Golden Nuggets: a Practitioner’S Reflections on Leadership, Management and Life

By Dr. Raymond A. Shulstad

Golden Nuggets is a compendium of time tested, proven principles and best practices for leadership and management. While all of them have a theoretical basis, they are derived from the authors experience gained over a 45 year professional career with military and industry. They truly are reflections in leadership and management from a real practitioners perspective. Specific examples of how the principles and best practices were applied are presented, but generic lessons learned are derived that have wide ranging applicability. Leaders and managers at all levels will find this book interesting and a valuable reference.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469145471

Dr. Raymond A. Shulstad

Dr. Raymond A. Shulstad, Brigadier General, USAF, Retired Ray Shulstad is an independent consultant to industry and government for a broad range of topics, including organizational management and leadership, research and development, and systems engineering and acquisition. He is retired Air Force general officer and industry executive with more than 20 years of experience in leading and managing projects and organizations. His publications include Peace Is My Profession (National Defense University Press, (1986), a book that deals with the moral dimensions of US nuclear policy. More recently, he has published several landmark articles on leadership and management.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by Dr. Raymond A. Shulstad.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2012900084

ISBN:   Hardcover      978-1-4691-4546-4

            Softcover        978-1-4691-4545-7

            eBook             978-1-4691-4547-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 02/10/2014

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

592226

REVIEWS AND TESTIMONIALS

Regarding Perspectives on Leadership and Management

. . . I can testify first hand that he practices what he preaches. And I can tell you that his leadership and management principles and practices really work and can help individuals and organizations fulfill their potential and achieve exceedingly high levels of performance.

Ray has the rare ability to effectively adapt the theory of leadership and management to real life problems, organizations, and most importantly to people. He has a laser focus on results and that permeates his leadership philosophy.

Richard J. Byrne

Senior Vice President and General Manager

The Command and Control Center

The MITRE Corporation

Regarding Leading and Managing through Influence

What I like best was that years later, you and Mael reflected on the work and decomposed the key factors contributing to success, in a way that students in much different fields could apply the same principles to challenges they face in high-stakes interdisciplinary projects where leadership by coalition is the only way to get things done. I’d recommend this article to classrooms where project management and leadership are taught, at undergraduate, graduate, or professional level, for sure!

David A. Herrelko

Brigadier General (retired), USAF

Professor, University of Dayton, 2000-2008

Vice Commander, Aeronautical Systems Center, 1998-1999

. . . it was his credibility with leadership at all levels, his exceptional ability to communicate to the most senior leaders or to engineers in the trenches, and his exceptional leadership talents and managerial skills that were the keys. He provided leadership to a previously loosely connected bunch of folks that each knew they had a piece, but weren’t really connected to the whole or the other pieces… his leadership, credibility, communication skills brought this team together and created the environment that allowed them to see the big picture, their part in it, and made them want to do their piece and do it well. In the environment we were in, no one could have forced this to happen—orders, directives, and force of will wouldn’t have worked—it was leadership that made this happen, and in the situation we operated in, without the kind of leadership General Shulstad brought to the party, we could not and would not have succeeded.

Richard D. Mael

Lieutenant Colonel (retired), USAF

Project Manager, ICBM Fuses

Booz, Allen & Hamilton

. . . . Gen Shulstad and Rick Mael do a great job in the article laying out the challenges of leading an acquisition effort in a matrixed environment and one that requires cooperation from a host of outside stakeholders… . General Shulstad offers good advice (in context) on obtaining cooperation and teamwork; communicating; building trust & respect; removing barriers; and building and executing the plan… . The article offers good, foundational, and practical techniques for leading and managing in tough collaborative environments. I’m especially drawn to the detailed planning, fact finding, and performance-to-the-plan actions taken by the General and Rick.

Colonel Clarence Johnson Jr, USAF

Vice Commander, 498th Nuclear Systems Wing

Your article… was translated into Spanish and… distributed to the Air Forces of all Latin American countries and to many regional libraries, universities and defense related institutions. On their behalf, I would like to thank you for your highly articulate and thought provoking contribution…

Luis F. Fuentes

Colonel (Retired), USAF

Editor, Air and Space Power Journal—Spanish

"Dr Raymond A. Shulstad and LtCol Richard Mael’s article… has significant value for executive officers and others serving in similar jobs… . In my opinion… to attain those objectives, effective executive officers can follow the advice of Dr. Shulstad and LtCol Mael by 1) obtaining commitments; 2) taking charge; 3) securing cooperation; 4) opening and maintaining lines of communication; 5) building trust and respect; 6) removing barriers; and 7) building and executing plans.’

