leaders handle today without losing sight of the mission. Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals How do you handle what is right in front of you without losing sight of where you are going? In June of 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz faced a decision with no … Read more
July 12th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Integrity is often tested through relationships. Most conflicts of interest start with good people trying to decide between loyalty to a person or organization and the integrity required to lead effectively – e.g. between loyalty and leadership. Maybe you’re trying to help a friend or a … Read more
July 5th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Leadership requires both judgment and courage. It was March 2009. I was Captain of USS Nimitz. We were conducting workups in the Pacific after a lengthy maintenance period, preparing the ship and crew for deployment. It was about two o’clock in the morning. The carrier was … Read more
June 28th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Leadership requires courage before certainty. In November 2012, I was commanding Carrier Strike Group 8 aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. We’d been in the Arabian Gulf since June – seven months of operations. Admiral Bill Gortney gave me a choice: keep us in theater for over … Read more
June 21st, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Emotional intelligence turns authority into influence. How do you lead with emotional intelligence? You lead with awareness. You pay attention to the person in front of you. You control your own reaction before shaping theirs. People think emotional intelligence is soft. It is not. It is … Read more
June 14th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) The next pass matters more than the last miss. How do you build resilience in your team? You let them face hard things. Then you teach them how to recover. I learned that lesson the hard way. I had shut down my aircraft and climbed down … Read more
June 7th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) You can’t get those moments back. Seek Work-Life Balance “What does real balance look like?” Let me show you. We were driving from Escondido to North Island. Thirty minutes. No one said a word. Not me. Not Kelly. Not the kids. They knew. I was leaving … Read more
May 31st, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) When everything feels important, nothing gets done. Balancing Competing Priorities “How do you handle competing priorities?” Every leader faces it. Everything feels important. Everything feels urgent. And everything is competing—for you. I’ve been there. Multiple missions. Limited time. Fitting in important tasks before going flying for … Read more