I’m proud to report that 2014 was the most successful year ever for The Military Leader!!! …Ok, fine. If you want to split hairs, yes…2014 was also the first year for The Military Leader website and social media platform. Still, it’s been an amazing journey since the first post on March 24, 2014, which basically said, “Welcome to The Military Leader. Be sure to ‘Like’ me on Facebook!”
Since then, you (a community of engaged leaders) have grown from zero to almost 3,000 and have accessed the site’s content over 90,000 times! Truly remarkable! And here are the 15 posts that gained the most traffic this year, with a few insights following the list.
Top 15 Posts of 2014
8 Myths About HRC Assignment Officers
7 Military Blogs You Need to Check Out
9 Misguided Reasons to go to SOF Selection
Sleep that Sabotages Leadership
Why “It Is What It Is” is a Stupid Phrase
A Career of “Career-Ending” Jobs – Eisenhower’s Wavy Path to Success
How To Survive a Shrinking Army
How to Build a Team of “Yes Men”
3 Traits That Will Get You Fired
You Are Being Watched – A Lesson in Example
12 Things Good Bosses Believe (#12)
A Simple Observation About Great Leaders
11 Keyboard Shortcuts You Must Learn
General Mark Welsh Gives “Intensely Personal” View of Combat
What It Means
Scanning this list and from watching the content spread through social media, I can make a few observations about how people engaged with the posts:
- Controversy Wins. The Military Leader isn’t meant to be an opinionated editorial, but it’s clear that people wanted to read the “edgy” topics like 8 Myths About HRC Assignment Officers, 9 Misguided Reasons to go to SOF Selection, and Why “It Is What It Is” is a Stupid Phrase. The HRC post has received the most comments of any post, I think because people harbor frustrations about HRC and have no real way to answer their questions.
- Military Blogs. The popularity of 7 Military Blogs You Need to Check Out showed that military blogging is still in its infancy. I think people are looking for great resources to use at work, but are tired of the CAC-enabled, canned content on most official military sites.
- Piggybacking. All of the top 5 posts got picked up by some platform or website with tons more traffic than The Military Leader has, which has been vital for expanding the blast radius. Doctrine Man, Small Wars Journal, Blogs of War, and Task & Purpose have all featured posts, which I’m very thankful for.
- Everyone Loves a Shortcut. Most won’t admit it publicly, but everyone loves discovering a new keyboard shortcut. 11 Keyboard Shortcuts You Must Learn was the first post on digital efficiency and was quite popular; and guest author Captain Dan Hudalla offered 10 Microsoft Excel Shortcuts to Make Your Life Easier as an addendum.
An Invitation
One area of The Military Leader I’d like to see expand are the Guest Posts. I know that leaders out there have some insightful thoughts to share, but most don’t think they have the time to write. I challenge you to give it a shot. 500 words isn’t hard to write when you’re talking about leadership, or team building, or training.
If you’d like to publish on The Military Leader, please check out the Guest Posting Guidelines.
On to 2015!
2014 has been a year of exciting engagement and professional growth. I can’t wait to see what 2015 will bring on The Military Leader! Thanks for being a part of it!