For too many, they consider ‘leadership’ a noun and not a verb. John writes a compelling and easy to navigate book that is highly useful for all leaders, at all levels, to either learn or refresh on the key tenets of leadership, assess areas for improvement, and then take the right steps to lead — with fortitude!

This book should be one that is shared, and shared again, as it effectively and thoroughly employs diverse vignettes from the private sector, government organizations, and the military. The lessons and assessments spelled out are of valuable to the newest manager, to the most season CEO or Government/Military Executive.

I recently purchased this book for my young family members that have their own new businesses. While each of their businesses are diverse in application, the leadership principles and decision making processes are no different than those taught by Col. Boggs in classes and materials. Bottom line, time is money! John has reduced volumes of concepts learned, experiences had from the Marines and businesses into his concise, easy to understand materials that assist you in becoming an effective leader! A must have for your reference library.

This book is a must have for your entire leadership team! Regardless of background, industry, country of origin, etc, all great leaders have commonalities based on principles and philosophies. Colonel John Boggs does a phenomenal job in sharing his wisdom and guidance that can be applied in any setting. Invest your time in absorbing the information in this book.You will be a better leader because of it.

Fantastic, insightful, & a must have! Colonel Boggs is an incredible mentor & leader that has truly ‘been there, done that’. His book is clear, applicable, and should be on everyone’s book shelf that is, or ever will be, a true leader. The topics Colonel Boggs teaches, from empathy to strategic planning, are unbelievably powerful and beneficial for every situation: family, corporate office, entrepreneurs, police, military, etc. A true masterpiece! Thank you, John!

A fantastic how to book that is easy to implement with stories that keep you engaged and thinking. A must read for anyone who works with, or is in charge of others. A lifetime of leadership experience with both military and civilian personnel condensed into a great book. Bravo Col. Boggs! When will the next book be out?

It was very helpful in seeing my occupation from a different perspective. I will use a lot of this training and push it through the ranks…

It proves to me the belief, passion and commitment you both have to the message of 21st Century Policing.

Should you ever find yourselves in Michigan again, please do not hesitate to contact me. Not only will I send all the personnel I can to your seminars, I would also like to show up just to say hello.

The Course was very timely. The Course had the best discussion of racial profiling that I have had in over 20 years on the job. (The Course is) Very useful and informative.

I would like thank you and Byron for an excellent class. I have to admit that I was more then a little apprehensive about the class when I was told that I was attending…Anyway, the information was presented in a very engaging and memorable fashion. I truly enjoyed the open dialog! Very few instructors seek out opposing views and are equally able to defend the information that they present. I wish you two continued success in your presentation of this information.

The Course was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas with fellow students and made us focus on the changes caused by events of the past decade. (The Course) Provided tools an got us thinking about the ideas on how we can build the trust in our Communities and our Departments.

Very enjoyable training. I was able to mine several things to take back and apply. Thank You!

Colonels (Ret) Freeman and Boggs are leaders of exemplary Character, Compassion and Integrity. Their combined 70+ years of leadership, management and community based policing strategies conducted throughout the world and in complex environments were invaluable in helping my organization grow into the professional police officers we need in today’s complex social and economic environments. I personally want to thank them for helping my police officers and leaders embrace the elements found in the President’s Report on 21st Century Policing that should guide all law enforcement executives throughout our country to better understand our communities, build strong partnerships and ultimately build long lasting trust between our citizens and our police forces.

Excellent training with modern insights relating to cultural diversity for public safety professionals. Colonel Freeman of BAF Security Solutions and Colonel Boggs of Fortitude Consulting provided us with relevant, unique insights and experience that made my deputies re-think the way they handle encounters. Remarkable facilitation by the instructors and I highly recommend this 21st Century Strategic LE Series.

Very good information…enjoyed the presentations, but could easily be a 40-hr class.

Curricula is solid; instructors engaging and inspirational. Very beneficial!

Good course to help open officers thinking with changes in communities. Some police mindsets need to change but so do community members or else we will continue to not have harmony amongst us.

