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?
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