Critical Victories: Recent Episodes
John M. Collins
Critical Victories is a weekly executive coaching webcast for leaders and professionals in positions of public trust. Hosted by John M. Collins from his office in Southfield, Michigan, Critical Victories explores contemporary leadership issues through the lens of current events. As an executive coach and successful executive leader, John advocates for executive leadership practices that build the trust and confidence we all hope to have in our public and private institutions - including the press, corporations, government agencies, criminal justice, healthcare, and elective office. The Critical Victories webcast airs each Wednesday at 8am. For information about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Professional boredom is unfortunately common across today's workforce, which seems counterintunitive considering how much access we have to information and other forms of stimulation. But boredom is not always what it may seem, and it is necessary for leaders and their team members to have a nuanced understanding of what boredom means and why it happens.
Reference
Controlling personalities leverage the power of 3 specific strategies to assuage their anxieties and put a stop to the pain that confident people cause them.
Print Version
John Collins speaks with Regina Carey, a coach, author, and teacher specializing in helping people overcome "invisible disabilities" to live the life they really want. In this episode, John and Regina discuss the subject of happiness, reflecting on how to produce more of it in our lives while, at the same time, understanding that it shouldn't be our ultimate goal.
Learn more about Regina and her work at https://reginacarey.com.
Alec Baldwin has now been charged in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In this episode of Critical Victories, John Collins shares his perspective on the real reason why tragedy struck a movie set on that fateful day in October 2021.
Individuals who are newly hired into their first management position or promoted into a position of higher responsibility and authority face daunting challenges as they orient themselves to the demands of the job. In this episode, John Collins, your host and Executive Trust Coach, explains what he argues is the #1 mistake that professionals make when taking on new management responsibilities.
In this episode, John kicks off a new season of Critical Victories by explaining a change to its content and style of delivery. Listen on to hear why John made this change and what he didn't want to do.
Public opinion is a valuable asset, and mining it through elaborate measurement methodologies produces information that is vital for high-stakes decision-making. But we have yet to know how much the public may be recoiling, and how much this recoiling affects the data that are collected. In this episode, John discusses the Gallup Problem and why it needs to be addressed.
In this episode, John discusses how to avoid getting in our own way by understanding some basics about human biology and neurology that will stand in the way of progress if we allow it. For those working with professional coaches, this episode will help you prepare to be more effective in working with your coach.
This week, as the world says goodbye to Britain's longest-serving monarch, and the longest serving female head-of-state in recorded history, John Collins shares a perspective about "royalty" and what it really means. In the final analysis, this is both the legacy and lesson that Queen Elizabeth II left us to consider.
Program References
The New Superior - A Better Way to Be the One in Charge
High-Stakes change challenges the psych of individuals and the resolve of teams. John Collins explains how some of us are naturally wired to accommodate change while some of us are not.
Program References
USA Today - Diversity in Forensic Science
Detroit News - Michigan State Police THC testing problem
John Collins draws on his long and storied career in forensic science to give a brief lesson on firearms. His comments are intended for those who want a basic understanding of firearms to help shape any constitutional or public-policy positions they with to support or promote. If you don't know much about guns but wish you knew enough to be conversant, this episode is for you.
John also discusses the recent FBI testing conducted on the firearm used by Alec Baldwin during the unintentional death of a movie cinematographer.
The creation of a Saudi-backed golf tour shocked the normally tranquile world of professional golf. As we are witnessing, there can be a stark difference between economic and moral legitimacy. John Collins discusses the interesting public relations issues arising for the so-called LIV Tour and a fundamental truth about public trust that LIV players didn't anticipate would rise up to greet them in the harshest of ways.
Show References
Phil Mickelson’s big gambles are the subject of a new biography
What Is LIV Golf? It Depends Whom You Ask.
9/11 Survivors, Families Thank PGA Tour Golfers for Rejecting LIV in Open Letter
John introduces his new book, The New Superior, and explains how control is used by fearful people seeking to assert their power on the rest of us.
