Over the past two weeks I have met with some fascinating and brilliant executives who all started their careers in the military. “Is there something about military training that helps make great business leaders,” I asked. They all said “of course” and pointed to three things that they learned in the military that helps today in running a business.
1. Instilling the belief that the leader will support and help his people no matter what. “I have your back,” is ingrained. It’s about believing in the organization’s vision and purpose, not any one leader.
2. Believing that there is a place for everyone to succeed and helping people find where they can most successfully contribute. Human potential is ingrained.
3. Having a point of view that helps people see what really matters and demonstrates the leader’s expertise and intellect.
Here’s a video of one of the executives, a former Marine, with whom I had the pleasure to meet at BIF-5.