Ten a Day - Day 6 I am Switching Styles

(in an overly dramatic, motherly voice) Where have you been Young Man?  The short answer is… busy.  I’ll give a quick recap below but about my college life but first I wanted to cover some new material. 

TED.com

On my hour long drive to work I was listening to classic books on my phone via Bluetooth.  I discovered that was REALLY boring because 18^th and 19^th century novelists are like soap opera writers, IT JUST KEEPS GOING ON AND ON.  I have switched and am now listening to TED talks.  If you don’t know what TED talks are, go to TED.com and check them out.  The premise is that really smart people talk for about 20 minutes on whatever their field of study or business covers.  Again, check them out, they are very cool.

Discussion of the Day - Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action on TED talks

Let’s start this discussion with WOW.  His concept is simple, but mink blowing in the sense that people don’t think like this.  The concept is that if we convey our WHY (vision) to everyone, that will get them to buy into our concept.  This is not a new idea, but he is very good at conveying it.  His idea includes three concentric circles; in the inner circle is WHY, the middle is HOW and the outer is WHAT.  SEE FIGURE 1.

Most organizations work from the outside in:

·        They know WHAT they do – “we make computers” or “we maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.”

·        Most know HOW they do it through their Business Process Management (BPM).

·        Very few know WHY they do it.

He uses the analogy “a computer company would say ‘we make great computers (WHAT), they are beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly (HOW), do you want to by one (WHY)?’“

The great companies will take the opposite approach and start from the inside and work out.  That analogy looks like Apple and sounds like this “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently (WHY) we challenge the status quo by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly (HOW) we just happen to make great computers, do you want to buy one (WHAT)?”

On his website, Simon goes on to make the three circles into a cone, where the WHY is on the top, How is in the middle and WHAT is on the bottom.  He states that the WHY should be practiced by the top leaders, etc.  To add to the idea, you could see the cone as a metaphor for a megaphone and the top leader will be shouting their message (WHY) through it.

He is repackaging visionary leadership (either transcendent, servant or authentic leadership) but it still is a powerful concept that we could embrace at work, home and community.  Check out his speech at:

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

Back to College Life

I started my Ph.D. program on April 14^th with a Benedictine University Seminar Weekend.  Dr. Chris Worley was the guest speaker.  Also Gretchen just started her MBA in Marketing.  Wow, a lot of learning going on in this house.  The OPTEMPO is high, but the payoffs will be worth it.  Gretchen is one hell of a networker so if you need someone in Marketing 2 years from now, let me know.

Organization Development

If you don’t who Chris Worley is; I will give you a brief bio.  He is one of the leading people in the world of Organization Development (OD) and is co-author of an OD textbook considered to be the bible of OD.  He also wrote a very significant book called Built to Change, that deals with organizations and change.  It sounds boring but is pretty interesting to see where businesses are trending.  His last book, Management Reset takes the concepts that he built in Built to Change and builds upon them with the triple bottom line for business – profit, social and economic responsibility.  In the foreword, the CEO of Patagonia even suggests a four forces (IVF) model that encompasses environmental stewardship, corporate citizenship, product or service quality and financial strength.  

If you haven’t read my other blogs, you are probably saying to yourself “Organization Development, what the heck is that?”  Good question, and when we in the OD field find a definition, we’ll let you know.  Just kidding.  OD is about helping an organization define itself, change itself and manage itself.  In our OD text, which has been cited as the OD Bible, there are FIVE definition of OD!  I will give you the proper definition as:

OD is the system wide process of data collection, diagnosis, action planning, intervention and evaluation aimed at (1) enhancing congruence among organizational structure, process, strategy, people and culture; (2) developing new and creative organizational solutions; and (3) developing the organization’s self-renewing capacity.  It occurs through collaboration of organizational members working with a change agent using behavioral science theory, research and technology

If that doesn’t sound like fun, I don’t know what does…

The coursework itself and the people that I have met so far are very interesting.  I am enjoying it and will update my status periodically.  

Studying for the PMP

I haven’t given up, but had to put that on hold until I can get my Ph.D. material under control.

Ding, ding, time’s up.  I have ranted for my ten minutes (actually 3 hours) and as always I appreciate your readership.  Please feel free to ask me questions or add comments to our discussion. 

 

Ten a Day - Day 5 Are the CPOs of Today Prepared?

The following is a LinkedIn question that raised some good discussions on the boards. After the question is my response. Please forgive my lengthy response but I am passionate about the subject and want to bring up as many discussions as possible. Feel free to respond on this blog or on my Facebook post. I am very interested in your thoughts.

