Paul Becker 🇺🇸

Aviation “T3” Leadership! Amelia Earhart b. OTD 1897. Inspirational pioneering pilot. First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932. First person to fly solo across the Pacific from Hawaii to California. First woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross. First woman to formally address the United States Naval Academy in 1936 (and then attended the Navy-Notre Dame football game). Lost at sea with her plane in the Pacific in 1937 during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Her leadership style: - TEAMWORK: “Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off. But if you don't have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.” - TONE: “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” - TENACITY: “Preparation is rightly two-thirds of any venture.”

President U.S. Grant d. OTD 1885. Inspirational Commander of Union Armies during the Civil War and our two-term 18th President. One of my two favorite Generals: Washington, who fought for the creation of our nation, and Grant, who fought to preserve it. - “If we are to have another contest of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.” - U.S. Grant

Let’s Try “T3” Leadership For $1000, Alex The late Alex Trebek b. OTD in 1940. Decades-long host of “Jeopardy.” Alex’s inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: Selfless. Shared credit. Ensured contestants were Jeopardy’s stars. A volunteer on 13 USO Tours! - TONE: Optimistic, especially when publicly battling pancreatic cancer, which eventually claimed his life in 2020. - TENACITY: Hosted dozens of game shows before becoming the host of Jeopardy in its syndicated debut in 1984. He hosted more than 8,200 Jeopardy episodes over the course of nearly 37 seasons, setting a World Record for hosting the most episodes of a single game show! The United States Postal Service honored Trebek this month with a commemorative “Forever” stamp honoring both the 60th anniversary of the Jeopardy franchise and Trebek's naturalized American citizenship.

Musical “T3” Leadership The incomparable Tony Bennett passed away OTD several years ago, two weeks short of his 97th birthday. His inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: WWII Army Veteran. Duets ranged from Sinatra, Streisand, Wonder, Sting, and Gaga. - TONE: Recorded "The Best Is Yet To Come" 50+ yrs ago. That spirit of optimism still inspires. - TENACITY: Charted albums in six consecutive decades. Won a Grammy at age 85! An 8 ft bronze statue of Bennett was unveiled at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in 2016 ... It still stands!

Lunar “T3” Leadership! - 1969 Apollo 11: The first person stepped on the Moon at 21 JUL 2:56:15 AM (GMT) - that’s 20 JUL in the US. - Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Col "Buzz" Aldrin, USAF, became the first two men to LAND on the moon aboard their lunar module several hours earlier. - Former Korean War Navy pilot Armstrong was the first to WALK on the moon. - Armstrong intended to say "One small step for a man," but the "a" was dropped in the audio transmission, making the official transcript read "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He always insisted he said the article, which would contrast a single man with humanity as a whole. - Because Aldrin (West Point Class of ’51) was still on active duty at the time, he filled out a trip expense report upon his return to Houston a week later for the time spent on Temporary Duty away from his home duty station ... he was reimbursed $33.31! Buzz is in his 90’s and still going strong!

