by Michael F. McNamara | Jan 24, 2026 | Decision Making, Leadership
My interest in decision-making is rooted in watching my Father, who was a professional baseball manager, make dedisions in baseball games. It was a daily thing I did as a kid as I tried to understand what my Dad did during a baseball game… how he tried to engineer in-game matchups to his team’s favor that would help them win. That bias was in my head as I watched Marine Corps lieutenants that we trained in Quantico struggle to be decision-makers in a very unique world that nothing really prepared them for. This class was an attempt to prepare them for that world… and I’ve always enjoyed the subject… decision-making in real time… in a dynamic environment… where the leader only has a fraction of the information required… yet has to make a decision NOW! And then has to make subsequent decisions to turn the event into a Win. Fascinating stuff to me.
I concieved of, and then began teaching this class, in Quantico, Virginia at The Infantry Officer’s Course in the summer of 1990 if memory serves me correctly. The class sought to remedy a gap in the instruction of infantry lieutenants… and that was that they received absolutely zero instruction on the unique world they were entering as decision makers… a world that was nothing like anything they’d done in their lives.
It was a hit from the first time I taught it. I recently presented the class at the Virginia Military Institute at the request of their Superintendent, LtGen David J. Furness, USMC (ret). When I arrived home, I recreated the class on video and thought I’d share it.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO
The class seeks to give any student embarking on a career as a military leader a basic understanding of:
- Decision-making in the very unique world they’ve entered
- The role TIme plays in decision-making… that all decision-making takes place IN-TIME
- The role of the Combat Orders Process in communicating a decision
- Our duty as leaders, to make decisions and issue orders in a timely manner so that the people risking their lives to execute these orders have the time to disseminate the order, back brief the order and then rehearse so that their execution is as deliberate as it can be
CLASS OUTLINE:
- INTRODUCTION: Col Antony Zinni, USMC —- “Making the wrong decision is never the problem… the worst thing that can happen IS HAPPENING… you’re making NO DECISION.”
- PART 1: The Leader Who Saved the Union at Gettysburg
- PART 2: The Leader’s Mandate… Decision-Making IN-TIME
- PART 3: The Decision-Making Environment
- PART 4: The Process… From Start to Finish
- PART 5: Decision-Making Techinques
- PART 6: The Leader as a Synthesizer IN-TIME
- PART 7: EXECUTION… Doing It
- PART 8: The AAR/Critique (Mac’s Way)
- PART 9: Final Thoughts
Click HERE to dowload the PDF of the class.
I hope you enjoy the discussion and the subject as much as I do.
by Michael F. McNamara | Nov 17, 2025 | Leadership, The How To Lead Series
The “How To Lead” Series is one I’ve wanted to do for a while. The idea is simple: bring outstanding leaders to the podcast and ask them how they DID IT. Ask them about what worked. Ask them if they think that leadership is soooooooo different today. Today’s featured leader is 1stSgt Jason McKinley, USMC (ret). Much like J.C. Knight from last week’s episode, Jason is an outstanding leader with a unique story. One of the things I enjoy about this interview is talking about “What do I do if I’m not a natural leader?”
The image I use for this series is of General George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night of 1776 to surprise Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton, which he won decisively. The wife of a friend of mine, Carrie Costantini, whose husband Will was on my podcast last week, posted it on Facebook years ago before she passed away… That meme is below. It symbolizes what leaders do for me… they do difficult things regularly, and then they do the impossible.
