The Battle of the Bulge Leadership Experience

Stavelot, Belgium

The Battle of the Bulge Leadership Experience uses this monumental and pivotal battle—the largest single battle in the history of the United States Army—as a vehicle to examine how leaders of large and complex organizations address extraordinary and unforeseen challenges to achieve their individual group and larger organization objectives. It also provides an immensely rich platform from which to explore leadership decisions both from a highly proactive/offensive position and from a defensive position during times of extreme desperation. The outcome of the German surprise attack in mid-December 1944 in Belgium and Luxembourg shaped not only our nation’s history, but also the course of world history.

The Battle of the Bulge provides a unique opportunity to examine leadership and its consequences in depth. On the German side, this battle represented the last gasp, the ultimate gamble to retrieve victory from impending defeat, a herculean effort to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles when the enemy had seized the initiative. For the American side, numerous issues resonate with contemporary clarity: dealing with the unknown or unexpected, creating order out of chaos, empowering subordinates, underestimating the competition, and the importance of providing clarity of intent and communication of goals.

Who Should Attend?

The character-based leadership principles presented through The Battle of the Bulge Leadership Experience can be tailored to meet the needs of the highest level senior leaders, the less-experienced yet rising leaders within an organization, or those at any level in between. The Battle of the Bulge program addresses universal leadership themes that leaders at all stages of professional development will find beneficial to their career growth and organizational aspirations.

Key Leadership Lessons:

Cascading Strategic VisionCommunicating AbiguityKnowing the CompetitionPerils of Confirmation Bias
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Selected Case Studies

  • Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.
  • Lt. Col. Joachim Peiper
  • Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower

Key Leadership Lessons

  • Cascading strategic vision throughout a complex organization
  • The danger of underestimating the competition
  • Communicating direction during ambiguity
  • The perils of confirmation bias

Format

The Battle of the Bulge Leadership Experience is a 3.5-day program delivered over a four-day period, beginning with a strategic overview after lunch and an afternoon visit to nearby sites of significance, followed by two full days on the battlefield with an After-Action Review (AAR) back at the lodging facility in the late afternoons. The final day includes a morning spent on the battlefield, followed by a working lunch and final AAR with departure early to mid-afternoon. Customization is possible. 

 

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