Ten people were massacred in a grocery store on Saturday May 14, 2022. The press quickly latched on to what appeared to be racial motives, but did their ideological biases blind them to what was actually the cause?
In this first exploration of Gallup's Strength Coaching model, John Collins discusses the power and risks of being a strategic thinker.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in people, teams, and organizations in positions of public trust. Critical Victories is released on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 8AM wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Many professionals are struggling with the intense burdens of challenging home lives marked by little relaxation time, over-scheduled children, and couples who don't have the time and energy for each other. To think that this does not come with enormous social, medical, and economic implications is a mistake.
University of Michigan's head men's basketball coach, Juwan Howard, physically attacked an assistant Wisconsin coach during a post-game scuffle in Madison. Because head coaches serve in positions of public trust, the stakes are high when situations like this erupt.
In this episode, John discusses the leadership significance of Dr. Martin Luther King, and he explores the scientific basis for conspiracy theorizing.
The American criminal justice system depends on agencies whose chief executive officers are elected officials. But there seem to be no accountability for how - or if - these officials collaborate with each other to prevent crime from happening in the first place.
The investigation of the deaths of four students at a high school in Oxford, Michigan is underway, but not without a few bumps - and egos - in the road.
A retired major-city police chief predicts that recent flash mob robberies will spread across the country if something isn't done.
Our criminal justice system has proven to be ineffective in accommodating the nuances of child development. Kyle Rittenhouse's trial highlights why police and prosecutors need to modernize their understanding of adolescence.
John Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in public safety. Critical Victories is released Wednesdays at 8am wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com
Effective leadership in public safety would seem to involve the setting of specific goals, but it doesn't. The result is a lack of direction and focus on achieving the kind of safety that every community deserves.
John M Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in public safety. Critical Victories is released Wednesdays at 8AM wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Perception may not be reality when it comes to understanding why the pandemic continues to nudge professionals from their current positions.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in public safety. Critical Victories is released Wednesdays at 8AM wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
A local ballot measure in Minneapolis seeks to erase the current policing model and replace it with a larger department of public safety. The initiative is supported by billionaire funding, which deserves our attention because it's capable of dramatic change that affects our quality of life. John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in public safety and public trust. Critical Victories is released Wednesdays at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
John shares how he resolved a problem common to many businesses and professionals, and what it means for the Critical Victories webcast.
John M. Collins is an executive coach specializing in public safety leadership and administration. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Last week, a roadway in Detroit buckled to form a large mound of pavement that rose several feet above ground. The incident was just another infrastructure failure to plaque Michigan this year. John discusses the leadership implications for Michigan and the rest of the country.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
In this special on-the-road edition of Critical Victories recorded in Chicago, John Collins explains how expert witnessing skills are a necessary ingredient to effective leadership.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
To be intelligent in today's political and social environments means that you extend respect and courtesy to everyone with whom you interact in your personal and professional life. But we continue to learn that many people - even people in high positions of influence, have a long way to go before they can call themselves socially intelligent.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Controlling personalities damage relationships and the effectiveness of teams. In this episode, we explore the impact of excessive control and how it can be corrected.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Time management is a constant struggle for busy professionals, especially those in high-pressure, high-stakes environments - but there's a strategy you've probably never heard of that can help.
Daily Dones Template: https://app.box.com/s/sfy6fd2g88jyie3s54cvq6u6ljpwegml
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
The ratings reports for the Tokyo Olympics suggest that viewers have better things they'd rather do with their time. So what are the Olympics leaders doing - and what can they do - to make the Olympics special again?
