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Welcome to the Supreme Leadership podcast where, following the success of Supreme Leadership: Gain 850 Years of Wisdom from Successful Business Leaders, we interview leaders who have been successful for 25 years and counting. Today I’m excited because we’re taking to Steven M. Windmill, TD MBA BA(Hons) FRSA.
Steven is a former army general who led 200.000 people! Today he shares three very intersting rules he lives (and succeeds) by.
Rule 1: there are no rules.
Rule 2: if you recognize a rule, consider braking it.
Rule 3: always talk to pretty girls!
In this episode we go deep into what it takes to be a successful leader, so that you can skyrocket your career!
If you’re a leader with 25 years in business and would like to be featured on the show, email me at [email protected] and put “Supreme Leadership Podcast” in the subject line.
If you’re a leader without a book, discover how you can quickly and painlessly leave your legacy. Download your free copy of Bestseller Creation Secrets for Leaders at http://www.leaderspress.com/ now!
A TRUE HERO AND LEADER
I first met Colonel Steven in Baghdad in Spring 2008. At the time we were under heavy attack from terrorist rockets and mortar bombs – sometimes as many as 40-50 bombs each day! During one of the surprise attacks, I was outside when the first of many such missiles exploded near to the US embassy; I ran for a nearby bomb-shelter and, entering breathless, was surprised to find 9-10 women already sheltering inside, including three little girls (aged 8-9 years. I have no idea why they were there) some crying. A few moments later Colonel Steven casually strolled inside as if he were sheltering from a light shower. Speaking softly, he made some amusing comment about it being a good day for metal rain and asked the little girls if their mummies where there (they were). After a few more words, he went and stood by the entrance and continued to look out for some considerable while – he made it look as if he was watching a game of baseball or something – not at all disturbed by the bombs landing only 50 feet away; something about his presence made everyone feel safer and everyone became calm. When the ‘All Clear’ siren was heard, he picked up two of the children and carried them into the embassy, with their mothers alongside. The hero of the day!
A few days later I met him again inside the Iraqi Prime Ministers offices, standing alongside Dr Mowafak Rubaie – the most powerful man in the country as the Prime Minister’s representative on all security and defense committees. Colonel Steven was giving a briefing on a forthcoming exercise in which he was to temporarily Command 220,000 Iraq security personnel, including almost the entire Iraqi army, National Police, Border Police, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of the Interior and the Iraqi Central Intelligence Agency; I can only say that Colonel Steven’s intelligence and leadership seemed to shine like a bright sun in a room otherwise full of dim torches. Dr Rubaie advised that Colonel Steven (now a temporary 3-star General) would command all Iraqi General’s and their officers for the duration of the exercise.
Colonel Steven / General Windmill is an exceptional man.
I too was privileged to serve the cause of freedom under this giant of a man.
It was 2008. Baghdad. The “Storm of Steel” (as Ernst Junger described it) was raging day and night. Women, children, even the hardest of hard men were reduced to trembling wrecks by the knowledge that the Grim Reaper moved among us nightly, fearing the grip if his bony fingers on our shoulders and what that would mean.
ColonelGeneral Steven Windmill stood proud and rigid against the metal rain, a beacon of leadership in the hellish tumult. I was but one of many thousands in his command and had never presumed I would have the privilege of meeting this man in person, but I felt a calmness, as though he himself was sheltering me from the metal rain with his mighty arm.
Fate threw us together in a night I will never forget. The bombs began falling earlier than usual and I was caught in the open, in a market at the edge of the Green Zone. I freely admit I was close to panic, scanning wildly for some cover from the Iron Precipitation, when I saw him. He was walking toward what I saw to be the open door to a shelter, with the calm insouciance of man on a bowling green, walking to collect his balls after a particularly successful end. There was authority in his stride. Power. There was hardness. I admired his hardness, but it scared me. I wondered if I would ever be that hard myself.
I watched transfixed, rooted to the spot by my own terror but also a fascination with the way ColonelGeneral Windmill moved. It was cat-like. Then something truly unexpected happened; he stopped and turned like a predator who, having been absorbed in stalking his prey, picked up the scent of a superior prize. He moved behind a market stall and, when he emerged, I saw what had taken his attention. He was carrying two sobbing children in his strong arms, moving with speed now toward the shelter. As he disappeared into the doorway, an explosion not far from me awoke me to the peril I was in myself and I sprinted toward the welcoming darkness of the shelter myself. Not for me the insouciant strut of the Alpha Male; I sprinted as though my life depended on it and threw myself into the open door, landing in a heap at the feet of this Great Man.
