August 23rd, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Great leaders simplify the goal and align the team. How do you crack the code for managing complexity? Few things are more complex than a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. USS Nimitz is a small city of 5,000 people with two nuclear reactors and a runway on top. … Read more
August 16th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) A skill that worked yesterday may fail you tomorrow. How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends without chasing every shiny object? I learned this lesson flying the Super Hornet. I had spent most of my fighter life in the F-14 Tomcat. I knew that airplane. … Read more
August 9nd, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes) Great leaders learn new tools without surrendering judgment. I was 42 years old when I was told I was going to nuclear power school. I had spent my career in naval aviation. I understood fighters, carriers, squadrons, pilots, maintainers, and flight operations at sea. Nuclear power … Read more
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