Beware, Navy SEALs do NOT know it all!
Not every lesson learned on the battlefield applies in the boardroom!
Not EVERYTHING I learned in the SEAL Teams applies in a business setting or to the private sector. Sure, there were LOTS of lessons from the Teams that have transcended the battlefield for me. But there are also some things that do not. Below I’ve outlined a few of the differences along with a brief oversimplification of what works in BOTH worlds…
What are the MAIN similarities?
This article will focus mostly on the differences between ‘The battlefield and the boardroom.’ Before doing so, I will give a very simplistic view on a couple of the MOST IMPORTANT similarities.
There are a handful of things I learned in the military, the SEAL Teams in particular, that have served me well since getting out. These are things that I believe apply EVERYWHERE, regardless of industry, organization, job title, or position on the company or-chart. These are the things that I focus on when I’m hired to do a speaking gig for other companies. These are the lessons that I use daily in my role at Defy. I will write more about these later. For today, I’ll just provide an oversimplification:
Mission + Team = Success.
It's simple really. A company or organization has ‘something they need to go do’ (Mission) and it will ‘require people to do it’ (Team). If the organization has the right Team (which includes the Leaders), they will accomplish the Mission and be Successful.
No matter what the company is doing, it will require a good team to do it, unless of course the company is a single-person entity. No matter what, you have a MISSION to do and it will typically require a TEAM to do it.
The MIAN thing that makes Special Operators (Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces aka Green Berets, Army Rangers, Marine Recon, Air Force PJ’s & CCT’s, etc.) successful in the military (and sometimes beyond) is this Mission + Team approach. We will work hard to be the very best TEAMMATE we can be and do whatever it takes to accomplish the MISSION. I’ll dive deeper into this topic on a later date…
Don’t put ANYONE on a pedestal!
Due to the difficulty of our selection training, known as BUD/S, along with a track record of successful missions, people tend to put Navy SEALs and other Special Operations forces on a pedestal.
This may lead others to think that Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Army Rangers, Marine Recons, and Airforce PJ’s / CCT’s are mutants or ‘super-humans’. They also think there is some SECRET we learned in our training that works everywhere for everyone.
Don’t make this mistake. Do not put us on a pedestal. We are no better than anyone else. There is NO SECRET, and we certainly DO NOT have it ALL FIGURED OUT! Put another way; Just because I was a Navy SEAL, that doesn't mean that I am ANY BETTER than ANYONE reading this article. It for sure doesn’t mean I could do your job ANY BETTER than YOU!
My Navy and post-Navy Experiences…
I had the OPPORTUNITY to serve my country in the Navy for nearly 12 years. All that 12 years was spent either training to become or operating as a Navy SEAL. I spent time on SEAL Team Five on the West Coast and more time Naval Special Warfare Development Group (Dev Group) on the East Coast with a brief stint at a Training Command in between. Along the way, I was FORTUNATE enough to train with and deploy alongside some of the greatest TEAMMATES and LEADERS I could ever imagine. During that time, I learned a lot about TEAMWORK, LEADERSHIP, and what it takes to accomplish the MISSION…however challenging it might be.
Then, I got out of the military. I didn’t want to, but I had to due to injuries. Now, I’ve been out of the SEAL Teams almost exactly as long as I was in them. This has given me a much different perspective. I can now see what worked ‘there’ doesn’t always work ‘here.’
In the 12 years since leaving the military, I’ve had the OPPORTUNITY to do and try a bunch of different things. I’ve started businesses and joined existing companies. I’ve worked at big companies and small ones in various industries including: firearms, fitness, manufacturing and now CPG/beverages. I’ve had different roles along the way as well, from founder, to CEO, Director, VP of Training and now as COO. There have been ups & downs and twists & turns along the way. It has not been LINEAR. Just like my time in the military, I’ve LEARNED a lot through all these experiences. As mentioned in a previous article, the ability to LEARN is one of the most important skills you can develop. It might even be the ONLY thing that cannot be disrupted in today’s market-place.
Now, through the lens of my (nearly) 12 years military service and 12 years post military experience, I have a different perspective. If the past 24-years have taught me anything, it’s been:
1). Not everything I learned in the ‘Teams’ applies to the private sector.
2). Being a Navy SEAL does NOT guarantee me success outside of the military.
3). The private sector or business world is HARDER than I thought!
Using what I’ve learned!
Along the way, regardless of my day-job, I’ve had many OPPORTUNITIES to speak to companies, organizations, or even sports teams. I’ve also had consulting opportunities. For the most part, these TEAMS want to know the SECRETS I learned in the military, particularly those HARD LESSONS from the SEAL Teams that lead to MISSION success and building ELITE TEAMS.
It wasn’t until I started to speak regularly that I realized, “Not everything I learned in the SEAL Teams applies outside of that environment.”