Mythological “T3” Leadership! Saw “The Odyssey” in IMAX this weekend.  Epic visual and audio experience. Instant cinematic leadership classic, emphasizing inspirational:  - Mythological and modern truths: great leadership in the face of uncertainty, loss, and opposition is not about charisma or cleverness alone. It is about building trust, sustaining a positive spirit, and refusing to quit until the purpose is achieved. Leaders today facing their own odysseys such as corporate turnarounds, crises, or personal challenges can steer by the same star. “The Odyssey” ends not with mere survival, but with triumph, reunion, and renewal. That is the ultimate promise of “Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity.”™ - TEAMWORK: Odysseus fosters teamwork by devising clever strategies that protect and unite his crew, such as the Trojan Horse plan at Troy, where he rallies the Greeks for a collective victory through ingenuity rather than brute force. He saves most of the crew from the Cyclops through coordinated deception and mutual reliance. His rescue of his men from Circe (after she turns them into pigs) displays servant leadership of putting others before self. - TONE: Positive attitude, genuineness, integrity, genuine care for his subordinates, and consistency set a winning culture for Odysseus’ crew. His resilient optimism and integrity amid despair create a motivational atmosphere for his men and his own family. Upon returning to Ithaca disguised as a beggar, his measured interactions with loyal servant Eumaeus and son Telemachus, culminating in the bow contest and slaying of the suitors, set a tone of rightful restoration and positivity that rallies his inner circle. - TENACITY: Perseverance with purpose, tackling tough tasks, learning from failure, and never accepting defeat defines Odysseus’ entire journey, embodying “Ship, Shipmate, Self” prioritization through relentless pursuit of home despite divine wrath and losses. He persists after his blinding of the Cyclops results in Poseidon’s curse, survives Circe’s illusions, ventures into Hades for Tiresias’ counsel, navigates Scylla and Charybdis (choosing the lesser evil and losing men), endures Calypso’s captivity, and rafts through Poseidon’s final storm. His return to Ithaca showcases ultimate resiliency: disguised, he reunites with his son wins the bow contest, and slays the suitors in a decisive battle to reclaim his throne and wife Penelope. P.S. Informal Poll:   Who played Odysseus best? - Kirk Douglas (1954)  - Armand Assante (1997) - Sean Bean (cameo in “Troy,” 1994) - Matt Damon (2026)

Inventive “T3” Leadership! Samuel Colt b. OTD 1814. Inventor, industrialist, and businessman. Patented a gun that was accurate, fired six times without reloading, affordable, and widely available. His firearms were widely used during the settlement of the western frontier. Colt died in 1862 as one of the wealthiest men in America. His inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: Colt's use of interchangeable parts helped him become one of the first to use a production assembly line efficiently. His innovative use of art, celebrity endorsements, and corporate gifts to promote his guns made him a pioneer of advertising, product placement, and mass marketing. - TONE: Though still far less accurate than a hunting rifle, the Colt revolver could be aimed with reasonable precision at a short distance (30-40 yards). A six-shooter also made accuracy less important, since a missed shot could quickly be followed by others. - TENACITY: Though never cheap, by the early 1850s, Colt revolvers were inexpensive enough to be a favorite with the U.S. Army, Americans headed to the California Gold Rush and settlers looking for an effective means of self-defense in the Wild West.

Naval Combat “T3” Leadership! John Paul Jones d. OTD 1792 in France. America’s first naval hero. - President Theodore Roosevelt had his remains returned to the U.S. in 1906 with a national ceremony. He now lies at eternal rest in a marble sarcophagus at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel. - Established the standard of courage and professionalism that defines our Navy today. The Scottish-born Jones’ aggressive actions against the British in their home waters inspired a new nation and sent a message to the world that the American Navy was a new force to be reckoned with. Jones’ inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: On the qualifications of being a Naval Officer (still taught at the Naval Academy today as a pillar of fellowship, leadership and team building): "It is by no means enough that an officer of the Navy should be a capable mariner. He must be that, of course, but also a great deal more. He should be as well a gentleman of liberal education, refined manners, punctilious courtesy, and the nicest sense of personal honor. He should be the soul of tact, patience, justice, firmness, kindness, and charity. No meritorious act of a subordinate should escape his attention or be left to pass without its reward, even if the reward is only a word of approval. Conversely, he should not be blind to a single fault in any subordinate, though at the same time, he should be quick and unfailing to distinguish error from malice, thoughtlessness from incompetency, and well-meant shortcomings from heedless or stupid blunder. In one word, every commander should keep constantly before him the great truth, that to be well obeyed, he must be perfectly esteemed." - TONE: “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way.” “If fear is cultivated it will become stronger, if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery.” “Those who will not risk cannot win.” - TENACITY: “I have not yet begun to fight!" declared Jones in command of USS BONHOMME RICHARD when asked to surrender after incurring severe damage early in battle vs. HMS SERAPIS in 1179. Jones and his ship were ultimately victorious!

