Rick Hillier
Former Chief of Canada's Defence Staff -- the Canadian Forces' Highest Rank
Defined by his “trademark passion and urgency” (CBC), General Rick Hillier has made tough but necessary decisions during our current war efforts. He's a remarkable speaker, not because of the positions he's held, but rather, because of the qualities he projects onto and inspires in others. His lessons make him a public leader worth admiring—and listening to.
Highlights
"Rick Hillier's rise through the ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces can be likened to a gale force wind. Few individuals in our history have been as single-handedly accomplished at recrafting the nation's image - particularly to our neighbours...Hillier once said Canadians need to pay attention to their army. He's made that happen."
- The Globe and Mail
Book Speaker
In over three decades of service to his country, General Rick Hillier has remobilized support of Canadian troops, worked closely with Prime Ministers, increased Canada's significance within NATO, and solidified Canada's reputation on the world stage. In this time of War, under enormous public scrutiny, Hillier has, time and again, made the tough but needed decisions. In terms of leadership, in terms of diplomacy, in terms of strategy, he has few peers. For thousands of soldiers, he was a hero, "a soldier's soldier," and for millions of Canadians, he was the public face of the military during this eventful and tumultuous time in its history.
Gen. Hillier has commanded troops around the world, including NATO Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and was appointed Commander of the Army and Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan, in 2003. Called a man of "trademark passion and urgency" by the CBC, the straight-talking Hillier has just left his post as Chief of the Defence Staff -- the highest ranking position in the Canadian Forces.
General Hillier is a remarkable, and much sought-after speaker. On stage, Canada's top soldier displays the full range of his compassion, enthusiasm and leadership acumen, drawing on his unprecedented experience and sharing the lessons that have made him one of this country's most respected and influential public figures.
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Leadership: 50 Points of Wisdom for Today's Leaders
General Rick Hillier's views on leadership evolved over his three decades as a soldier, first by watching many of his superiors make bad decisions, then by learning from the school of hard knocks as the head of emergency rescue operations in Canada and international task forces in eastern Europe and Afghanistan. Never one to be shy with his opinions, Hillier is as frank and straightforward in Leadership Matters as he is in his #1 bestselling memoir, A Soldier First. For Hillier, leadership is all about people—embracing those in your charge and winning over those you need to work with—not about risk aversion or management fads. Leaders think long, and have a vision. Their actions speak, not their words, and they make their own luck. But leaders also act out of moral courage, accept failure, take advantage of crisis and are perpetually optimistic. Leadership Matters is an inspirational, easy-to-read and, in true Hillier fashion, always entertaining collection of principles that will challenge the way you run your business, start a project or take that next step in life.
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A Soldier First: Bullets, Bureaucrats and the Politics of War
In the summer of 2008, General Rick Hillier retired as Chief of the Defence staff of the Canadian Forces. You could almost hear the sigh of relief in Ottawa as Canada's most popular, and most controversial, military leader since the second World War left a role in which he'd been as frank, unpredictable and resolutely apolitical as any of his predecessors.
Born and raised in Newfoundland, Hillier joined the military as a young man and quickly climbed the ranks. He played a significant role in such domestic challenges as the ice storm that paralyzed much of eastern Ontario and Quebec in 1998, and quickly became a player on the international scene, commanding an American corps in Texas and a multinational NATO task force in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
But it was his role as General Rick Hillier, Canada's Chief of the Defence staff, that defined him as a Canadian icon. In Afghanistan, Canada faced its first combat losses since the Korean War, with every casualty becoming front page news. A country formerly ambivalent, or even angry, about its role in the conflict suddenly became gripped by the drama unfolding not only in a war zone halfway around the world but in unfriendly conference rooms in Ottawa.
There, as everywhere, Hillier pulled no punches, demanding more funding, more troops and more appreciation for the women and men fighting a war on foreign soil. This hard-hitting, honest account of Hillier's role -- told in his own words -- will be one of the most important books published in Canada this decade.