Excellent course. Instructors kept class very entertained. Great exercises to bring class members together. Instructors bring a lot of knowledge to the table. Recommend for all current law enforcement officers.

Excellent and engaging instruction, very thought-provoking. Great discussions. Knowledgeable and experienced instructors.

Very interesting information. Good exercises and tools to take back to job and community. Very good discussions.

Great exercises to get groups/everyone involved. Discussions were challenging/thought-provoking. Very good content, changes your way of thinking.

As the Chief Executive of a rapidly growing international company, TransGen Energy, Inc., I recommend Col John Boggs to any senior executive or executive team with the desire to dramatically improve their ability to lead.

I count on John as a Trusted Advisor and Mentor. He is insightful. He combines his wisdom, knowledge and leadership experience to the benefit of the client.

Col John Boggs is a rare find. He is a virtuoso at helping senior executives develop into strategic leaders and equally adept at developing midlevel managers – making both groups strong in strategy development and task execution.

The Colonel remains a Trusted Advisor to me and has my strongest recommendation to others looking for leadership expertise.

Col. John Boggs has been an absolutely amazing executive coach for me. I certainly consider him a trusted advisor as he is extremely thoughtful and strategic as it relates to the action plan he worked with me to create for my aspirations to one day become a CEO. In addition, John makes himself very accessible and he both champion and challenges me in ways that I have never experienced as we focus on the model for Exemplary Leadership! With out a doubt I would highly recommend John, as he is 5 Star Executive Coach indeed!

John is an exciting and dynamic individual. He is a “Top Notch” professional and conduct his Leadership Training sessions with a lot of energy and passion. My group really enjoyed his session!! We were able to capture and take away some valuable tools that will help to make us better leaders and to help transform our Agency’s Strategic Vision to best suit the mission and our stakeholders.

Colonel Boggs It was and honor and privilege to attend your “Awesome” training on Leadership. You kept us all engaged and wanting more to be better leaders of today. I have on my wall in my office, “A good leader must build functional relationships in the workplace and positive interactions”.I will now add Leadership Essentials… Behavior, Creating Heroes, Decision Making, and Communication… Are you a Pigeon or an Eagle ???*Colonel John Boggs.

Thanks you for making a difference in my life and in the lives of others.

The Arizona Rock Products Association (ARPA) was looking for powerful keynote speaker that could combine experience, wisdom and leadership with an approach that would resonate with our industry members and leave them with a sense of direction and enthusiasm pertaining to leadership. Having Col. Boggs speak about leadership, to all levels of management, in a straight forward and effective manner was an invaluable experience for all in attendance. Quite frankly, we received excellent feedback and it is safe to say he was one highest rated keynote speakers we have ever had.Col. Boggs has an innate ability to motivate and engage the audience in an artful and compelling way. Not only that, he does his homework and can speak to key issues, diverse audiences and leaves everyone in the audience with a valuable take-a-way. Of course, this is based on the tremendous amount of effort he applies to learning about the organization he is addressing. It is that personal touch combined with his life experiences that make him a cut above the rest.

He will leave any audience feeling inspired; which is both meaningful and empowering. It is without hesitation I would recommend John Boggs for any occasion.

We were looking for a speaker to address a group of our customers during a Customer Advisor Board event. We wanted to provide our group with some practical leadership skills that they could utilize in their daily leadership roles and John was the perfect speaker for our event.Our group enjoyed his talk on “the elusive perfect decision,” and learning more about the “decision making funnel”. John did a great job of explaining the concepts of “Musts, Wants, and Risk” and I am confident that our customers will incorporate some of these principles into their everyday leadership approach.

John is a talented speaker and he tailored his presentation specifically to our group. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a speaker that is not only able to speak on a multitude of leadership topics, but can provide actionable skills and tactics.