QUESTION FROM LINKEDIN: Something I noticed in the Chief Initiation Season (Induction for some of you) is that it seems to be getting easier every year. Do we really prepare the next generation?

MY ANSWER: I was Inducted (not Initiated) in 2009, but I have served in our great Navy since 1990.  In those 22 years I have experienced some great Chiefs, many satisfactory Chiefs and a few bad Chiefs.  Our society has changed significantly over this time along with its values.  The military has also changed with society (the military is a cross-section of society), but not all customs and traditions carried on from the past were good.  Often times when we remember the past, we only remember the good points and often overlook the bad.  You may remember liquid lunches, Lower Level counseling and sadistic rituals of abuse that brought Sailors closer together, not out of pride, but out of misery, that we called “tradition”.  What we thought were time honored good traditions handed down from the last generations were actually just bad habits that were carried forward, out of a sense of “I had it happen to me, now it is my turn to do it to someone else.”  Before I address Induction versus Initiation further, I would like to put it in context by comparing past Chiefs to present Chiefs. 

Leadership 22 years ago may not have been as great as we remember it.  When I started out as a young Sailor in 1990, the Second Classes ran the shop and it was the First Classes’ job to run interference between the Seconds and the Chief.  The Chief sat in the Mess unless something went wrong; then he gave you a good ass chewing and waddled back to the Mess.  If you saw the Chief, there was a sense of awe and fear of the man.  You didn’t talk to him unless he spoke to you first and he was usually too busy barking out orders to talk to you.  Mission accomplishment through fear was the leadership style of the day.  Good, bad or different that was the way it was in my experience.  Now I want you to think about that Chief I just described.  Is being feared and only associated with problems good traits for a Chief?  I say no.  Our expectations of a Chief are to be visible, approachable, knowledgeable of both his equipment and Sailors, and above all else responsible to his charges.  Mission First, People Always is our leadership style.  Deckplate Leadership isn’t a slogan or buzzword; it is our reality and a necessity of our leadership.

Not all leadership in the past was bad.  Growing up in the Navy, we had designated spaces that we were responsible for.  This included the machinery in it, the cleanliness of it and all Damage Control equipment for it.  You even had a sign posted on the outside of the compartment telling everyone YOU owned it.  In the last 22 years our Navy has slowly shifted responsibility upward (Firsts or even Chiefs are now doing what the Seconds did in the past) and junior Sailors have zero personal accountability.  The definition of leadership development is allowing our Sailors to become responsible for more than just themselves, giving them a chance to make mistakes and holding them accountable for their actions.  They are not being developed into leaders if they lose the chance to challenge themselves and build their problem solving skills.  In the Fleet today when a space is inspected and marked UNSAT; it is always the Division Officer and Chief’s fault.  No one else is held responsible for the upkeep of that space.  Is it the Division Officer and Chief’s fault that the space was UNSAT?  Absolutely!  But more importantly it was their fault for not designating responsibility to someone and holding them accountable for it AT ALL TIMES.  Today’s zero defect mentality only compounds this situation into a culture of zero risk and hero reward.  Everyone is afraid of making mistakes so they don’t do anything and only the heroes who risk all are rewarded for their efforts. 

We always think that the next generation is softer, weaker and not ready for what we experienced, but that’s simply not true in most cases.  The Sailors of today (and Chiefs of tomorrow) are better educated, more motivated and are smarter than any of us old timers.  Our leadership development may still have flaws, along with its Chiefs, but we are continually improving.  That is most evident in the transition from Initiation to Induction.  During the time of MCPON Hagan and MCPON Herdt the Initiation process had been under such public scrutiny for hazing that top Navy officials were going to ban it.  Many of the Chiefs that I have talked to about Initiation stated that it was 99% torture with no real leadership value.  They all seemed to say the same thing, “I survived it but I didn’t get anything out of it.”  MCPON Herdt and his Chiefs’ Mess revamped Initiation into Induction.  Although this process shift helped the current (circa 2000) and future CPOs with transition, it still did not address the legacy problems of poor leadership development that Initiation caused.  MCPON Campa and West both identified significant problems within our Navy leadership, including its Chiefs, and have made strides to improve our Navy and our Mess.  MCPON Campa instituted the CPO Mission, Vision Guiding Principles.  MCPON West, acknowledging that Chief Petty Officers are not made in six weeks of Induction, started the CPO 365 program.  If you’re not familiar with CPO 365, it is a year round, three phase program developed to encourage mentorship and foster a stronger bond between the Chiefs’ Mess and Board Eligible First Classes prior to the Induction Season.

BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION: Is the Induction Season getting easier each year and are the next generation of CPO prepared? Yes.  With the CPO 365 program and CPO mentorship we can’t sit around and complain about the poor leadership skills of our new Chiefs because they were the very same EP First Classes, whom we mentored and led, the entire year before.  Today’s embrace the CPO 365 program with gusto because we know these Sailors will be our replacements.  We continuously train with our First Classes, both physically and mentally, to ensure that they have better leadership skills and more educated than we were through our Season.  The results of MCPON West’s vision and our hard work will not be seen for 5 plus years, but I know in my heart that this is the right way for us to conduct business. 

One last item, it’s a grammar nuance, but to me it’s huge.  When we talk about the Chiefs’ Mess, it should be plural (as opposed to the Chief’s Mess).  The reason for this distinction is simple; we are all in the Mess together as a team; our brothers and sisters of the past, the Chiefs carrying the weight today and our future Chiefs of tomorrow who will inherit a strong tradition of pride and professionalism.  I am proud to carry it on and live to hear the words “ask the Chief” spoken to our new generation of Chiefs.

Ten a Day - Day 4 I am back FINALLY

Miss me much?  The last 3 weeks have been a whirl wind of college applications, studying for my first Ph.D. weekend and also studying for the PMP certification.  I’ll give a quick recap below.

College Application

Getting into grad school isn’t easy and it’s even harder when you’re not practicing in your field of study.  I am not complaining when I say this, but colleges and businesses discount our military experience.  It is assumed that we don’t have any business experience even though we apply many business practices every day.  See my blog entry Why You Should Hire the Military for more on this.  My application was accepted and now I start my journey.  Three short years to Dr. James Renlund.

Studying for the PMP

All I can say is wow, even though the military does practice project management (a project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end), we don’t practice Project Management in the full spectrum covered by the PMP certification.  There is so much to project management; even if a seasoned Project Manager would have to study and learn to pass the certification test.  I am learning the material, but there is still a lot to learn.

My First Ph.D. Weekend

My Ph.D. weekends are brutal.  They are 1830-2100 Friday, 0800-1600 Saturday and 0800-1300 Sunday every 3 weeks.  Can you say “no rest weekend?” I am not complaining about this either, in the first two days I have met so many professionals I can’t even begin to describe how overwhelming the experience is.  It is also amazing how many times I hear from them “thank you for serving our country.”  It is an honor to that we, the military, are appreciated by so many.  If ever there is ever a time when I am networking my butt off, it is now.  With the plethora of professions at our meet and greets, it is hard not to network.  Our guest speaker for this weekend was Dr. Chris Worley, a legend in the Organization Development world.  Speaking of OD, as I attended the weekend conference I learn so much about the field from PRACTICING professionals who bring with them real world experience.  How cool is that?  Thank you again Benedictine University for allowing me the privilege to attend such a great OD program.  So far I feel that I made the right choice picking this program and look forward to every new experience.  I get to spend time alone with my cohorts tomorrow; it should be interesting to see what the other 19 people are like in an intimate setting.  Again I am excited.

Ding, ding, time’s up.  I have ranted for my ten minutes and as always I appreciate your readership.  Please feel free to ask me questions or add comments to our discussion. 

 

Ten a Day - Day 3 Why You Need a Personal Mission Statement

Let me know if this has happened to you.  You woke up one morning, started your morning routine and in the middle of your shower you thought to yourself, “I really need to make up my personal mission statement today!”  No?  Why not?  Think about it, when you get out of the shower, what are you getting dressed for?  Where are you going?  What is your purpose in life?

Put it in to perspective

There’s a really cool scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice meets the Cheshire Cat:

Alice - “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don’t much care where--" said Alice.

"Then it doesn’t matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh, you’re sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

(Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)

 

How this pertains to you

You can go through life letting life direct your path (compulsion) or you can forge your own path through life with you as the director (free will).  If you pick the latter, then you need to know what direction you want to go.  How do you do that?  With your mission statement of course!

What exactly is a mission statement?

A mission statement is the purpose of YOU.  YOUR mission statement should guide all of your actions, spell out your overall goals, provide your life path, and guide your daily decision-making. It provides "the framework or context within which YOUR strategy is formulated."

