Keith L. Craig
“SERVING TO LEAD”
If it were up to others, Sgt. Major Keith L. Craig would be dead. Sgt. Major served his country for more than three decades in six combat tours under six presidents. In uniform, people see the decorations, celebrate the deeds, but do not see the man behind the missions. The man who woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of war. The man who had to identify the bodies of soldiers he ate with, celebrated holidays and birthdays with, encouraged, befriended, mentored and led. A man who created monthly rituals to honor the fact that he and others were still alive. A man who grieves for others and himself over what was lost in the combat and trauma of battle. A man who has rebuilt and reimagined himself time after time to overcome the challenges of life – to transcend his circumstances. A man for whom the words, “You can’t get there from here,” were a call to action. Sgt. Major has never allowed his circumstances to define who he is. SERVING TO LEAD is for anyone who was told they weren’t good enough or didn’t have enough of what it takes to make it.
If it were up to others, Sgt. Major Keith L. Craig would be dead. Sgt. Major served his country for more than three decades in six combat tours under six presidents. In uniform, people see the decorations, celebrate the deeds, but do not see the man behind the missions. The man who woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of war. The man who had to identify the bodies of soldiers he ate with, celebrated holidays and birthdays with, encouraged, befriended, mentored and led. A man who created monthly rituals to honor the fact that he and others were still alive. A man who grieves for others and himself over what was lost in the combat and trauma of battle. A man who has rebuilt and reimagined himself time after time to overcome the challenges of life – to transcend his circumstances. A man for whom the words, “You can’t get there from here,” were a call to action. Sgt. Major has never allowed his circumstances to define who he is. SERVING TO LEAD is for anyone who was told they weren’t good enough or didn’t have enough of what it takes to make it.
If it were up to others, Sgt. Major Keith L. Craig would be dead. Sgt. Major served his country for more than three decades in six combat tours under six presidents. In uniform, people see the decorations, celebrate the deeds, but do not see the man behind the missions. The man who woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of war. The man who had to identify the bodies of soldiers he ate with, celebrated holidays and birthdays with, encouraged, befriended, mentored and led. A man who created monthly rituals to honor the fact that he and others were still alive. A man who grieves for others and himself over what was lost in the combat and trauma of battle. A man who has rebuilt and reimagined himself time after time to overcome the challenges of life – to transcend his circumstances. A man for whom the words, “You can’t get there from here,” were a call to action. Sgt. Major has never allowed his circumstances to define who he is. SERVING TO LEAD is for anyone who was told they weren’t good enough or didn’t have enough of what it takes to make it.
Sgt. Major learned his leadership lessons first-hand: on the football field as a wide receiver; in the Army as a Sgt. Major, the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer; and now as a leader at Disney, the largest entertainment company in the world. SERVING TO LEAD enables readers with leadership in their sights to scale the heights of their aspirations. SERVING TO LEAD shows how to achieve success by keeping your team front of mind, being creative and treating challenges as opportunities.
In the context of his extraordinary homeless to Hollywood story Sgt. Major examines his experience with a range of leadership styles and facilitates the aspiring leader-reader’s adoption and practice of one which fits. Sgt. Major’s analysis of individual behavior within the scope of mission and landscape of vision serves to clarify the values which successful leaders share and the ultimate path to leadership success. Even though Sgt. Major has been successful beyond his wildest dreams, he is a man of humility who wants to share the wisdom gained through his experience to serve the futures of others. It is Sgt. Major Craig’s new leadership dream that SERVING TO LEAD will empower others to achieve their own success.