Mark Altman is a speaker and consultant on leadership and management issues and was the first to attempt to establish a link between philial love and leadership, a major update of leadership theory, as he outlined in his first book, Leadership For All the Mountains You Climb: While Loving the View. His revolutionary views were influenced by Robert Greenleaf’s work on Servant Leadership and Stephen R. Covey’s

Stephen Covey

Stephen Richards Covey is the author of the best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Other books he has written include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families. In 2004, Covey released The 8th Habit...

 work Principle Centered Leadership.

Education

Mark Altman was born in Cut and Shoot, TX. Mark Altman attended Conroe High School

Conroe High School

Conroe High School is a secondary school in Conroe, Texas and is the flagship campus of Conroe ISD. The school is a part of the Conroe Independent School District and serves the CISD portion of the city of Conroe, Cut and Shoot, and River Plantation....

, then after a short stint at Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...

 Altman enlisted into the US Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 as an infantry soldier. He then earned a BAAS at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, TX and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

. He came back to SFA as an ROTC Instructor where he earned a Master of Interdisciplinary Degree, and is engaged in PhD work in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University

Gonzaga University

Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...

.

Adventure

In 2001, Altman and his oldest son Mark II (then aged 10), rode mountain bikes from Rome, Italy

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 to Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

. Before Altman deployed to Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 in 2005, he, his wife Dawn Altman, and all four of his children (Mark II, Bailey, Matthew and Meagan) rode specialized tricycles from Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park is a state park on Cape Lookout in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in Tillamook County, south of the city of Tillamook, on a sand spit between Netarts Bay and the Pacific Ocean....

 in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, to Washington D.C. Altman is still involved in all sorts of High Adventure activities like Mountain Climbing, White Water Rafting, Rock Climbing, Spelunking, and also is a Rescue Level Scuba Diver.

Experience

Altman has been interviewed internationally on television, radio, and in print for leadership and family issues and has been seen on several episodes of Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights (TV series)

Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...

. Altman also writes a weekly, family focused, newspaper column Family Matters”, published in seven newspapers in four states, read by over a million people nationwide. His infectious attitude and ability to captivate an audience makes him well liked as a speaker. Many testimonials about his performance mention that his dynamic and engaging personality allows him to carry his message in an effective and interesting manner. Altman's leadership experience include a 20 year service record in the United States Army where he gained the rank of Major, and also attended Armored Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne and Air Assault Schools, and various other leadership schools.

Awards

In addition to numerous Army awards, Altman was awarded the Certificate of Merit in 1978 for saving a girl from drowning. He later received the Eagle Scout

Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...

 award in 1983. In 1996, he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal

Commendation Medal

The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. For valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy force, but of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Bronze Star, the Valor device may...

 for saving the life of a young man with a severe neck injury, floating face down in Lake Conroe

Lake Conroe

Lake Conroe is a 21,000 acre lake in Montgomery County, Texas, United States. Even though it is named Lake Conroe, only a small portion of the lake is in Conroe, Texas. Most of the lake is in Montgomery, Texas and Willis, Texas. The lake lies on the West Fork of the San Jacinto River just west of...

.

Occupations

Altman's occupations include:

• Adventurer
• Army Officer
• Author
• Educator
• Columnist
• Speaker

Philosophy

Mark Altman's philosophy on leadership is based on the work of Robert Greenleaf, Steven Covey, and a number of others in the Servant Leadership Model

Servant leadership

Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, coined and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf and supported by many leadership and management writers such as James Autry, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max DePree, Scott Greenberg, Larry Spears, Margaret...

. He is a pioneer in studying the connection between Philial Love and Servant Leadership.

Mark Altman defines several pieces to leadership in his book Leadership for All the Mountains You Climb: While Loving the View. These pieces are:

• Philial Love (Care and Compassion)
• Vision
• Power
• Management

Works

• Family Matters
• Leadership for All the Mountains You Climb: While Loving the View
• Leadership for All the Mountains You Climb: While Loving the View The Accompanying Workbook
• Leadership for All the Mountains You Climb: A Video