He helped me up and made one of his trade-mark quips about the metal rain; “Nice weather for metal ducks!”. Despite my terror, I could not help but laugh.
That night, the “rain” fell until dawn. There was darkness, and terror. It was a tight spot and we knew it. The women wept. I wept. But ColonelGeneral Windmill was strong for us all. He was hard for us all. He was tender for us all. He told me to snap out of it. To be hard. To be a man. That night I came to appreciate his tender hardness in a tight spot.
When dawn broke, and the rain stopped falling. He swept out of the shelter like a force of nature to deliver the children to the nearest embassy. As he ducked out into the light, he turned and winked back at me. I was moved to tears, and wept for many hours alone in the shelter. No-one was there to see my shame.
I still think of that night. I doubt I would have made it without ColonelGeneral Windmill’s tender hardness. He is a great leader and a great man.
STEVEN WINDMILL CHANGED MY LIFE
It’s hard to imagine, as I sit here at the keyboard and gaze out of the window, how my life would have turned out had it not been for the intervention of Steven Windmill.
It was 2008. I was six years old, growing up in the rubble of Baghdad. My parents were wonderful and loving, and worked hard to keep me safe from harm. I was never scared with them around. My father sold falafel in the market from a stall and I used to love to help him.
One evening, the bombs began to fall and we took cover in the nearby shelter. We had practiced so often, it came to be like a game for us. We settled into the shelter and I focused on reading the comics and colouring in that my Mum always had in my backpack for these occasions.
The raid was a long one and we all fell asleep. I woke up to find myself being carried by a stranger towards a big building with flags flying. My parents were nowhere to be seen. I asked the gentleman to take me back to the market, as my parents might be worried about me, but his Arabic wasn’t very good. He told me he was taking me away to a place where I would never need a metal umbrella again. This man was Steven Windmill.
When we arrived at the embassy gates, men with guns shouted at Mr. Windmill to stand back, as they didn’t recognise him. He shouted that he “…had a Special Package to deliver” and that only seemed to make them more cross.
Just then I heard my father’s voice. He was shouting in English (before the war my father had been a prominent surgeon in London, so his English was rather good); “That man has my child! Please apprehend him”. Steven Windmill stopped. He seemed confused; “This child is an orphan in need of shelter from the Steel Downpour!” he stuttered. The Marines had come closer now, and had their well-oiled M16A4 rifles trained on him. They urged him to put me and another child down, which he did. “This is all a dreadful misunderstanding”, he said, as the Marines zip-tied his hands behind his back.
My father swept me up in his arms and we enjoyed a hug. Soon the matter was resolved, and we were all enjoying tea at Steven Windmill’s luxurious quarters. His batman served us delicious jam sandwiches and my father brought along some of his best Falafels, which Steven Windmill tasted without much enthusiasm before returning to his earnest discussions of military weaponry with the US Marines who had apprehended him, regaling them with stories of heroism that had them by turns gasping with admiration and laughing with delight.
That night I dreamt of England.
اللفتنانت جنرال ستيفن ويندميل
المعروف أيضا باسم
الكولونيل ستيفن ويندميل في الجيش الإنجليزي
صلى الله على المؤلف الذي يكتب عن هذا الرجل العظيم ، هذا القائد العظيم ، العقيد ستيفن ويندميل. هذه قصة رجل لا يجب أن يخسر تاريخ اسمه. هنا يقال بعض من مآثره وحكمته العظيمة ونجاحه الكبير.
أنا لاتويا كايوش المالكي البالغ من العمر 55 عامًا أرملة العميد في الجيش العراقي. زوجي قُتل بقنبلة مخبأة في سيارته. في عام 2008 ، عملت كسكرتيرة في بعثة الناتو في بغداد. هناك تعرفت على العقيد العظيم الحكيم ستيفن ويندميل.
لقد أنعم الله رحمه الله على العقيد ستيفن بجسم طويل وصحي وعينان تلمعان براقة. عندما عرفته ، كان محاطًا ببشرته محترقًا من الصحراء وشعره أبيض اللون من الشمس.
يباركه الله مع طاقة وطيدة غير محدودة يعتبر الكولونيل ويندميل أصعب العمل وأكثرها بهجة ومليئة بالحياة لجميع الضباط العسكريين. كل صباح سيصل قبل كل الجنود الآخرين. كنا نعرف أنه وصل كل صباح وهو يغني بمرح وهو يسير في أروقة مقر الناتو الرخامية. غنى بصوت عالٍ على الرغم من أنه لم ينعم بصوت غنائي ممتع. نحييه بكأس من تشاي غير المحلى ، مشروبه المفضل في الصباح.