I’ve heard of mission, vision, values and strategy statements; what is the difference of each statement?

·        Mission: Defines the fundamental purpose of YOU.  A good example, "My life mission is to provide jobs for the homeless and unemployed."

·        Vision: Outlines what YOU want to be, or how you want the world to see YOU (an "idealized" view of how the world sees you). It is a long-term view and concentrates on the future. It can be emotive and is a source of inspiration. A great example, "MY life vision is to help end world poverty."

·        Values: Beliefs that are a part of YOUR mission and vision. Values drive YOUR actions and set YOUR priorities; they provide a framework in which YOUR decisions are made. For example, "If I give a man bread I feed him for a day, but if I teach him to farm I can feed him for life.”

·        Strategy: Strategy, narrowly defined, means "the art of the general." A combination of the ends (goals) for which YOU are striving for and the means (policies) by which YOU are seeking to get there. A strategy is sometimes called a roadmap which YOUR path is chosen to plow towards the end vision. The most important part of implementing YOUR strategy is ensuring YOUR going in the right direction which is towards YOUR end vision.

Now that you have all your terms down and know what you need to do, NOW is the time to do it.  Oh, by the way, you may want to get dressed first…

 

My Weekend Book Review - One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard

Why you should care about this book:  Although you won’t learn every management secret known to mankind in this book, Kenneth Blanchard does a great job of telling a story and keeping you interested in his three principles of one minute management.  Although this book was published in the 80’s with an 80’s mindset; we can still use the principles today.  Technology may have advanced in the last 30 years, but basic human behavior hasn’t.  There are some other insights along the way to learning his secrets, but the three principles and some catchy sayings are what take up most of the 39 pages of this book.

My recommendation:  I highly recommend this for managers but also parents can learn a lot from this book as well.  It is well worth the 2 hours to read it.

Brief overview of contents:  The 3 principles consist of – one minute goal setting, one minute praises and one minute reprimands.  

The one minute goal setting:

The One Minute Manager (OMM) tells the subordinate what needs to be done and they both agree on the task.  The goal is recorded on a single page in 250 words or less with one copy to the subordinate and one to the OMM.  Performance is based on agreed responsibilities.  The OMM shows subordinates what good behavior looks like by example or by others actions.  In most organizations, the boss and subordinate have 2 different ideas of the subordinates responsibilities are.  Goals should only be set for key areas of responsibilities; from 3-6 goals.  The first goal is always to have subordinates identify and solve their own problems.  The OMM spends most of their time with subordinates at the beginning of a new task, not at the end.  Subordinates must review their goals periodically and review their own performance; see if their behavior matches their goals.

The one minute praising:

When first starting a task, the OMM is never far away and keeps detailed records of the subordinate’s progress.  The OMM always tries to catch subordinates doing something RIGHT, and gives praise immediately after catching them.  How it works; the OMM makes contact with the person, looks them in the eye and tells them what they did right, and then the OMM tells them how it made the OMM feel along with the good for the company when they did it right.

One minute reprimand:

How it works; OMM makes contact with the person, looks them in the eye and tells them what they did wrong, and then the OMM tells them how it made the OMM feel about what they did wrong, and lastly the OMM tells the subordinate that they still believe they are competent at their job.  Reprimands are about behavior not the person; this prevents defensiveness or rationalizing an excuse.

Other ideas or discussions:

The One Minute Manager gets good results without taking much time.  The OMM doesn’t make decisions for others; they make others make decisions for themselves.  The OMM at meetings listens while their people review and analyze what they accomplished, the problems they had, and what still needs to be accomplished WITHOUT HELPING THEM SOVLE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS.  The decisions made at the meeting are binding to both parties.  The OMM doesn’t have to repeat themselves; their people listen to them because they don’t waste time.

The idea of win-win, win-lose and lose-win when it comes to management style, subordinates and the company; Autocratic style management (bottom line manager) is where the company wins and subordinates lose.  Democratic style management (nice manager) is where the company loses and subordinates win.  The one minute manager (effective manager) is a win-win management style by managing themselves and the people they work with so that both the company and the people profit from the manager’s presence.

Productivity is about quantity and quality, you can’t sacrifice either.  Quality is simply giving people the product or service they really want and need.

Problems are expressed in behavioral terms, not attitudes or feelings, they must be observable and measurable.  A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to happen.  If a subordinate comes to you with a problem; they better have an answer that they already worked out all of the scenarios prior to telling the OMM.