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
During the early morning hours of July 27, 1996, a bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, sparking one of the largest manhunts in human history. John Collins remembers what happened and the lessons that still apply today. John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Constructive discharge is when an employer behaves in a way that makes it impossible for a reasonable employee to remain employed. But what happens when a reasonable EMPLOYER has no choice but to believe that the employee no longer wishes to remain employed? Find out in this week's episode! John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Increased scrutiny is being placed on graduate degrees and the impact they have on students. John Collins discusses both the importance of graduate education and the potential risks associated with it.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Two recent news stories underscore the importance of de-escalation strategies in the resolution of high-stakes conflicts and the risk of inflaming existing tensions.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
High school athletes seem to commit, then decommit, from university sports teams. Do commitments matter anymore? Yes, the do, and we'll explain why.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Experts are predicting a massive wave of voluntary job departures as employees look to find better organizations to which they can commit.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
John Collins explains how the investigation into the events of 9/11 relied on new methods for handling large volumes of forensic evidence.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Asian and Jewish Americans are the most recent targets of harassing and violent behaviors. John Collins explains why it's more than just racism.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
The average age of employees in the workforce is steadily climbing. Instead of older age undercutting the value of professionals in the later stages of their careers, attention should be paid to strategies that make them more valuable than ever!
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky and the CDC face harsh criticisms for how the public health agency announced modifications to its existing COVID mitigation guidelines.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently estimated that some 40% of us are struggling with mental health issues due to the pandemic. It could be you, a friend or family member, or a member of your team or organization. Here's a way you can approach it with more skill.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Can democracies compete with autocracies in the 21st century? Yes they can, and John explains why in this important episode following President Biden's first address to a joint session of congress.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of high public trust. The Critical Victories webcast is released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
As bureaucracies grow, executive decision-makers can become distanced from the customers they're supposed to serve. And if those executives have a knack for distrusting or micromanaging their teams, we'll see some all-too-common symptoms of organizational dysfunction.
Critical Victories is hosted by John M. Collins, an executive leadership coach specializing in teams and professionals in positions of public trust. New episodes are released each Wednesday at 8AM on YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
As women continue to demonstrate their effectiveness in leading teams, data suggest that men are falling behind. John Collins shares his perspectives on what accounts for the differences.
The Critical Victories webcast aires each Wednesday at 8am. For more information please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Leaders: Don't expect people to sacrifice their quality of life if you can't inspire them to do so.
Critical Victories is hosted by John Collins, an executive leadership coach specializing in working with professionals in positions of public trust. This weekly webcast is published every Wednesday at 8:00 AM at YouTube or wherever stream your favorite podcasts. Please visit www.criticalvictories.com for more information.
John explains why the problem of chronic defensiveness is so common and catastrophic, and what you or your team can do to fix it.
John Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in working with professionals in positions of public trust. Our webcast is recorded and published each Wednesday at 8am on YouTube, or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. For more information, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
It seems everywhere you turn these days there's an expert telling you what you should or shouldn't be doing. Human beings can only handle so much authority at a time. And when we've hit our limits, we rebel.
The Critical Victories webcast is hosted by John Collins, an executive leadership coach specializing in working with professionals in positions of public trust. For more information, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
John Collins shares his perspectives as a former forensic firearm examiner on why these shootings happen and how they can be dealt with.
Join your public trust coach, John Collins, every Wednesday morning at 8am for the Critical Victories webcast. For more information, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Challenges at American universities were apparent long before COVID-19 came along. As academia reinvents itself in the wake of the pandemic, it needs to return its focus to preparing students for the rigors of professional life. Join your public trust coach, John Collins, every Wednesday morning at 8am for the Critical Victories webcast. For more information, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Governor Greg Abbot's decision to bring life back to normal in the Lone Star State takes effect today. It was a high-stakes decision with high-stakes consequences.
Join your public trust coach, John Collins, every Wednesday morning at 8am for the Critical Victories webcast. For more information, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Professional golfer Tiger Woods and the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, are in the news for very unpleasant but very different reasons.
Critical Victories, hosted by John M. Collins, is released every Wednesday morning at 8am. Please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
BBC reports that Gen Z has announced itself as the rightful owner of modern style and fashion. But the challenges of multigenerational teams remain. John shares the secret for managing young people and maintaining intergenerational harmony in your organization.
John Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in working with professionals in positions of high public trust. Watch or listen to John each Wednesday morning at 8am here at YouTube or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. To learn more, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
The weather channel made a controversial decision a few years ago to start naming winter storms. As one rages across the U.S. this week, John encourages leaders to do what the Weather Channel did - give your set of most important priorities a name that people can talk about with more ease.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specializing in working with professionals in positions of public trust. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Three leadership tips for interacting competently with the press. But first, John talks about some things happening in the news that reveal some of the barriers that are preventing the practice of responsible journalism.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specialized at work with professionals in positions of public trust. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
The former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jimmy Johnson, gave some simple words of advice to the Jackson Jaguars' new head coach, Urban Meyer. In this episode, John shares with you the words of advice he didn't give, and why they can be the game changing leadership trait that turns average teams into unstoppable teams.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specialized at working with professionals in positions of public trust. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com
As a country, we inaugurated our 46th president last week, taking in heartwarming messages about unity, mutual understanding, and listening to one another. But now the work begins, and if President Biden wants an administration with integrity and the ability to earn and retain trust, here's what he has to do.
John M. Collins is an executive leadership coach specialized at working with professionals in positions of public trust. To learn more about John and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com
Following a year when the two major political parties seemed to clash on every major front - even matters of life and death, recent events may signal a coming and welcomed end to our country being ruled by partisan ideologues rather than the people we elect to represent us.
It’s Webcast Wednesday - I’m John Collins, your Public Trust Coach….this is Critical Victories. To learn more, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Solemn legislative proceedings at the U.S. Capitol were disrupted by an angry mob of invaders who share something in common - and it isn't support for Donald Trump.
For more information about John Collins at his coaching and consulting practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
As we begin the new year, strategic planning is on the minds of many corporate and public leaders. John explains why there's more to strategy than planning.
For more information about John M. Collins and his executive coaching and facilitation practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
John Collins draws on his own experience of being in the middle of a major bombing investigation to describe what's happening in Nashville following the Christmas Day explosion.
For more information about John Collins and his practice, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
The Defund the Police movement was never about defunding the police. Here's what's happening inside American police agencies and why they need to be fixed.
For more information about John M. Collins and our executive leadership programs, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been credited with a sudden surge in medical school enrollments - it's called the Fauci Effect. But as John Collins explains, Fauci had another remarkable effect that's not being talked about, and it may have cost Donald Trump the 2020 election.
To learn more about John M. Collins and our executive leadership programs, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
For years parents of children with autism spectrum disorders were led to believe that their children were damaged by dirty vaccines. Vaccine phobias are still out there, and it's possible they could impact the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. John explains the fraud and unchecked activism that led to public fears about vaccinations, and the damage they caused. For more information about John Collins and his executive coaching and leadership facilitation, please visit www.criticalvictories.com
Program Notes and References
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03334-w
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/7/130716-autism-vaccines-mccarthy-view-medicine-science/
The World Health Organization announced that it is investigating the origins of the SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus. John explains how we can use forensic organizational methods to assess the WHO's ability to conduct a reliable investigation.
To learn more about John M. Collins and our executive leadership programs, please visit www.criticalvictories.com
John Collins takes off the gloves and exposes what happens when persons with leadership responsibilities don't have a backbone. John also looks at the sex abuse claims against the Boy Scouts, as well as accusations that the Kentucky State Police encouraged the use of violence in the training of its troopers.
To learn more about John M. Collins and our executive leadership programs, please visit www.criticalvictories.com
Program Note: The Paul W. Smith podcast from December 2019 is no longer active.
In this episode, high-stakes leadership expert, John M. Collins, shares a personal story from his illustrious forensic science career - one that taught him a valuable lesson about the strengths and weaknesses of science.
To learn more about John M. Collins and our executive leadership programs, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
Joe Biden is projected to be the 46th president of the United States, but why was the margin of victory so tight? It's likely that our current culture of journalism is making it harder for candidates to distinguish themselves.
To learn more about John M. Collins at our executive leadership programs, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.
John M. Collins is your host and current events coach for this one-of-kind webcast that explores current events for the purpose of finding key lessons on life and leadership in our modern world. In this brief introductory episode, John introduces himself and the Critical Victories webcast.