OTD 1994: - Hezbollah/Iranian agents exploded a bomb in the Jewish Community Center (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 85 and wounding 300+, in what was then the most lethal attack against any Jewish community since the Holocaust. - Followed the 1992 Hezbollah/Iran-linked bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires (29 killed) and was part of Iran's proxy warfare extending to Latin America via Hezbollah networks in the Tri-Border Area (Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil).  - Deadliest attack on a Jewish target in the Americas and a stark demonstration that Iran-Hezbollah operations could strike Jewish communities far from the Middle East, not just Israeli diplomatic sites. Argentina had Latin America's largest Jewish population at the time (~200,000).  - Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who accused Iranian officials and later alleged a government cover-up under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for a trade deal with Iran, was found dead in 2015 (widely suspected murder).

Journalistic “T3” Leadership! Walter Cronkite, journalist and longtime face/voice of CBS Evening News d. OTD 2009. Often cited as "the most trusted man in America" in the 1960s and 70s after being named so in an opinion poll. Leaders set standards of honesty and integrity for others to follow … Cronkite stood out among his peers for his commitment to truth and objectivity in journalism. Cronkite’s legend began as a war Correspondent in Europe. He was there at Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and the race to Germany. He knew what it meant to risk his life to keep people informed. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. His inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: Covered WWII in Europe, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War; assassinations of JFK, MLK, RFK, Apollo 11, and the Iran Hostage Crisis. Known for his departing catchphrase, "And that's the way it is,” followed by the date of the broadcast. Trained himself to speak at a rate of 124 words per minute in his newscasts, about 40 less than the national average, so that viewers could clearly understand him. TONE: The American public knew Cronkite for his objectivity, seriousness, and fact-based reporting. In February 1968, President Lyndon Johnson watched Cronkite’s comment that the Vietnam War was unwinnable and that an end must be negotiated, “not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.” Johnson reportedly said, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” Several weeks later, Johnson stunned a nationwide TV audience when he announced he would not seek reelection. Cronkite is also famous for the few recorded instances of emotion he expressed on air, including the assassination of JFK, the stalemate in Vietnam, and a man walking on the moon … This authenticity and candor humanized him to Americans. - TENACITY: For 20 years, nearly 25 million Americans tuned in to CBS every night to hear Cronkite. His quotes that endure and provide lessons for journalists and society today: “In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story.” “We all have our likes and our dislikes. But... when we're doing news - when we're doing the front-page news, not the back page, not the op-ed pages, but when we're doing the daily news, covering politics - it is our duty to be sure that we do not permit our prejudices to show. That is simply basic journalism.” “History must share with reading, writing and arithmetic first rank as the most important subjects in the curriculum. Understanding the issues on which citizens of a republic are expected to vote is impossible without an understanding of the past.”

Celebrations in Tel Aviv for Argentina’s World Cup victory tonight … Argentina was the only one of the four World Cup semifinalists without rampant antisemitism in their countries (England, France, and Spain)

Popeye “T3” Leadership! The first of 109 “Popeye The Sailor Man” animated film shorts debuted in theaters OTD in 1933. They ran through 1942 and became a staple of cartoon programming for decades following the invention of TV. A huge part of my childhood … Popeye was always my favorite Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon … maybe why I joined the Navy! His inspirational style: TEAMWORK: Loyal boyfriend to Olive Oyl. Devoted father figure to Swee ' Pea. Trusted friend to Wimpy. Joined the U.S. Navy in 1941 and thereafter wore the white crackerjack uniform! TONE: “I yam what I yam, and that’s all that yam!” “That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more!” TENACITY: Popeye first appeared as a newspaper comic in 1929. He’s still part of the American cartoon character landscape nearly 100 years later. “I’m strong to the finich cause I eats my spinach …”