Jose Angeles

LtCol USAF

Regarding Cursor on Target: Inspiring Innovation to Revolutionize Air Force Command and Control

In this article, Ray Shulstad tells a compelling story of the power of technology inspired by a Concept of Operations that puts technology to work directly for commanders. No endless list of requirements, no overreach for impossible technology. Using a simple organizing principle of Cursor on Target allowed everyone to visualize the same goal and focus on a comprehensive solution. There is no better example of engineers, industry, operators and commanders being on the same page and delivering technology that has saved many lives on the battlefield. We need more of the same!

John P. Jumper

General (Retired), USAF

Chief of Staff United States Air Force, 2001-2005

No question that Ray demanded a response to the 4 stars’ complaints/challenges. We had been to many past conferences where we sat through their talks but no real action occurred afterward. The expectation Ray placed on people to respond rapidly to the challenge was the catalyst. To underscore this point, none of the existing programs that were run by the AF and MITRE leads chose to change anything after the conference to respond to the challenge. In fact some programs were ‘against’ these rapid initiatives and got on board only after the 4 stars/VIPs gave the thumbs up on them.

Richard J. Byrne

Senior Vice President and General Manager

The Command and Control Center

The MITRE Corporation

Regarding Golden Nuggets: A Practitioner’s Reflections on Leadership, Management and Life

"Ray Shulstad’s, Golden Nuggets, is a blend of lessons learned through a lifetime of practical experience in the program management arena and tried and true axioms from the study of leadership in both large and small organizations. General Shulstad has walked the talk and does a superb job of presenting the material in an interesting and useful manner. I recommend this as an addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in the study and art of leadership."

Ronald R. Fogleman

General (Retired), USAF

Chief of Staff United States Air Force 1994-1997

"Ray Shulstad has put into words on paper what it takes to be an outstanding leader and manager. His antidotal stories accurately put ideas and actions into solutions of difficult problems. I can attest to Ray’s skills having been a partner and colleague of his for many years. Each day was a pleasure to work side by side with him to accomplish our goals. His positive attitude and team leadership excelled and enabled him to succeed where others failed. The book uses firsthand knowledge to help the reader understand the problems and see the actual results happen when credibility, integrity, communication skills and just plain hard work win the day. Golden Nuggets will inspire and motivate anyone aspiring to senior levels of responsibility and success. He certainly applied the arts and science of leadership and management and in this book tells others how to do the same."

Gordon E. Fornell

Lieutenant General (Retired), USAF

Commander Electronic Systems Center, 1988-1993

I had the pleasure of working closely with Ray Shulstad from 2001 to 2006, observing his leadership and management style. Ray has an impressive ability to motivate and direct an organization by flowing a vision down to day-to-day operation, and inspiring all to contribute by the way he communicates about it. He has a knack for engaging his leadership team in setting strategy aligned with the vision and responsive to key current mission needs, making plans accordingly, and then regularly checking status and adjusting as needed. It was obvious that his skills had been honed by years of experience, and I’m glad that he’s taken on the challenge of sharing his experience and lessons learned with others—we will all benefit.

Dr. Louis S. Metzger

Chief Engineer, the MITRE Corporation

Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force, 1999-2001

Ray Shulstad has given us a constructive view of great leadership principles. He lived them himself and has graciously shared the triumphs and the pitfalls of leading large technical organizations, so that others can benefit. A lot to learn from reading this book!

Leslie F. Kenne

Lieutenant General (Retired), USAF

I have known General Shulstad for over 34 years. I never worked for or with him in his top management positions, but I certainly followed his career closely ever since we worked together on the Air Staff in the 1970’s. I have the greatest respect for his considerable talent as a manager and leader and for his obvious ability to pass along his golden nuggets via the written word. Of all the nuggets he wrote about, the greatest was that of integrity being the bedrock of character. General Shulstad epitomized integrity and strength of character in the entirety of his military and civilian careers. My wish is that there would be a magical resurgence of his kind of integrity within all aspects of the political, economic and social fabric of our country. I believe that if there are enough Ray Shulstads out there, my wish can come true.

