Additional information
by Karl D. Klicker (Author)
TESTED BY FIRE presents the arts, sciences and intuition of backyard grilling as a metaphor for instructing new leaders in any industry. Combining theory and real-world experience from 40 combined years in military leadership, industrial training, organizational psychology and backyard grilling, the author presents 13 fundamental, thought-provoking scenarios for middle and senior leaders who own the responsibility for training and educating their organization's next generation of leaders. Examples include tales from the combat zone of Anbar Province in Iraq to life post-ENRON; comparing Santa Claus and jihad; and managing the challenges inherent in The 2nd Law of Social Thermodynamics - wrapped around the arts and sciences of spare ribs, potato salad, beer can chicken, the perfect seafood buffet on the grill...and many more. It looks like a cookbook, reads like an essay in Leadership.
Author Biography
Karl D. Klicker enlisted in the US Marine Corps after high school, serving 12 years enlisted, mostly as a musician and a journalist. He then earned a commission in the US Navy where he spent 6 years in Naval Intelligence before returning to the Marine Corps. After four more years as a Marine Intelligence Officer, Karl retired as a Captain in 1995 with 22 years of active service. He then worked as an industrial training manager - at General Motors, NASA, and ENRON, before a recall to active duty in 2005. Karl served an additional three years in Marine Corps Intelligence, including a six-month deployment in Iraq, at Fallujah, al-Anbar Province in 2006-07. Between 1976 and 1990 Karl found time to squeeze in some formal education, including a BA in English from Texas A&M University, an MS in Education from the University of Southern California, and a Doctorate in Education from Ball State University. Dr. Klicker has also taught as an adjunct professor for 13 colleges and universities since 1983, including Strategic Management and Organizational Psychology with Concordia University and the University of Phoenix and, most recently in Consulting Skills and Team Dynamics with George Washington University. His dissertation focused on organizational culture as a behavior-shaping tool. Since re-retiring from the Marine Corps in 2008, Karl has worked in psychological operations and counter-terrorism in support of various organizations in Florida. He has also been pursuing a second master's degree in Entrepreneurship at the University of South Florida.