في فترة ما بعد الظهر ، سأجعل منه فنجانا كبيرا من القهوة القوية غير المحلاة قبل أن أغادر. قيل لي أنه لم يعد إلى المنزل إلا بعد منتصف الليل كل ليلة. كان لديه اثنان وأحيانًا ثلاثة أمناء يعملون معه كل يوم ما عدا الجمعة. عملت كل سكرتيرة قبل ثماني ساعات من وصولها التالي – كان العقيد ستيفن يعمل دائما ونادرا ما بدا بحاجة إلى النوم ولم يكن غاضبا من الناس أو الأحداث.
الله سبحانه وتعالى بارك الله هذا الرجل العظيم بحكمة سليمان الملك. وكثيراً ما حاضر الكولونيل ستيفن في الجامعة مع وزراء الحكومة وأكبر عدد من الجنرالات كطلابه. وقد أعجب الوزراء والجنرالات الذين كانوا من طلابه إلى حد كبير بحكمة العقيد ستيفن وفهمه العميق للعديد من الأمور المعقدة وطالبوا بأن تمنح الجامعة العقيد ستيفن لقبًا رسميًا لـ “البروفيسور” ، وهذا شرف عظيم لأن الكولونيل العظيم ستيفن كان أول رجل غربي ليصبح أستاذًا منذ أكثر من 40 عامًا. أعطيت العقيد ستيفن لفيفة لتخليد ذكرى لقبه الجديد وقدمت وجبة ضخمة من الأسماك والضأن تكريما له مع الموسيقى ، ودعي جميع الزوجات وبنات وزراء الحكومة والجنرالات لرؤيته بأم عينيه. كان أشجع النساء يهزّان يده وبنت البنات بعمق عندما نظر إليهن.
وسرعان ما لفت انتباه نوري المالكي إلى رئيس الوزراء في كل العراق ، وهو عمي ، من خلال أسرة زوجي. عمي يعتبر ذكي وحكيم فوق كل الآخرين.
الله ، المبارك هو اسمه ، كما أعطى سحر القيادة العميقة للعقيد ستيفن لدرجة أن كل ما اقترب منه سرعان ما أصبح ملازمه الحار وأقسم أن يتبعه. هذه القيادة والحكمة نادرة جدا. سمعنا الحكمة العظيمة للكولونيل ستيفن ، رئيس وزرائنا نوري المالكي ، من العقيد ستيفن أن يختبر جيشه وقوات الشرطة استعدادًا للانتخابات التي ستجري قريباً. في غضون بضعة أيام طار الكولونيل ستيفن لمقابلة جميع الجنرالات الذين يتولون قيادة كل من القوات الإقليمية للجيش والشرطة وشرطة الحدود والذين يسيطرون على الحكومة. كل الجنرال أقسم له الولاء. سرعان ما كسب قلوب جميع الجنرالات في جميع أنحاء العراق ، سواء من العراقيين أو الأكراد ، وأصبحوا حريصين على اتباع اتجاهه.
أعد الكولونيل ستيفن تجربتين عظيمتين للقوات العراقية. كانت أول محاكمة كبرى هي تقييم الجنرالات وحدهم وكانت التجربة العظمى الثانية لاختبار الجنرالات وكل مرؤوسيهم. قرر رئيس الوزراء النوري المالكي إختبار العقيد ستيفن ليرى ما إذا كان يبدو كما لو كان. لقد فعل ذلك من خلال مطالبته ، نوري المالكي ، بالدور القيادي كرئيس للوزراء خلال أول محاكمة كبرى ، وقد رتب العقيد ستيفن أن يكون كذلك. لكن في اليوم الأول من الاختبار
انسحب قريبتي وسأل العقيد ستيفن ليحل محله شخصيا ويتصرف كرئيس للوزراء مسؤول عن جميع القوات العراقية. كان أقاربي مستشاره الأعلى والأكثر موثوقية في مكان قريب لمراقبة العقيد ستيفن وهو جالس في المقعد الخاص لرئيس الوزراء خلال هذه المحاكمة الأولى. تم التأكيد على صحة والحكمة العظيمة من العقيد ستيفن ، تماما كما مهارات الجنرالات حيث أكد الكولونيل ستيفن نفسه. أعلن رئيس الوزراء نوري المالكي بنفسه أن الكولونيل ستيفن هو قائد ذكي وحكيم جداً للرجال ، ومنح العقيد ستيفن رتبة عالية من الليفتنانت جنرال استعداداً للمحاكمة العظمى الثانية لكي يعلم الجميع أنهم يجب أن يطيعوا كل أمره. . لم يُمنح أي رجل غربي من قبل هذا الشرف العظيم لأن هذا الشرف لم يُمنح أبداً لأي رجل لم يولد في العراق.