You can watch the YouTube video of this interview by clicking HERE
Washington conceived the operation and led his force that night, and his leadership during the difficult winter at Valley Forge was still ahead of him. In the weeks ahead, you’ll continue hear from leaders whom I’ve crossed paths with who’ve impressed me with (1) their leadership abilities and (2) their ability to articulate to you their ideas about leadership… so standby, it’s gonna be a good time, we’ll all learn a lot, and a promise that these episodes will generate a lot of reflection. And finally, the focus of this series is from the squad to the battalion/squadron… where the rubber meets the road.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Nov 11, 2025 | Leadership, The How To Lead Series
The “How To Lead” Series is one I’ve wanted to do for a while. The idea is simple: bring outstanding leaders to the podcast and ask them how they DID IT. Ask them about what worked. Ask them if they think that leadership is soooooooo different today. Today’s featured leader is Gunner JC Knight, USMC (ret). He’s an outstanding leader with a unique story and the first enlisted leader to appear in this series of interviews… he also has a YouTube channel; you can find it HERE. In this interview, you’ll hear JC discuss “what right looks like,” so get ready.
The image I use for this series is of General George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night of 1776 to surprise Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton, which he won decisively. The wife of a friend of mine, Carrie Costantini, whose husband Will was on my podcast last week, posted it on Facebook years ago before she passed away… That meme is below. It symbolizes what leaders do for me… they do difficult things regularly, and then they do the impossible.
You can watch the YouTube video of this interview by clicking HERE
Washington conceived the operation and led his force that night, and his leadership during the difficult winter at Valley Forge was still ahead of him. In the weeks ahead, you’ll continue hear from leaders whom I’ve crossed paths with who’ve impressed me with (1) their leadership abilities and (2) their ability to articulate to you their ideas about leadership… so standby, it’s gonna be a good time, we’ll all learn a lot, and a promise that these episodes will generate a lot of reflection. And finally, the focus of this series is from the squad to the battalion/squadron… where the rubber meets the road.
Mac
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by Michael F. McNamara | Oct 31, 2025 | Leadership, The How To Lead Series
The “How To Lead” Series is one I’ve wanted to do for a while. The idea is simple: bring on outstanding leaders to the podcast and ask them how they DID IT. Ask them about what worked. Ask them if they think that leadership is soooooooo different today.
The image I use for this series is of General George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night of 1776 to surprise Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton, which he won decisively. The wife of a friend of mine, Carrie Costantini, whose husband Will was on my podcast last week, posted it on Facebook years ago before she passed away… That meme is below. It symbolizes what leaders do for me… they do difficult things on a regular basis, and then they do the impossible.
You can watch the YouTube video HERE
Washington conceived the operation and led his force that night, and his leadership during the difficult winter at Valley Forge was still ahead of him. With that kind of leader in mind… the first person I wanted to have on is a good friend of mine, both in and out of uniform, MajGen Dale Alford, USMC (ret). Dale’s career speaks for itself, and he did a lot of great things… but the one thing that separates him from everybody is that he participated in a contingency operation or combat at every rank he held in the Marine Corps, from 2ndLt to MajGen… so, that is where we begin… with THAT guy.
In the weeks ahead, you’ll hear from leaders whom I’ve crossed paths with who’ve impressed me with (1) their leadership abilities and (2) their ability to articulate to you their ideas about leadership… so standby, it’s gonna be a good time, we’ll all learn a lot, and a promise that these episodes will generate a lot of reflection. And finally, the focus of this series is from the squad to the battalion/squadron… where the rubber meets the road.
Mac
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by Michael F. McNamara | Oct 28, 2025 | Asia, China, Economics, Japan, Korea, North Korea, Pacific Rim Security, Philippines, Rare Earth Minerals, South Korea, Tariffs
As President Trump, fresh off his Middle East breakthrough, heads towards a meeting with China’s President Xi… a meeting that will have huge implications for both the US and the Chinese economies… We’ll talk to our expert, Grant Newsham, and get his perspective.
Grant has been ALL MARINE RADIO’s Pacific expert for a long time, and he is that because he tells the truth. We’ll talk about a variety of subjects (as we usually do), but the fascinating part of President Trump’s trip is how both President Trump and President Xi each need to make some sort of trade deal… because they both have needs that only the other nation can remedy. Grant makes us smart about China, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea, to mention a few of the things we cover.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE
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