Oh Yeah? Watch This!
by Ed Allen
"Oh Yeah … Watch This!" is the story of the making of a man. Born amid tragedy, Lloyd Edward "Ed" Allen Jr. endured an abused and lonely boyhood to become a Naval Flight officer, the Captain of an aircraft carrier, and a Navy Rear Admiral. After his experience in the corporate world, he founded the Executive Success Group, coaching executives, sharing his insights on leadership and achieving business results.In this powerful and poignant memoir, Allen brings those insights, and much more, to a wider audience. Here you will meet another Ed Allen who was grappling with the lingering pains of the past that drove him to accomplishment. He shares not only the accolades but the anguish. Even as he rose to more senior levels in the military and in business, this was a soul in search of self. You see a hurting man looking upward and asking, "Why?" – and he takes you with him on a journey of forgiveness and closure.Few other memoirs have dealt so honestly with what it means to be human. "On the way to higher ground," Allen tells us in the opening pages, "I often slipped and fell and shouted in pain, but I grew stronger as I climbed to where, at long last, I could see the view." To anyone thinking that making it to the mountaintop is an impossible dream, this is Allen's challenge: "Oh Yeah ...Watch This!"
Hardcover
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Author Biography
LLOYD EDWARD "ED" ALLEN JR. is a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, former corporate vice president, and a successful executive coach. During his naval career, he flew in F-4s and F-14s from eight different aircraft carriers. He commanded an F-14 fighter squadron, a Carrier Air Wing, the Amphibious Assault ship USS Vancouver, (LPD-2 and the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea, (CV-43). After promotion to Rear Admiral he commanded the Naval Space Command, and a Carrier Battle Group. Allen served four tours in the Pentagon, including Deputy Director for Current Operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After leaving the Navy, he was a business development executive at the Oracle Corp for eleven years. He capped his professional life career by founding the Executive Success Group, coaching senior business executives. Allen and his wife, Donna, live in Trophy Club, Texas.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
A View From Higher Ground
Prologue
South Of Kingsville
Chapter 1
A Time To Be Born And A Time To Die
Chapter 2
"She Was A wonderful Person…"
Chapter 3
The Emotional Range War
Chapter 4
My Destiny As A Naval Officer
Chapter 5
From Academia To F-14A Tomcats
Chapter 6
Aspirations And Tensions
Chapter 7
Winning Is More Than "Not Losing"
Chapter 8
Command At Sea
Chapter 9
"The Ageless Warrior"
Chapter 10
From The Best Of Times To The Worst Of Times
Chapter 11
"Have I Got That About Right?"
Chapter 12
In Search Of Serenity
Epilogue
Rising From Harlingen
Review
"Life is a package deal." These words were spoken by my dearfriend, Ed Allen, in a speech delivered at his fortieth highschool reunion. In this moving and compelling memoir, welearn that behind all the success, achievements, and accoladesearned along the way as a very accomplished Naval Aviator, his is a story of a kind, courageous man who has endured lossand grief and personal and professional challenges to reacha place of grace and joy. Success and achievement are foundnot only on the medals displayed on one's chest but also inthe hard work involved in overcoming life's struggles andchallenges. In this memoir, we are privileged to share in theremarkable journey of a truly successful man.
-Vice Admiral John Craine, USN (Ret.)
I am delighted for all of us that Ed Allen has written hisstory. His wisdom, related in these pages and as a businessadvisor, helped to guide our company through rough watersto smooth sailing a decade ago. He mixes common sense, with lessons from extensive leadership experience and a deepsense of responsibility to help everyone he meets to be theirbest, and the results are a legacy of people who are very glad they know Ed. Stephanie and I have been blessed not onlyto know this man of faith but also to call him friend. I hopeyou will also get to know him as he tells his unlikely storythat takes us from hard scrabble South Texas to the highesthalls of power in our country. Only in America can Oh Yeah?Watch This! happen.
-Bill Boisture, Former CEO, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, and Partner, AEIndustrial Partners
Join me now as I briefly-all too briefly-paint the portrait ofan oneirocritic man who has a reserved place in the pantheonfor American heroes. Eddie Allen's genius in turning abstracttheories into practical realities, his audacity in attemptingwhat appears impossible and then succeeding, his perseverancein the face of adversities, his lofty family values, hisindomitable faith and belief in God and country, his intensededication, his infectious inspiration, and his demonstratedfaith in blazing a path into the unknown are widely knownand admired. Success is self-perpetuating-and you wrotethe book on how to succeed and have many years of tremendoussuccess behind you.
-Vice Admiral Jerry O. Tuttle, USN (Ret.)
(Note: Provided by his daughter, Vicky Tuttle, Admiral Tuttle has passedaway. This excerpt is from his speech upon my Navy retirement.)
Knowing Ed Allen has been a life-changing experience for me.I've had the distinct privilege of working together with Edon executive coaching and leadership development projects.Those projects were among the most gratifying of my career.We saw teams transform, and we marveled at how rewardingit was to be a part of that experience. And the best part wasgetting to do that work with Ed. I could not have found amore competent, caring, completely authentic, humble, andabsolutely hilarious compadre to work alongside. To this day, I continue to be inspired by Ed. I'm certain you will, too.
-Jane Creswell, Executive Coach and Mentor
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