Soft Serve “T3” Leadership … Tom Carvel! Tom Carvel (Athanasios Karvelas) b. OTD 1906 in Athens, Greece. An iconic American entrepreneur—industrious, energetic, opinionated, and independent. His soft ice cream was a mainstay of the greater NYC and suburbs food scene when I was growing up. His low-budget, no-script TV commercials in the northeastern US during the 1960s and 70s were the absolute worst … so bad they were memorably great! Tom’s inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: Immigrated to the US as a child. Drove an ice cream truck during the Depression. In 1934, when his truck broke down, he pulled into a parking lot and sold the beginning-to-melt ice cream to weekend drivers as they passed by. That marked the beginning of his effort to mass-produce soft ice cream. WWII Army Veteran! An early adopter of using a franchise system to grow his business after the war. - TONE: Among the first to try increasing sales via “Buy one, get one free.” When he started buying radio ads in the 1950s, he was annoyed when announcers made mistakes with the scripts. In 1955, the nasal and gravelly-sounding Carvel decided to do the commercials himself. “I can’t find anyone cheaper than me!” Proved that movie-star looks and a professional announcing voice are not necessary for building product sales. The do-it-yourself commercials became so popular that he inspired other CEOs to follow his lead, notably Sy Syms, Lee Iacocca, Orville Redenbacher and Frank Perdue. - TENACITY: To train those who wanted to buy a franchise, he opened Carvel College of Ice Cream Knowledge (also known as Sundae School). Carvel visited as many franchise stores as he could regularly. He noted a recurring problem: the staff inevitably had slow times with nothing to do. This led to the idea of having the staff create ice cream cakes to keep them busy. Whether his staff was making Fudgie the Whale or a leprechaun, the basic mold could remain the same. By the 1980s, there were more than 700 Carvel outlets along the East Coast.

Dreyfus Statue Update From France: Excerpts from the original article link below: - A statue honoring Colonel Alfred Dreyfus has been given a permanent home outside the French court that finally cleared the Jewish Army officer of treason, marking a symbolic new chapter in one of history’s most notorious antisemitic miscarriages of justice. - The 3.5-meter bronze memorial was unveiled on Saturday outside the Cour Cassation in central Paris, which overturned Dreyfus’s wrongful conviction in 1906. The ceremony took place on 12 July, France’s national day of remembrance for Dreyfus, introduced by President Macron last year. - The sculpture, created in 1985, had spent decades without a permanent home despite the enduring significance of the Dreyfus Affair to both French history and the fight against antisemitism. - Originally commissioned during Mitterrand’s presidency, it was intended to stand at the École Militaire, where Dreyfus was publicly stripped of his rank after being falsely convicted of treason in 1894. The proposal was rejected by the French Army, while several other suggested locations were also turned down. - Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris Centre and a descendant of the Dreyfus family, has long campaigned for the monument to be moved to a more prominent location. “It’s been wandering around Paris for years,” Weil said. “The idea seemed to be: we’ll put it in a corner of Paris where it won’t embarrass anyone and won’t be seen, and we can forget about it. It was in a place nobody wanted, not historians, not the Dreyfus family, not the artist.” - He described its new position outside the court as “an incredibly powerful spot in the very center of Paris”, adding: “This puts right a final injustice.” - In 1894, Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery captain, was falsely accused of passing military secrets to Germany. He was convicted by a secret military court, publicly humiliated in Paris and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island in French Guiana. - Although investigators later established that another officer, Ferdinand Esterhazy, was responsible, the evidence was initially suppressed, deepening a scandal that divided France for years. The case became a global cause célèbre after novelist Émile Zola published his famous open letter, J’accuse…!, accusing the authorities of a miscarriage of justice. - Dreyfus was eventually exonerated, reinstated into the French army and awarded the Légion d’Honneur. He later served during the First World War before retiring from military service. He died in Paris in 1935. The statue bears an inscription from a letter Dreyfus wrote to his wife, Lucie: “If you want me to live, help me regain my honor.” jewishnews.co.uk/alfred-dreyfus…