There is truism that I would like to share. There are officer’s one saluted out of obligation and officer’s one saluted because they were honored to do so. I salute Col Boggs for helping me understand the fine nuances of leadership. I highly recommend Col Boggs to anyone wanting to take their leadership to the next level. He is an awesome human being who helped transform my life.

John is a leader among leaders. His even temperament, wisdom, excellent people skills and capacity for problem-solving render him an immense asset to any organization fortunate to have him on their team.

I want to say thank you again for coming and sharing “The DNA of Power: Professionalism!”This workshop I believe sparked and set ablaze what it mean to be professional and gave practical tools for each man to understand Personal Power; best part about it is that it only costs a DIME! Thank you my friend and I look forward to our future chats and meetings!

Thank you for your presentation Friday. It was very motivating. I only wish we had someone like you to help educate the American people now. We need a hero now more than ever, to educate and motivate before it is too late… If you ever decide to make switch from training the people you are currently training, to educating and motivating people to help restore our republic for which it stood, you could really be the hero that we need…

I’ve been attending the IICRC Symposium’s since 2009, and never before have I left with more determination and inspiration form any speaker they have had in the past. I wanted to thank you for your time and words that you shared with me! …and to have someone of your caliber speaking to us on Friday was phenomenal!I can’t thank you enough from the heart for giving me the opportunity to sit through your presentation.

I work in NY and NY…and will look forward to any opportunity that presents itself to attend any seminars or events that you may have in the future. Again, Thank you!!

Earlier this year, I was looking for a speaker to address our association on leadership and to encourage members to step forward as candidates for our upcoming board of directors election. In discussing this with one of our members, he said “I have a man you have to meet.”Fortunately for me and for my members, I did meet that man. Col. John Boggs agreed to speak at our association luncheon to present his views on leadership and the importance and strength of participation in an association. In the relatively short time allotted, John did an excellent job of presenting his case and kept a tough audience of commercial real estate professionals enthralled. Everyone I spoke with after the event had praise for John’s message and delivery, and also actionable takeaways for themselves and their associates.

Although I haven’t had the privilege to know John for very long, nor the chance to work with him on more than the referenced occasion, I plan to remedy that as quickly as I can. On a personal and professional level, I am richer for meeting and working with John. If you’re interested in improving yourself, your company, or your association, I too have a man you have to meet.

John – We cannot thank you enough for your incredible leadership with us today! You are stellar! It was a tremendous opportunity for us to have such a high level of direction, and guidance through our critically needed strategic planning process.We are so grateful for that and want you to know it was very, very productive and valuable to us.

I wanted to thank you for presenting at the Boma luncheon yesterday and tell you that I really enjoyed your presentation. Hi energy, funny and to the point. I loved the analogy of the pigeon and the eagle!Thank you for all that you do for the US of A.

Colonel John Boggs is one of the few people that I know who has all the skills to assist an organization in achieving its vision. He is very knowledgeable and personable. More important than that, he has the ability to engage members of your organization in enrolling in your shared vision. He is a man of action. If I wanted to improve my company, John Boggs would be the first person that I would hire.

I have been in training with Six Seconds yesterday and Top 20 today but am now home and can finally send my tremendous gratitude to you for Facilitating our even Thursday evening at the Hermosa! Your performance was over the top! You were everything I knew you would be and more! The next day I was at the Six Seconds Training with approximately 15 of the people that were there Thursday night and it was almost funny how everyone would say the same thing…. “could you believe that Col John Boggs? Wasn’t he amazing! I have heard very positive from the men as well that you have a powerful presence and were an excellent M.C.”Everyone in the room however is commenting on the most powerful moment … when you bent down and shook hands with Mark Trombino. Everyone saw it and the image was incredibly powerful!!!

