Re: Kiss of Death and the Maturity Model

[David Lettvin <dlettvin -at- YAHOO -dot- COM>]

Actually Tim, although it sounds as if it should be a legitimate
parallel, I don't think it is.
People who have been trained by the military bring several things to
the table that start-ups should be want.
1. Although military people live in a rigid and highly structured
environment during their service, they are trained to deal with
chaotic situations. Dealing with chaos does not necessarily mean
controlling it. Oftentimes it means going along for the ride and
trying to keep others from getting hurt.
2. Military people are trained to make decisions . . . even if they're
wrong. As someone once said, the only bad decision is the one you
didn't make. Especially in a start-up or some other entrepreneurial
enterprise the owner or driver of the company has thousands of
decisions to make. We have all seen how difficult it is to deal with
people who just won't get off the fence. Imagine how frustrating it is
for the leadership of a rapidly changing company to be forced to make
decisions that his people are too timid to make for themselves.
3. With decision-making comes responsibility. The military teaches you
to stand up and own your decision, whether it was good or bad.
4. Training is the most important activity in the military. Military
advancement is not usually done on the battlefield, it comes as a
result of taking courses and passing tests. By the time they reach the
E-5 enlisted level, these people have taken and passed a battery of
courses in project management, human resources, human behavior,
leadership (it has nothing to do with barking orders) and
communications skills. This is in addition to training in their
specific skill area.

This is turning into a long rant. I have no doubt that there are some
companies, some recruiters, some HR people who get a knee-jerk
reaction to military service on a resume. The three start-ups I worked
for valued me for the skills that I brought, for my willingness to
take responsibility, and for my ability to wear many hats (reducing
their hiring budget.

---Tim Altom <taltom -at- SIMPLYWRITTEN -dot- COM> wrote:
snip
> Military personnel don't tend to fit in as well here, probably
because of their
> typical preference for order and predictability.
>
> From what I've seen, military personnel fit best when a company is
Level II
> and beyond. At Level III and above, organizations begin to resemble
the
> military, itself, and it actually welcomes the disciplined worker.
snip
==
Honi soit qui mal y pense.

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