Dear A, 

It's November 28th and we're closing in on the last month of 2025.  Let's make it a great one.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday and you were able to be surrounded by family and friends.  Hopefully, it was a time to reflect and be filled with gratitude.  

Here's what I'm exploring this week...

AUDIO BOOK I'M LISTENING TO...

Zero Minus Ten by Raymond Benson. I remember reading this James Bond thriller more than twenty years ago during an overseas flights to one of my first assignments for CIA. It popped up in my audio book recommendations and I had to give it a listen. Benson was authorized by the Ian Fleming estate to carry on the tradition of writing James Bond novels. This was his first attempt and it stays in line with tradition. A short, but fun, listen.

HOLIDAY MOVIE I'M WATCHING...

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. This is the best - and one of the few - movies about Thanksgiving. Steve Martin and the late great John Candy give so...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Turkey with a Side of Intellectual Firepower

Dear A,

The Thanksgiving holiday takes place in the United States. It is a day to gather around the dinner table with loved ones and give thanks for all that is good in our lives (and eat large quantities of turkey meat with a bunch of side dishes). And, while the world can seem like a mean and nasty place sometimes, there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for. As an example, my 90-year old father is fond of saying, "Every day I look in the newspaper at the obituary pages... if I don't see my name in there, it's the best day of my life!" You gotta love his sense of gratitude.

I am certainly thankful for my family, my friends, my health, as well as all of you who have supported SMI over the years. Therefore, to show my appreciation, please allow me to share with you our annual "Black Friday" special promotion.

For our international friends, "Black Frid...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

“You don't understand the strength of a team until you are pushed beyond your limits.”

— Gene Kranz

Dear A,

When an oxygen tank exploded aboard Apollo 13 on April 13, 1970, 200,000 miles from Earth, the three astronauts aboard — Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise — were suddenly fighting for their lives. What was supposed to be NASA’s third lunar landing instantly became a desperate struggle for survival. Back in Houston, a 37-year-old flight director named Gene Kranz and his team of engineers faced a crisis unlike anything they had ever trained for. Yet through composure, preparation, and leadership under pressure, they achieved the impossible: bringing the astronauts home safely.

Kranz was the leader of what NASA called the “White Team,” part of a rotation of mission control units responsible for different shifts. Internally, they were known as the “Tiger Team,” a handpicked group of enginee...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Endure It... Stop Complaining

“If it is endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Dear A,

Life is not fair. It never has been. It’s tough, unpredictable, and brutally competitive — and that’s exactly what makes it worth living. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor who wrote those words nearly two thousand years ago, understood something timeless: the world doesn’t care about your excuses. It only responds to your actions.

That’s the essence of CARVER Leadership.

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius faced wars, betrayal, and plague — yet he refused to let external chaos dictate his internal strength. He understood that endurance is not resignation. It’s power. It’s choosing to remain steady while the world tests your resolve.

CARVER Leadership teaches that same principle. The “C”...

Dear A,

It was a busy week with a lot of commuting between Sarasota and Tampa.

Here's what I'm exploring this week...

AUDIO BOOK I'M LISTENING TO...

Failure is Not an Option by Gene Kranz. I own a hardcopy of this book. However, as I am delivering an emergency response course in a few weeks I thought I would revisit the book's powerful lessons while I drive. Kranz and his team at NASA are American heroes who define what it means to lead during uncertainty and take big risks. Landing a man on the moon truly remains as one of our greatest human achievements. Kranz pulls back the curtain on the type of leadership it took to endure all the challenges.

STUDY I'M EXCITED ABOUT...

The Mindset that Helps You Live to 85. A 30 year study of 71,000 adults found that people with the most optimistic outlook are up to 70% more likely to live to age 85 or beyond, regardless of their health habits. The effect held for both men and women and across different levels of health and ...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

 3 Words that Change EVERYTHING

“The difference in people's lives is the difference in their standards.”

- Tony Robbins

Dear A,

My old high school football coach, John Sprague, gave me some of the best advice I ever received in the form of three simple words: Raise your standards.

That phrase changed everything for me. It’s a reminder that if you don’t like where you are in life — change it. If you don’t like your body, raise your standards. If you don’t like your job, raise your standards. If you don’t like the people you spend time with, raise your standards. You can have almost anything you want in life if you’re willing to work for it — but first, you must expect more from yourself.

Raising your standards isn’t about perfection. It’s about refusing to settle. It means looking at the results you’re getting and realizing that they are a direct reflection of what you’ve been willing to tolerat...

Dear A, 

I'm looking forward to spending time with family and friends this evening and taking my little guy tricker-treating (he's Spiderman).   

Here's what I'm exploring this week...  

BOOK I'M READING...

Taking Religion Seriously by Charles Murray. This is Murray’s autobiographical reflection on his decades-long journey toward understanding God in general and Christianity in particular. He contends that faith can — and should — be examined through rigorous intellectual inquiry. Along the way, he weaves together insights from cosmology and the improbable conditions of the Big Bang, the emerging science of consciousness, and perspectives from evolutionary psychology, all pointing to the possibility of a universal Moral Law. His examination of Christianity engages deeply with questions of Gospel authorship, the reliability of biblical texts, and the scholarly debates surrounding the resurrection. In short, not only can science not disprove the existence of God, but it ac...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Adapt or Die

“There are two options... adapt or die.”

- Andy Grove

Dear A,

Change is not a threat. It is the price of progress. History has shown that those who resist change do not merely fall behind... they disappear. In an era defined by artificial intelligence and rapid technology shifts, the message is clear: adapt or die.

Nature has followed this rule since the beginning of life. The dinosaurs did not choose extinction. The dodo did not intend to vanish. They simply failed to evolve fast enough for a changing environment. Modern society is no different. What feels comfortable today becomes obsolete tomorrow. The only way to thrive is to continuously learn, grow, and evolve.

Kodak provides a powerful example. Once the undisputed leader in film photography, Kodak actually invented the first digital camera in 1975. Instead of embracing innovation, leadership suppressed it, fearing it would ...

Dear A, 

I spent the week catching up on a backlog of emails.  Somedays I feel like my job consists of sitting in front of a keyboard just responding to requests.  I don't mind it... but, I find that I can only do it every few days (otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do other things that need to get done). 

Here's what I'm exploring this week... 

TRIP I WANT TO TAKE...

The Orient Express. Ever since I read Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express as a kid, I have always wanted to spend a night on the classic luxury train. I found this video that has only peaked my desire even more. I can't wait to have an incredible dinner - in my tux - with my wife on this "must do" item from my bucket list.

RESTAURANT I'M TRYING...

Michael's on East. Today is my wife and I's anniversary. As such, I am taking her to our favorite local restaurant. Michael's has been under renovation for some time now, so we're anxious to see the new decor.

STUDY I'M CONSIDERING...

The Truth...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

The Einstein Mindset Shift

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

- Albert Einstein

Dear A,

We all face moments that test us - the deal that falls through, the argument that cuts deep, the failure that stings. Our natural instinct in those moments is to ask, “How do I get out of this?” 

We look for an escape route. A quick fix. A way to make the discomfort stop. But Einstein’s wisdom points us toward a better question — one that transforms struggle into strength: “What is this teaching me?”

When we ask “How do I get out?”, we’re focused on survival. When we ask “What is this teaching me?”, we shift toward growth. That single change in perspective turns pain into purpose. It changes the narrative from victimhood to agency. Instead of being trapped in the problem, we start learning from it.

Think of the difference between reacting and reflecting. Reaction closes doors. Reflection op...