وبالنسبة للمحاكمة العظمى الثانية ، شاركت جميع قوات الأمن العراقية والكردية مع جميع الجنرالات الذين يقودون الجنود والشرطة الذين يخدمون تحت قيادة الجنرال كولونيل ستيفن. جميعهم أقسموا ولاءهم لللفتنانت جنرال كولونيل ستيفن للمرة الثانية ، وخلال المحاكمة العظمى الثانية استجابوا بسرعة لكل أمره وتعلموا الكثير من حكمته.
تم استخدام مكتب رئيس الوزراء ، داخل مركز القيادة الوطنية من قبل اللفتنانت كولونيل ستيفن طوال المحاكمة العظمى الثانية.
تعرضت دولة العراق لهجوم مستمر من كل من الإرهابيين السوريين والإيرانيين خلال هذا الوقت من التجارب الكبرى الأولى والثانية. قاد اللفتنانت جنرال كولونيل ستيفن الحرب ضد الإرهابيين وأمر المحاكمة العظمى الثانية في نفس الوقت. ووازن بين حركة العديد من جنوده ورجاله بحيث مرت الأيام الخمسة عشر كلها من هذا الاختبار دون حادث واحد ؛ سار رجال ونساء العراق وكردستان في الشوارع دون متاعب أو خوف.
في جميع أنحاء العراق وكردستان اللفتنانت جنرال ستيفن ويندميل ، المعروف أيضا باسم العقيد ستيفن ويندميل في الجيش الإنجليزي. هو يتذكر بدفء عظيم كرجل حكيم ومكتسب. إنه قائد عظيم سوف يتذكر إلى الأبد كصديق حقيقي للعراق.
…. [ترجمة الكمبيوتر] … [computer translation] …. [ترجمة الكمبيوتر] … [computer translation] ….
Lieutenant-General Stephen Windmill
Also known as
Colonel Steven Windmill in the English Army
Allah bless this author who writes about this great man, this great leader, Colonel Steven Windmill. This is a story of a man who must not lose his name. Here some of his exploits, great wisdom and great success that are said.
I am Latoya Kayoush al-Maliki, 55, the widow of the Brigadier General of the Iraqi army. My husband was killed by a bomb hidden in his car. In 2008, she served as secretary of the NATO mission in Baghdad. There I met the great wise Colonel Steven Windmill.
Allah blessed him with a long, healthy body and bright shiny eyes. When I met him, he was surrounded by his skin burned from the desert and his hair was white from the sun.
Blessed by Allah with unlimited solid energy, Colonel Windmill is the hardest, most joyful, and full of life of all military officers. Every morning he will arrive before all the other soldiers. We knew he arrived every morning singing happily as he walked through the corridors of NATO’s marble headquarters. He sang loudly even though he did not enjoy a pleasant voice. We greet him with a cup of unsweeten chai, his favorite drink in the morning.
In the afternoon, I will make him a large cup of unsweetened strong coffee before I leave. I was told that he was not go home until after midnight every night. He had two and sometimes three secretaries who worked with him every day except Friday. Every secretary worked eight hours before her next arrival – Colonel Steven always worked and rarely seemed to need to sleep and was not angry with people or events.
Allah Almighty blessed this great man with the wisdom of King Solomon. Col. Steven was often present at the university with Government Ministers and the largest number of Generals as his students. The Ministers and Generals who were his students were powerfully impressed by Colonel Steven’s wisdom and deep understanding of many complex issues and demanded that the university give Colonel Steven a formal title as “Professor”. This is a great honor because Colonel Steven was the first Western man to become a professor after more than 40 years ago. Colonel Steven was given a scroll to commemorate his new title and given a huge meal of fish and lamb in his honor and music, and invited where all the wives and daughters of Government Ministers and Generals to see him with their own eyes. The bravest of women shook his hand and the girls’ blushed deeply when he looked at them.