The OMM gives crystal clear feedback on what the subordinate is doing well and doing poorly whether it is uncomfortable or not.  The OMM will praise someone even if things aren’t going well for the manager or the company.  The OMM will praise more during the beginning of the tasks and eventually the subordinate will start praising themselves.  The one minute praise works on Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning, where two stimuli are presented and the organism starts to relate one to the other, even when both are not present.

Catchy sayings:

People who feel good about themselves produce good results.

Subordinate, “I have a problem.”  Manager, “good that is what I hired you to solve.”

Help people reach their full potential; catch them doing something right.

The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.

 

Now that I have given you a taste of the book, you can get it for FREE off Barnes and Noble under the Nook section.  How cool is that?  Have a great week and thank you for reading.

Ten a Day - Day 2 How to be a PMP

Hey you, yes you, do you want to be a PMP?  “A what?” you say.  Get your mind out of the gutter.  Not a PIMP, but a PMP – Project Management Professional: a certification offered from the Project Management Institute (pmi.org). PMI is a world recognized non-profit certification agency for project management professionals, with more than 600,000 members.  Are there other project manager certifications?  Absolutely, certification agencies include the American Academy of Project Management, Project Management Leadership Group, International Project Management Association, Federal Acquisition Institute and of course hundreds of colleges that offer certificate or degrees.

Here are the PMP Requirements from the pmi.org website:

To apply for the PMP, you need to have either -

A four-year degree (bachelor’s or the global equivalent) and at least three years of project management experience, with 4,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.

OR

A secondary diploma (high school or the global equivalent) with at least five years of project management experience, with 7,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.

If you do not meet the PMP eligibility requirements, you may want to look at the Certified Associate in Project Management CAPM certification which has fewer experience and education requirements.

               That’s all great, but what do I really have to do to get a PMP certification?  It’s actually pretty easy; you go to the website and fill out the application.  Part of the application is filling out the Experience Verification Form (looks like a log book) for the hours you have in project management.  To cover the education requirement; there are hundreds of vendors listed on the pmi.org website.  I found a PMP Fundaments course online that covers the 35 hour education requirements for $150 from pmsimplify.com - DO NOT PAY $1000 for any PMP fundamentals or PMP exam prep course.  I will let you know how this one turns out when I start it next week.

Now you may ask yourself why I would want to become a PMP when I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Organization Development and ultimately want to become a professor.  Because I want to expand my knowledge base and also part of professorship is research; what better way to conduct research than by consulting?  This will help me accomplish both, plus I already have the experience, so why not?

Okay, 10 minutes are up.  I hope you enjoyed this segment and wish you luck on your journey of becoming a PIMP, err PMP.  Stupid spell check.

Ten a Day - Day 1

Okay, ten what a day?  Ten pushups a day – to easy.  Ten glasses of water a day – only if you want to pee all day.  Ten Hail Marys a day – nope, not even close.

Ten minutes a day of writing!  That is my new standard that I set for myself.  Today I was accepted into the Benedictine University’s Organization Development Ph.D. program and although I am excited, I am also apprehensive in my ability to write academic papers.  My background as a Nuke and a Navy Chief allow me to write great evaluations, but scholastic works are another animal.  A professor told me not too long ago, “In order to become a great professor, you must write often and write well.”  I need help in both areas; just ask my wife Gretchen.  

               Ten minutes sounds like very little time to give up a day, but there are many factors involved in writing a blog.  Actually writing the blog entry will only take about ten minutes, it’s all the preparation that takes more time.  It takes time to select an interesting topic, research the topic, review other blogs on the topic for duplication and then publish the blog.  I want the final product to look professional and each area requires precious time.

               Don’t get me wrong, I want to do this for you as much as for myself.  In the pursuit of educating myself I want to educate the world (or at least whoever is interested) as well.  In my mind, the world of knowledge hording is on the decline and self-empowerment is on the rise.  Will you join me?

               Now that my ten minutes are up for today, please feel free to leave feedback, recommended reading or any of your thoughts on writing.  I look forward to talking to you again tomorrow, even if it is only for Ten Minutes!

Why You Should Hire Military Leadership

               This essay was originally a part of my Ph.D. Admission Statement, but I decided to blog it because I felt it was important to reveal one of America’s hidden leadership gems to the business world.  I use myself as only one example of the 1.5 million of my Brothers and Sisters serving today and 12 million veterans who have served with honor and distinction in the past.