Exploration "T3" Leadership! OTD in 1772 Captain James Cook, the most famous maritime explorer of modern history, begins his second voyage of discovery to the South Seas aboard HMS RESOLUTION. Best known for three voyages of discovery to the Pacific, he added a third to the map of the known world, ranging from the Antarctic to the Arctic Circle (including modern-day Alaska + western Canada). The first European to visit Eastern Australia, circumnavigate New Zealand, and go ashore in Hawaii. Cook was the role model for Sci Fi screenwriter Gene Roddenberry’s fictional Captain James Kirk from "Star Trek,” who - like Cook - boldly went where no man had gone before. - TEAMWORK: Acknowledged for his strategic vision of exploration, relationship building between Navy and scientific communities, and extraordinary tactical seamanship; placing ship and shipmates before self many times over on unknown seas. His contributions to cartography and science are still in use today. - TONE: "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again” - TENACITY: “Ambition leads me not only farther than any other man has been before me, but as far as I think it possible for man to go”

Scientific “T3” Leadership! George Washington Carver b. OTD 1864. Agricultural scientist, environmentalist and inventor. Hired by the President of Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington headed their Agricultural Department for 47 years! Peanuts were his specialty, but he touched many more fields of study, inspired students and built leaders. His inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: Inclusive. Empathetic. “Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. At some time in life you will have been all of these.” - TONE: "When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” - TENACITY: “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”

Nat’l Simplicity Day (July 12 - Thoreau’s B’Day)! Good time to slow down, refocus, be mindful. - “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” - Da Vinci - Leadership Tip: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” - Einstein

Athletic “T3” Leadership! 34 years ago this month, the sports comedy “A League of Their Own” was America’s top film. Plenty of inspirational leadership lessons: - TEAMWORK: The strong and independent star catcher of the Rockford Peaches, Dottie Hinson (played by Gina Davis), finds herself taking de facto responsibility for her club, while the real manager, Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks), spends a lot of time drunk. Dottie is the only one on the team who steps up to take responsibility when Jimmy is incapacitated. She’s a born leader, fiercely loyal to the team and often has to cheer up her fellow players after one of Jimmy’s nasty rants. - TONE: “Are you crying? “There’s no crying in baseball!” - TENACITY: "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”

Scientific “T3” Leadership! - Nikola Tesla b. OTD 1856. Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer and futurist. - Patented the rotating magnetic field, which is the basis for Alternating-Current machinery, and invented the Tesla induction coil, an essential component in radio technology. - Emigrated to the U.S. in 1884. Worked for a short time at the Edison Machine Works in New York City before he struck out on his own. His inspirational style: - TEAMWORK: With the help of partners to finance and market his ideas, Tesla set up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical and mechanical devices. His alternating current (AC) induction motor and related patents, licensed by George Westinghouse in 1888, earned him considerable money and notoriety. In Tesla’s own lab, he invited people in to see how safe AC electricity was … hooking himself up to an electric lamp and allowing the current to pass through his body on its way to lighting the lamp. - TONE: “I do not rush into actual work. When I get an idea I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements and operate the device in my mind. In this way I am able to rapidly develop and perfect a conception without touching anything. When I have gone so far as to embody in the invention every possible improvement I can think of and see no fault anywhere, I put into concrete form this final product of my brain. Invariably my device works as I conceived that it should, and the experiment comes out exactly as I planned it.”  Tesla’s innovation process was unique - it's the equivalent of writing an entire book in your head, then editing it in your head, then finally putting it down on paper. He did this with Alternating Current, Tesla Coils, Radio, Induction Motors and Remote Controls. Genius! - TENACITY: Throughout the 1890s, Tesla pursued his ideas for wireless lighting and worldwide wireless electric power distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado. Tesla's work fell into relative obscurity following his death in 1943 … until 1960, when the General Conference on Weights and Measures named the core unit of magnetic flux density the “Tesla,” and Elon Musk named his electric car company “Tesla Motors” in 2003!