Loss of Confidence ― The Leadership Vacuum in America and How to Fix It

This book examines the corrosion of leadership in America today and why it has happened. Our society is bombarded with examples of the corrosive influence of arrogance in our politicians and celebrities. Arrogance cloaks an individual with a synthetic sense of invulnerability. Humility and piety, on the other hand, were considered the most noble of all the virtues a citizen could possess in early Roman culture. Today, one is hard pressed to find an example of it, and yet, in our Judeo-Christian roots, we find humility as part of the fabric of early America. The pious Quakers of colonial Pennsylvania took great effort in preventing a prideful appearance or demeanor. It is not necessary to don pilgrim garb or shabby Quaker attire to return to these roots. For many of the men and women described in this book, being rooted, being anchored to a Judeo-Christian tradition made confronting an ugly challenge in their life or career just a little less hopeless. While on this trek, the reader is introduced to principles, beacons, and navigational aids that guide us toward promoting leadership skills and leadership qualities which are healthy and unique to our culture.

James B. Canby, IV is a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander and the President of Intrepid Management Strategies, LLC. He started his career in a clinical healthcare setting having worked as the sole healthcare provider for 300 natives and 15 Coast Guardsmen in the Palau archipelago of the Western Caroline Islands. He also worked for RCA/OMS, in the same capacity, 200 miles above the arctic circle at Cape Lisburne, Alaska. After earning his degree in Health Services Management from Golden Gate University (1984), he entered the U. S. Navy as a Health Care Administrator. He served in a variety of capacities, including: Radiation Health Officer for the eight nuclear reactor divisions of the USS Enterprise, Medical Clinic Administrator managing fleet support, Operations Management Officer of a 200- bed hospital and also, as a Financial Systems Analyst at Headquarters, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington D.C. He was awarded a Masters of Science in Management with a focus in Financial Management from the U.S. Naval PostGraduate School, Monterey, CA in 1994. LCDR Canby retired from the Navy in 1999 having completed his last four years as the Financial Officer for the Naval Hospital at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA. He has experience as an Adjunct Professor, for Chapman University College, Northwest Campus in their Organizational Leadership program. He lives with his wife, two alpacas, and a dog on several acres on an island in the Puget Sound.