And soon he drew the attention of Nuri al-Maliki to the Prime Minister in all of Iraq, my uncle, through my husband’s family. My uncle is intelligent and wise above many others.
Allah, the Blessed One is His Name, also gave the magic of the deep leadership of Colonel Steven so that everyone that approached him quickly became his warm companion and swore to follow Him.
This power of leadership and wisdom is very rare. He heard of the great wisdom of Colonel Steven, did our Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and he asked Colonel Steven to test his army and police forces in preparation for the forthcoming elections. In a few days Colonel Steven flew to meet all the Generals who command the regional army, police and border police who control the government. All the Generals swear allegiance to him. He quickly won the hearts of all Generals across Iraq, both Iraqi and Kurds, and they were all keen to follow his direction.
Colonel Steven prepared two great experiments for Iraqi forces. The first major trial was the evaluation of the Generals alone and the second great trial was to test the Generals and all their subordinates. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has decided to test Colonel Steven to see if he seems to be true; He did so by demanding that he, Nouri al-Maliki, take the leading role as Prime Minister during the first major trial, and Colonel Steven arranged for it to be. But on the first day of the test my relative withdrew and asked Colonel Steven to replace him personally and act as Prime Minister in charge of all Iraqi forces. My relative placed his closest and most trusted adviser nearby to watch Colonel Steven sitting in the prime minister’s private seat during this first trial. The validity and great wisdom of Colonel Steven was confirmed, just as the Generals’ skills were confirmed by Col. Steven himself.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki himself has announced that Colonel Steven is a very smart and wise leader of men, and gave Colonel Steven the high rank of Lieutenant General in preparation for the Second Great Trial so everyone knows they must obey all his orders. No Western man has ever been granted this great honor because this honor has never before been given to any man who was not born in Iraq.
For the second great trial, all the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces participated with all the Generals who lead the soldiers and police serving under General Steven. All of them swore allegiance to Lieutenant General Steven for the second time, and during the Second Great Trial they quickly responded to everything and learned much of his wisdom.
The Prime Minister’s Office, within the National Command Center, was used by Lieutenant General Steven throughout the Second Great Trial.
The State of Iraq has been under constant attack from both Syrian and Iranian terrorists during this time of the first and second major tests. Lieutenant General Steven led the war against the terrorists and ordered the Second Great Trial at the same time. He balanced the movement of many of his soldiers and men so that the whole fifteen days of this test were without a single incident; walked the men and women of Iraq and Kurdistan in the streets without trouble or fear.
Throughout Iraq and Kurdistan Lieutenant General Steven Windmill, also known as Colonel Steven Windmill in the English Army. He is remembered with great warmth as a wise and accomplished man.
He is a great leader who shall forever be remembered as a true friend of Iraq.
What an unusual range of commentators, who have found this site and though they don’t exist anywhere else of the web, they choose to praise this gentleman, in such similar language. All the more amazing as for some English is not their mother tongue. Given the bravery of this man, it is surprising that medals have not been awarded, or a book or maybe a documentary.
Consider a few random, easy to check points :
a) The audio interview was one of the most ineloquent discussions on leadership I have ever heard.
b) Steven Windmill makes many wild claims about his career, director, on the board, etc etc, and yet has only held one directorship registered at Companies House in the UK
c) On his profile page, three of the ” references” are stock photos ( google image search) and some do not exist anywhere
d) He claims to have attended Holt Business School, but its actually Hult, a rookie error
e) In one press release from 2005 https://www.pr.com/press-release/4082 he claims to have a doctorate and calls himself ( only in this release ) a Dr with a DBA which supercedes an MBA, as well as being a Professor from a Baghdad university
f) If you cross check, you will find the only references to all this greatness comes from Steven, his press releases, and his CV. There is nothing on the web that cross checks these claims
g) As for the comments on this site, its hard to believe that a now 16 year old boy from Iraq found this web site, and with English as his second language is so eloquent in his praise. Latoya Kayoush al-Maliki appears only once on the web and it is on this site. As the widow of a senior person in Iraq, it is one that google finds only one reference to her, this site, and her comments. Outside of that, she appears not to exist
h) It is odd that at least two reviewers comment about ” metal rain” and the sentence structure and grammar is so similar between 2-3 different commentators
i) The rank of Lt Colonel is not that senior, and it is unusual that one man would do so much. For a chap who talks about leadership, there seems to be very little interest in teamwork and a lot of self-promotion.
Feel free google this guy, quite amazing.