Where is leadership when you need it?

"The beauty of the military is every commander has to make decisions about what to prosecute and how," Markley said. "Every commander out there is deciding, 'Is this the highest priority for my attention?' "

Even now, he said, he has not been asked by his superiors to take action to safeguard the tests.

"Nobody has come to me and said, 'Solve this problem,' " he said.

The quote above are from Colonel James C. Markley, the senior officer in charge of the testing center.

If the Army knew of cheating going on, if the cheating contributes to personnel being improperly trained and readied for operations, why should this continue?

Markley, by his own statement, does not see this in his scope of responsibility. That might be part of the problem.

What do you think?


Read the full Boston Globe report, the result of five months of investigation here.

If a Belicheck could check a signal, how many signals would he check?

Gee Bill, how could you:

"Earlier this week, I spoke with Commissioner Goodell about a videotaping procedure during last Sunday's game and my interpretation of the rules. At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling. Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players. Following the league's decision, I will have further comment."

Or said in so many other words from one of your 'favorite' players:

"I think that the Patriots live by the saying, 'If you're not cheating, you're not trying,'" San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson was quoted as saying Tuesday. "I'm not surprised because you keep hearing the different stories (and) people complaining about the stuff that they do."

This is so sad. Trust has just vanished!

When I go to Gillette Stadium to watch the NE Revolution play I will have trouble looking at the Super Bowl banners hung high around the stadium and wonder:

If a Belichick could check a signal, how many signals would a Belichick check?



Oh, I should update my Business Lessons from the Patriots now that we can add cheating to the mix.

Business Lessons from the Patriots

Harvard Business School as a review of the new book on the Patriot's: Patriot Reign: Bill Belichick, the Coaches, and the Players Who Built a Champion by Michael Holley.

I'll have to put it on my list (already growing long) of books to read this year.

In the mean time, let me share some thoughts on what I have been witnessing and tie to what I heard during the broadcast of the Patriot-Steelers game last night. The commentators were remarking on how Belichick has developed this team. He finds good players, each player has a role, emphasizing how each player participates in each game. And they were saying all this as if the rest of the NFL didn't, in fact, going so far as to say others were now considering this.

There are a number of business folks who say that is it more important to have the right people on the bus than to have people on the bus. NFL players do not come as cheaply as office workers. To have some number of them just practice and not play is certainly a waste. Why are they there? Why doesn't the rest of the NFL do what the Patriot's do? Probably for the same reasons as why the rest of the business world does not. Some get it, some don't.

So, the bottom line for the today's business lesson reinforced by the success of the New England Patriot's: Set a goal, get good players, ensure each knows their role, ensure each does their thing each day/game, regroup after and review what was done and what is required for the next time. The positive reinforcement of this process is self-fulfilling. Walk the talk. And who knows how far your team will go!

I believe that the Patriot's will continue to go as far as they want to go as long as Bill Belichick is leading the way.

Go Patriot's!

How far he will continue to go will be questioned now that he has admitted to cheating.
updated 9/12/07