Regardless of the topic, I always tell them a few of the same things:
Don’t put me or other Navy SEALs on a pedestal. We are NO better than anyone else. Different maybe, not better.
Just because I was a Navy SEAL, it doesn’t mean I could do my job any better than any of you.
There are a bunch of different lessons I learned in the military that apply ANYWHERE, but not everything learned in the military, even the SEAL Teams, applies in business or in the private sector.
What are the MAIN differences?
Sure, there are things that transcend the battlefield and apply to the business world or private sector. You need to have good INDIVIDUALS on your TEAM. That team needs LEADERSHIP at the top and at EVERY level. There are certain TRAITS that these individuals and leaders need to possess or develop. There are certain TRAITS that the TEAM must embody. There are certain HABITS that everyone must practice. Most of all, there are certain VALUES that must be upheld.
I spend lots of time talking about TEAMWORK, being a good TEAMMATE. I also talk about LEADERSHIP and how to develop yourself as LEADERS for your organization. I’ll go into some of these things in later articles. Today is more about the differences…
Important note: I’m NOT saying this to DIMINISH the private sector or business world. Far from it. If the past decade plus has taught me ANYTHING, it’s that success in business is HARD, much harder than I anticipated when I left the Navy now 12 years ago.
Your Teammates are different.
One thing I’ve noticed since leaving the military is that my teammates are different than they were while I was serving. Important note: I said different, not better, or worse, different.
I’ve ALWAYS believed that the INDIVIDUAL is the basic building block of a TEAM or ORGANIZATION. You cannot have a good machine without good parts. Just like you cannot have a high functioning TEAM without good TEAMMATES.
In the military, and the SEAL Teams or Special Ops in particular, EVERYONE really wants to be there. They are willing to endure some of the most arduous training known to man to be on the TEAM. They do this knowing that even if they make it through, they will have to risk their life often, leave their family and friends for long periods of time, be physically miserable on a regular basis, be mentally exhausted even more, AND get paid VERY LITTLE to do it. They are extremely MOTIVATED and DRIVEN to be there despite all the above. No one joins the SEAL Teams to get rich…
Outside of the military, or a Special Ops Team, not everyone really wants to be there. Those who don’t will stay on the team until they find a better option. Those who do want to be there will only do so if it fulfills a goal or objective. These could include purpose, challenge, fun, compensation, or a combination of all four. For the most part, it comes down to compensation. People will suffer a LOT if they are compensated well for it or there’s a hope of future compensation. That’s the system. That’s the difference.
Put another way, in the SEAL Teams, and basically ALL Special Operations, it was easy to ‘attract, select, hire, and retain’ a bunch of A-players. Why? Only the MOST DEDICATED teammates would endure that much hardship to get there and only the MOST COMMITED would have the GRIT to stay there when it gets challenging.
Outside of the military, there are PLENTY of A-players or ‘superstars.’ But these all-stars will NOT join your team or stay on your team if YOU do not correctly INCENTIVIZE them…usually in the form of compensation.
Important note: As I stated earlier, I am NOT saying one is better than the other. I don’t look at this as either ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ I look at it as something to be mindful of so you can plan accordingly!
Team Building is MORE challenging!
In the military, team building happens naturally. It happens through the various selection training programs you go through. It happens during your unit level tactical training. It happens on deployments. At the highest level, it happens on the BATTLEFIELD. You don’t need to hire experts or consultants to come teach you about ‘teamwork’ or ‘team-building.’ Team building happens almost EVERY DAY and almost EVERYTHING you do, whether in training or combat, requires TEAMWORK to succeed.
Outside of the military, TEAM BUILDING and TEAMWORK are just as VITAL. Some organizations do an AMAZING job at this. Some do not. Those that do have to spend TIME and MONEY on it. They know it does NOT happen by accident. Team building is INTENTIONAL. This is further complicated by this new world of virtual meetings and geographically distributed workforces. It really makes team building challenging!
I learned there are MANY ways to improve teamwork or strengthen a team. One of the BEST things I learned, that applies equally in and out of the military, to strengthen the bonds of a team is a SHARED ADVERSITY or TRIAL. In the military, this is best seen in a rigorous selection process or a challenging combat deployment. In the private sector, this could be as simple as having a bad quarter, losing an account, or just going through challenging financial times TOGETHER.
For the most part, we look at STRESS and HARDSHIP in a negative light. No one, I included, wants to have more stress or hardship in their lives. We’d much prefer comfort. But, STRESS and HARDSHIP are necessary to improve or get stronger, not just physically, but mentally and PROFESSIONALLY. So be THANKFUL when things get challenging and use it as an OPPORTUNITY to strengthen yourself and your TEAM. As a former teammate of mine now says, “You gotta EMBRACE the SUCK!” (Again, easier said than done!)
Leading is HARDER in the private sector!
