Through the bitter prism of experience and pain.
There is a new blog up with advice for JO’s-a part of the Navy’s lifeblood-called JO Rules. It is full of helpful advice for both Junior and Senior Officers too. Even if it is written from what appears to be a black shoe view point.
He has one post up, Red Flags of Stupid , which I viewed with a special poignancy-given that all of us, at some point in a Naval Career have checked at least one or two ( if not all) of these warnings;
If you’re drinking and decide that it’s time to tell someone how you really feel, you’re about to do something stupid. There is a reason you don’t say this stuff when you’re sober– probably because it is a terrible idea. I think most people get that telling off the boss is an equally bad idea regardless of your BAC. This saw cuts both ways though– slobbering all over your guys about how honored you are to serve with them is no way to communicate respect. Tell them this when you are sober.
Or this sage bit of advice (learned by me the hard way):
If you’re making an irrevocable decision from an emotional state, you’re about to do something stupid.Emotions are the mortal enemy of rational decision making. They can be intoxicating like alcohol, and have the troublesome tendency to make it seem necessary to make the decision “Right Now, while I still feel this way.” Examples include dropping the resignation letter right after an uncharacteristically bad day/week/month, or proposing marriage just before leaving for deployment. Just wait. If its really a good decision, it will still be a good decision tomorrow.
Read the rest-its worth your time. If you have JO’s working for you ( or other employees), its worth passing around.