John D. Haskins

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), USAF

Ray Shulstad’s book is right on the mark. His focus is on people and giving them the tools and guidance they need to be successful. The stories bring his philosophy to life and show how it can be done. A must read for those serious about leadership and gaining insight in how to inspire and motivate.

William R. Looney

General (Retired), USAF

Commander, Air Education and Training Command, 2005-2008

"I have known Ray Shulstad for over twenty years as a friend, professional colleague, Air Force customer, later as my handpicked choice to run MITRE’s Colorado Springs operations and finally as my replacement to lead MITRE’s Air Force Center. He is a superb leader who is widely respected. Golden Nuggets is intensely autobiographical but is an extremely insightful treatment of leadership and management best practices that will be useful to today’s and tomorrow’s potential leaders. His integrity and thoughtfulness are apparent throughout the book. He is right on the mark with his emphasis on the importance of understanding personality types, the necessity of distinguishing between action and activity and in using metrics linked in a meaningful way to goals. Golden Nuggets will be included on our recommended reading list for our graduate courses in leadership and management here at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD)."

Dr Harold W. Sorenson

Professor of Engineering Systems UCSD

Chief Scientist of the Air Force, 1985-1988

Ray Shulstad is a successful leader in the military and in business. In this compact volume, he distills 45 years of practical leadership experience into basic principles and useful examples that are a wonderful guide to the art of leadership and management.

Marty Faga

The MITRE Corporation

President and CEO, 2001-2006

"Dr. Ray Shulstad’s book, Golden Nuggets, provides graduate business students the chance to learn through his vast wisdom and experiences. The vignettes describe how to apply business theory to real world situations. Dr. Shulstad’s passion to share valuable lessons in leadership is revealed in this exceptional book with practical application."

Dr. Lorrie McGovern

MBA Director

Donald R. Tapia School of Business

Saint Leo Univeristy

As long as I have known Ray, some 45+ years, I have never known him to not tell it like it is. This book does just that on multiple subject areas both professional and personal. His Perspective on Leadership & Management could serve as a course outline and be further expanded to cover many principles of leadership and management that are being lost in today’s Air Force. And just for the record, in his earlier years this outstanding leader and manager could set and run a mean Pick and Roll."

Frank J. Grosso

Col(Retired) USAF

Vice President & General Manager

Defense Systems Division

Dynamics Research Corporation

. . . . Gratifyingly, Golden Nuggets is written in such a way that one can readily follow Dr. Shulstad’s reasoning on various topics. Furthermore, his use of plain, straightforward language facilitates the reader’s understanding of the author’s practical insights into leadership, management, and a successful career. Indeed, after all is said and done, one wishes for more pages to read. I highly recommend this book to all career-minded professionals. Learning from Dr. Shulstad’s experiences is not only enjoyable but also essential to advancement in today’s competitive world.

Dr. Amir S. Gohardani

Aerospace Engineer

Stockholm, Sweden

Great reading! It should be required reading for all program and project managers, especially in DoD, NASA, other government agencies, and their contractors! Much more would be accomplished with our tax dollars, and there would be much less ‘jousting with windmills’.

Chuck Wohl

Retired Aerospace Professional

I worked with Ray Shulstad as a fellow corporate officer at the MITRE Corporation for over five years and was always impressed with his exceptional commitment to the mission and his people… Ray’s focus on strategy and his unique ability to get the entire team involved in implementing it enabled his organizations to achieve extraordinary levels of performance and innovation. He was deeply respected and highly regarded by his people, his bosses and his customers.

Al Grasso

President & CEO

The MITRE Corporation

Dr. Ray’s book is a digest of life experiences only an extraordinary leader can disseminate to potential leaders. Ray verbalizes his experiences into life situations that shows how to manage success and downfalls into skills needed to lead and manage people and conditions as a dependable, trustworthy leader. His book is unique in the real experiences the author lived and the choices he made that molded him into a superior leader. Ray’s book should be required reading for all levels of management courses as a complement to the required textbook.

Frank Tedeschi

Retired Business Owner, College Professor and Entrepreneur

"Thank you for you January 14, 2013 letter and the opportunity to review your new book, Golden Nuggets. As a true believer in the power of innovation, I