Leadership is HARD everywhere. It’s hard to be the leader of ANY TEAM. That includes private sector or business teams, military teams, sports teams, even your team at home. Honestly, I don’t know if ANYTHING has challenged me quite as much as trying to be a good leader for my family. It’s hard work to be a good husband and father!
Based on my own experience, which now includes roughly the same amount of time in the SEAL Teams and in the private sector, I have to admit that it’s HARDER TO LEAD or be a GOOD LEADER in the private sector than it was in the SEAL Teams or military in general.
Let’s do a little exercise. As of 2021, there were roughly 330M people in the US. In that same period, there were just over 2M people serving in our military between the various branches. Of this, there were an estimated 340k active-duty sailors in the Navy. To break it down even further, there are just 10 active SEAL Teams, each with approximately 200 ‘SEAL Operators’ (according to one source). That means that Navy SEALs made up roughly .588% of the US Navy, only .100% of the US Military, and roughly .001% of the US population. (One one-thousandth of a percent to be clear). It’s a SMALL group.
My time in the SEAL Teams taught me a LOT about TEAMMWORK and LEADERSHIP. My time post military has taught me a lot as well. I can honestly say that the MAIN difference between the two experiences has been LEADERSHIP and how you lead in the SEAL Teams vs in the private sector.
In the SEAL Teams, a leader does NOT need to motivate his men or his teammates. Everyone is already motivated to be there. Look at the numbers above. Look how hard it is to endure the selection program. Then consider people still want to do this knowing they will have to risk their lives and make very little money. MOTIVATION was not really a PROBLEM in the SEAL teams. Sure, there are times when you are not ‘motivated’ to wake up at 3:00am, to go to the airfield, don your parachute, and do a night-time, high altitude, combat equipment jump in the dead of winter. That’s when you use a little ‘false motivation’ (which is better than no motivation). But, for the most part EVERYONE wants to be there and knows that what they are doing is important!
When the TEAM is motivated, disciplined, driven and capable, it is the leader’s job to ‘steer’ all of that horsepower. Put another way, the leader needs to be better at steering the team of horses than whipping encouraging them to run. This is challenging in its own way, but not nearly as challenging as leading teams that lack in motivation or drive.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned since leaving the military was taught to me by my father-in-law. I called him up to complain (whine) about members of my team at work who were not working as hard as me or not as “committed to excellence” as I thought they should be.
He told me I needed to change my perspective. I was no longer in the SEAL Teams and that my teammates now didn’t go through a year’s worth of selection just to work for me or with me. How could they POSSIBLY care as much as I did? More importantly WHY should they? Unless they were getting paid enough to care, they never would. He told me something that stuck with me. If I hoped to lead others, I needed to INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE and MOTIVATE vs simply telling others what to do and expecting it to be done.
Now, I have a different and more realistic expectation. I understand that I do not have the time or money to put prospective employees (soon to be teammates) through a grueling 6-month selection process just to see if they want to ‘work alongside me.’ I also understand that when we do hire them, and I do work with them, they will stay only until they find a better option or unless they are being compensated fairly. Most importantly, I understand that if I need to be better at LEADING if I want to get the most out of myself and my TEAMMATES!
But it’s not my job to motivate others?
Yes, there are those who would say, “It is NOT MY JOB to MOTIVATE you” or some version of this. I don’t think that’s true in most workplaces. I’ve learned now, in most cases, I cannot simply fire anyone who’s not motivated. I also cannot only have ‘A-Players’ on the team. Sure, I might be able to if I had unlimited resources. But that has NEVER been the case. No matter where I’ve worked, or who I’ve consulted for, I’ve found that no company has unlimited resources. Some companies have a LOT more than others. But most companies do NOT have unlimited money, time, or energy.
What does that mean? How should this effect how I lead? It means that if you want to get the MOST out of what you DO HAVE, you must be a better leader. In many cases, that will mean you have to MOTIVATE others. How do we do that? That’s an article for another day…
Ultimately, a LEADER’S job is to get the MOST out of the company’s number one asset: it’s people. There are LOTS of ways to do that, and it’s NOT easy work! I know if I’m in a LEADERSHIP position, there are times when I’ll need to MOTIVATE those I work with!
Summary:
Again, all of this is based on MY OWN experiences. I share it in hopes that it will help you or your organization. I don’t claim to have it all figured out (far from it). I certainly do NOT have it all figured out as it relates to the business world. If I did have it figured out, I’d already be retired (ha ha)! Not everything I learned in the SEAL Teams applies in the private sector and success as a SEAL has not guaranteed success outside of the teams. The environment is just different. The teams are different. Most of all, leading is different and in many ways more challenging outside of the military than in it. I’ve always respected good military leaders, but I have a HUGE RESPECT for good leaders in the business world or private sector as well!