The fortitude to teach. The fortitude to inspire. The fortitude to collaborate. The fortitude to examine without bias. The fortitude to question. The fortitude to be curious. The fortitude to say what needs to be said. John Boggs has all of that and more. The first time I heard John speak was at a public gathering of high profile leaders. He was probably the fifth or sixth person on the program. The previous speakers were good. John was exceptional. His message, his delivery, his passion were heart-centered. I knew then that this was someone I wanted to know and from whom I could learn so much more about how to amp up my own leadership capabilities. I have had the good fortune to work with John as a colleague and to work for John as a consultant. He is as good “on the ground” as he is in the board room. He is big picture and he is also the one who understands the power of details and how to use them to get the trains running on time. He is a strategic analyzer. He is a creative analyzer. He is right brain. He is left brain. He is a gifted leader and knows how to help others amplify their own leadership talents. Fortitude is certainly the appropriate name for his company. He has it in spades and I am proud to recommend John and his services.

It has been my privilege and honor to have known Colonel John Boggs, USMC (Ret) over the past 16 years. Principally, I have worked for and by Colonel Boggs in a number of capacities. These roles included as organizational head, staff advisor, educator, and mentor. In each of these roles, John consistently demonstrated servant leadership and a results focus. He possesses a keen ability to quickly recognize all stakeholders and maintain an enterprise approach. His focus on the team, and loyalty to the organization and mission are never in question.John is also one of those rare individuals that can work and relate to people and ideas at every level, from the lowest to most senior organizational. In the U.S. Government and Marine Corps, he has honed these knowledge, skills, and abilities throughout all levels. Having known and served with many leaders in both the private and public sector, I know that Colonel Boggs can step into any organization, and quickly assess its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as assist them in developing a plan of action.

Finally, John Boggs is not only a leader, but he is a coach and role model. He possesses the emotional intelligence, leadership, and empathy required of 21st Century leaders. In a world full of legal, ethical, and leadership challenges, men like John are exactly what an organization needs, whether as a leader or consultant. He has my most enthusiastic recommendation to those seeking to improve their leadership ability and the performance of their organizations.

I have known John Boggs for over 20 years and can state unequivocally that he is one of the finest leaders that I have ever had the opportunity to serve. Our relationship has always been that of teacher/student, boss/worker and any other type of senior/subordinate analogy one could think of. But with John, it has always been a wee bit different. His unique ability to get the team on task and the mission completed in a thorough and timely manner is really nothing new in leadership circles. But what really makes John special…unique…is that as the team works towards the deadline, he is right there in the trenches slugging it out, getting the job done. Inspiring, motivating and leading…no task too large or small for John as he is always engaged. His style is one that while he an integral part of the effort there is no doubt that he is absolutely in charge and that he has the courage to make the tough decision. And with that demonstrated quality he brings the team up to the same level of ownership and pride in completing the task at hand. He doesn’t minded getting his hands dirty.Kipling’s poem, “If”, very eloquently captures the essence of the way John conducts himself in his daily life, regardless of the venue. “…If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch…” A man for all seasons and one of our best and brightest, John is a winner. He brings that same winning edge to any team he is on. I trust him implicitly and would actively seek out the opportunity to serve with him again in any arena. He is one of our very best.

I am pleased and honored to write this recommendation for John Boggs and Fortitude. One doesn’t have to know John for very long to witness many examples of his character, professionalism and leadership because these are qualities that he exhibits as easily as he breathes. I have known and worked with John for several years. Throughout that time, I have had the pleasure of observing his unique ability to very instantly gain the respect, admiration and loyalty of all those around him. Whomever the audience, all heads turn toward John. The reason for this phenomenon is easy to discern. John’s extensive knowledge of and facility with a wide variety of topics captures the attention; his teaching ability and expert communications skills allow him to reach people at all levels; his obvious honesty, candor and ability to entertain keep all within hearing distance enthralled.In the business arena, John is equally dynamic. He has the thought leadership to be an excellent strategist and the hands on experience to be an equally proficient tactician; a combination that is extremely rare. It’s this gift that makes John a leader of other business leaders. Its why, even with almost 30 years as an accomplished business person, I rely on him for advice, coaching and assistance to solve the most complex management and business problems. There is no one I trust more to provide sound reasoning, innovative ideas and creative solutions that work.