               Now admittedly as a child growing up in a working class home I didn’t have posters of Donald Trump or Lee Iacocca haphazardly slapped up on my wall and I couldn’t tell you what businesses did besides sell stuff.  Where I grew up we didn’t talk about CEOs, board meetings or corporate mergers; we were working folk with working dreams and there was little talk about business.  And like all kids, I was more interested in flying jets or creating the next great video game rather than preparing myself for the world of business.  At age 17 when high school was done and there was no money for college I did the next best thing to better myself; I joined the United States Navy.

I have grown immensely as a leader from my 22 years of naval service.  I have learned leadership from world class leaders in ways a book could never convey; by application.  From day one in the military we are expected to lead and that is exactly what I learned to do.  Like all novices learning a new skill, I didn’t start out my career by leading hundreds of Sailors; I started by leading a working party of five or six here and there until my skills were honed to the next level.  Many times in my career I have been accountable for over 100 people, even up to 350, which is equivalent to a medium-sized company.  I didn’t have a glorified titled such as General Manager or Director; instead I wear my titles as rank and insignia. The military makes this distinction because it’s easier to visually identify our level of leadership and management competency than take precious time submitting resumes or letters of references.  I wear the rank of Chief Petty Officer with pride because it represents that I am a technical expert and a superb manager of people and programs.

Although most of us in the military don’t have Project Management certifications or degrees we still develop programs and policies for the military.  We implement policies on the national, regional and local levels; based on public law, operational needs and rich traditions.  We develop projects on the local level to deal with unique situations.  We even have the Diversity Managed Equal Opportunity Institute, a world leader in the development of programs, policies and training for all things diversity.  Not many companies can claim such honors.

The military has also adopted many business practices from the corporate world.  As the US military budgets shrink from the overinflated Cold War and Desert Storm levels; we have become more efficient in the art of war.  The Navy has adopted business practices from the civilian sector; Lean Six Sigma and Total Quality Management by Dr. Deming are most predominant practices, but we use many others as well.  Although our organization is not for profit, we still have budgets and are accountable to our shareholders to utilize our resources with maximum efficiency. 

               Since earning my MBA I have come across a huge road block in my pursuit of professorship; I have no commonly excepted practical business experience.  I understand academia’s hesitation to hire a military member to teach business, it seems counterintuitive.  But realistically our military is one of the world’s best sources for business leadership and management.  The military actively promotes leadership, integrity, teamwork, loyalty, diversity and mission accomplishment. We do not have the choice to quit or fail.  What better corporate ethos could there be?  The military even takes it one step further by testing each of its service members in real-life stress filled environments for significant periods of time.  A normal corporate program manager may work late hours and have to sacrifice weekends to accomplish a goal, but we go on deployments for eight to eighteen months accomplishing missions that affect the world.  An executive has the option to terminate their contract when the corporation is failing; whereas a Commanding Officer of a ship facing imminent danger doesn’t have that luxury, it is fight or perish.

               We also know how to run a business, contrary to popular belief.  Approximately 3.6 million veterans own their own business out of the 12 million veterans in today’s workforce.   If we don’t have any practical business experience, how are we so successful?  The answer is that we prepare.  We take business classes, talk to other business owners, utilize the Small Business Administration resources and do whatever else is needed to succeed.

               We are taught to follow orders without delay and only ask questions for clarification or further guidance.  This does not mean that we follow all orders blindly and without question, but rather that we need less supervision because we are highly functioning employees who use creativity and determination to accomplish our tasks.  Organizational Development and Leadership come easy to practicing military leaders because we have hands on experience in the field of behavior management.  A large amount of service members are also certified Training Specialists; our qualifications are built on the foundation of behavior management, specifically the internal and external motivators for learning.  We also offer companies a different point of view than a corporate perspective.

In conclusion, discounting a military leader because they have not worked in the corporate culture is a misguided decision that and will end up hurting the company more than the veteran.  The skills and experience gained from a military career are easily translated into corporate experience, if only viewed in the correct context.  The military doesn’t provide the certifications and job titles of the business community, but that doesn’t mean that the service member is any less competent to lead and manage.  We are trained for success and will bring that same drive, determination and leadership to any new career we choose.  The question is: are you going to choose us?

Hello World!

Hello all, I am so excited about posting my first blog.  This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but never managed to have the time to do it.  As I start my Ph.D. in Organization Development I wanted to use this blog to share some ideas with the world and get valuable feedback from the public.  Please feel free to voice your opinion, just not spam.  Have a great weekend and I will post my first discussion soon.