Three-years ago this Memorial Day, I was deployed to the Joint Personal Effects Depot (JPED) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland along w/ over two hundred Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and DoD Civilian Contractors conducting a war-time mission first established on 9/11 at The Pentagon. JPED is ground zero and the solemn place where we received all the personal belongings of every American service member killed or wounded in Iraq & Afghanistan and meticulously received, inventoried and resent those memories back to the families of the fallen or service member stationed at Walter Reed, a military base or at home. During Memorial Day 2003, my brother LCpl Victor Molina, a Marine, was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. Like many, our hearts sunk when he deployed but were relieved when he returned safely home. Today, our country is engaged in two full-scale wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and while Iraq is winding down, our loved ones don't deploy alone; we deploy w/ them. We remember them and … [Read more...]

Blogger and author, Seth Godin, recently published Linchpin: Are You Indispensable. In a nutshell, there are three types of individuals Godin argues there are: beuracrats, workers, and linchpins on this earth. I'll skip the first two and focus on Linchpins. These are individuals that create something out of nothing, innovate when there is none, create paths where there are thick forests, and simplify the complicated. These are individuals that become so indispensable that in a world of quick staff replacements, shrinking middle class, and lack of leadership, linchpins work in chaos and create value wherever they go. Bilingual and bicultural linchpins, specifically, are in short supply. The question is how do we build more, how do we inspire and empower more to come out of the woodwork and start creating more out of nothing? Let's start with acknowledging the obvious and let's get back to work. The discussion continues. … [Read more...]