From Battlefield to Boardroom, and All Points In Between

Quick answer: What skills do veterans bring to the business world?

John argues veterans are rare in being both planners and executors, and bring adaptability, resilience, attention to detail, teamwork, and critical decision-making. He cites FedEx founder Fred Smith, a Marine, and Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon, a Navy veteran, among leaders who credit their service.

After his year as a White House Fellow, John had breakfast with entrepreneur Steve Poizner and mentioned he was thinking about retiring from the Army as a Special Forces officer. Poizner stopped him: "John, you guys in the military just don't know how much you're worth!" In business, he explained, there are planners and there are executors, and rarely both in one person. Veterans, he said, are the total package. John has found that to be true in more than a decade in the corporate world since. He quotes his friend Ken Falke, a 21-year Navy veteran, who tells transitioning veterans, "Don't allow your military service to be the last, best thing you've ever done." He points to leaders who carried service into business: Fred Smith, who served in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1970 and said he couldn't have built FedEx without what he learned there; a West Point graduate who served five years before rising in business; and Bill Simon, a 25-year Navy veteran who launched Walmart's $4 prescription program and later led Walmart U.S. His message to veterans leaving the service is to do it with confidence.

Why it matters for leaders: Veterans who can both plan and execute are an asset any organization should look for, and veterans should know their own worth.

Q: Who told John veterans are "the total package"?

A: Businessman and technology entrepreneur Steve Poizner, over breakfast after John's White House Fellowship.

Q: What did Fred Smith say about the Marine Corps?

A: That he did not believe he could have built FedEx without the skills he learned in the Marine Corps.

Read the full article on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-battlefield-boardroomand-all-points-between-john-fenzel

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation