Vincent Boles

Expert on Leadership, Logistics, and Supply Chain Issues
Vincent Boles
  • Chief Operating Officer at the Pentagon
  • Integrated lessons from the War on Terror into training programs for over 120,000 soldiers
  • Brings expertise in supply chain logistics to discuss effective leadership and communication
  • Helps audiences unlock individual and team potential

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In 1976, armed with a commission as an Army 2d Lieutenant and a degree from Niagara University, this NY City son of Irish immigrants began his leadership journey.

In 33 years of Army service Major General Boles developed his leadership skills and techniques in a number of challenging times. The Cold War; Transition from a draftee force to a volunteer Army;  Service in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Response to the attacks of 9-11; deployment to and Command of our Logistics forces in Iraq and support of the surges in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of these endeavors brought out the best in him and the teams entrusted to him.  

Selected for promotion to Brigadier General in 2000 his first assignment was  management of  the nation’s $28 billion ammunition life cycle, from research and development, storage, and use to disposal. Selected for Major General in 2004, assignments included: 5 years as a Commanding General with assignments at home and abroad; in multiple combat operations; training centers and schools and the nation’s Industrial base. His final assignment was in the Pentagon, overseeing Strategic Integration, Readiness and Distribution operations on the Army Staff from 2006-2009.  

In 2010 he founded Vincent E. Boles LLC, a leadership and supply chain consulting practice where his focus is about you and your team’s “Best Getting Better” He also serves as an Executive Coach for the US Army and is adjunct professor at the Defense Acquisition University.

He now travels the world sharing his talents and skills to help leaders and their teams, his audiences have included; Fidelity; IKEA; The US Secret Service; USAA and the Global Health Exchange to name a few.

He has released  “4-3-2-1 Leadership…What Americas Sons and Daughters Taught Me on the Road From 2d Lieutenant to 2 Star General” that is now in it’s 5th printing.

A review of the book stated:

“He didn’t write this book exclusively for the military community. He learned countless lessons on leadership in his 3 plus decades in the Army, and he does us a great service by putting them in one volume and sharing them”

The recipient of an MBA from Babson College, in 2004 he was named a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary, in 2011, he was inducted into both the US Army Ordnance Corps and the Niagara University Army ROTC Halls of Fame and was awarded the President’s Medal, Niagara University’s highest award.

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Speaker Video

 

4-3-2-1 Leadership

Leaders today don’t require “help” that sounds good in a PowerPoint presentation and fades under the heat and pressure of reality.  They need tools that hold up when the stakes are high so that they can be better practitioners of their leadership craft.  Using the 33 years of experience in leading America’s sons and daughters and providing the right support in the toughest conditions, Major General Boles delivers to your team 10 time and battle tested tools that they can begin using right now to ensure their “best gets better.”  Specifically:

4          The 4 Expectations teams have of their leaders.

3          The 3 Questions to ask AND answer when leading others.

2          The 2 Reasons for stress in an organization.

1           The 1 Critical thing to focus on when leading.

 

Leadership…That Tool That Lies Between ‘Juggling’ & ‘Magic’

“Juggling” is a verb defined by the Merriam dictionary as: “To keep several objects in motion in the air at the same time by repeatedly throwing and catching them”

Merriam defines “Magic” as a noun, specifically: “A power that allows people to do impossible things by saying special words or performing special actions”

“Leadership is that topic that, alphabetically, finds itself between these two, and often is confused with these two. As evidenced by these questions and replies often asked of and heard from leaders: “What are you doing? I’m just keeping balls in the air” or; “How did we make that happen? Magic”

Bringing his 40 years of military, business expertise and presentations to groups around the globe ranging from 40 to 4,000; Major General Vincent “Vinny” Boles provides a lens to view your (and your teams) leadership practices, processes and actions along with a structure to ensure they are consciously and proactively providing the maximum value added to any organization’s most precious resource it’s human capital

You’ll learn:

  • The 5 things to ensure your team learns upfront and early. To include: What your job isn’t; Spot Checks vs Inspections; Management  Leadership; When to (and when not to micromanage); Understanding the Challenge of Change.
  • How to REALLY help those you lead. Specifically:  When do you Smile?; Coaching and Counseling in 15 minutes; Handling “News” (good and bad) to ensure your “best gets better”; The 2 aspects critical in every job interview; Feedback, Giving it as a Gift, Receiving it as a Present.
  • How to REALLY help yourself be a better Leader: Including: 4 Things you have to do Everyday (and what happens when you don’t); Don’t learn from Experience; The Model to Manage your meetings; Work Life Balance is an equation (B 24 I/U, how to solve it); The most important thing a leader can do
  • You and your team will leave with reality based, “battle tested” tools to ensure they stop wondering if they are “juggling” or “magically” having things happen to making the best things happen and in the process being the best they can be for themselves and your organization.

 

Lessons in Life for Leaders.... Achieving and Maintaining a Work-Life Balance

Balancing the requirements of the workplace with the demands and desires of family and home has occupied ever-expanding column space on the web and the printed page. There is: “Work-Life Balance: Tips from 24 Entrepreneurs boiled down to 1”; “5 Secrets to Achieving Work-Life Balance”; “Work-Life Balance; Is It Possible?”…etc.…

In this presentation retired Major General and business owner Vincent (Vinny) Boles takes you and your team from the esoteric theory and angst over work-life balance issues and provides 3 tools gained from his 33 years of Army service and corporate work as a keynote speaker on leadership, team building and coaching executives in the; corporate, government and non-profit sectors.

You’ll learn 3 “go to” that will take you from a concern over work-life balance to achieving and maintaining it. Specifically:

  • Definition: Defining what an appropriate work-life balance is for you and your team. Understanding the difference between “important” and “urgent” tasks and focusing appropriately.
  • Scheduling: The correct way to do synchronize a work calendar and putting a routine in place that facilitates the “work” and “life” realities in todays environment.
  • “Truth Matters” (or, How to Stop Lying to Your Family Every Morning):  Understanding the power of commitment to work and family and keeping those commitments. Taking the time to understand what your family really wants from “balance” (hint: they set the bar low for you )   

Using real time experiences, anecdotes (and any number of excuses he’s heard) You and your team will leave the session with tactics and techniques that will make a positive difference right away; for you, your team and your family.

 

Leveraging The Links In Your Supply Chain

Drawing on his 33 years as a career Soldier and logistician at every level, Major General Boles will walk through the links in the worlds largest and most complex supply chain from the port to the Pentagon and highlight 4 critical issues that will snag/kink your supply chain:

  • Standards you use.
  • Systems you put in place to attain those standards.
  • Who is in charge of your standards, your systems? ...the critical intersecting points.
  • Metrics: Leading, Lagging. . . what and how you measure.

Providing real world examples of what worked, what didn’t work and why, Major General Boles will lay out a real world depiction of a supply chain in motion. You and your team will have “news you can use” to better optimize your supply chain, whether across town or around the globe.

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