A few weeks ago a friend from my weekly networking group was sharing with me that her son was coming home on pre-deployment leave from the Army this Veterans Day weekend, next stop Afghanistan. As the scheduled speaker for our Veterans Day meeting, I noted her anxiety and decided to fore go the normal promotional message in favor of “What I Learned in the Navy, A Veterans Day Message”. As a parent I can only imagine the emotional battle others face seeing their young adults leave home for the military life – the pride of knowing they have chosen a good and honorable profession against the fear of a job that has daily risks even in peacetime. With this post I offer those parents a small nugget of encouragement, in that the military experience teaches positive lessons that last a lifetime.

Humility and Teamwork

Those who know me may disagree that I learned this lesson, but it was definitely taught! I grouped these lessons together because they are deeply connected. Teamwork is founded on two principles, putting the needs of the team over personal needs, and building trust. Take a moment to read any of the citations for a Medal of Honor Recipient and it’s clear that the military awards it’s highest honor to those who put the team first. Building trust is all about doing your job right, every time. As an Officer of the Deck on a nuclear submarine, I had to have complete confidence that the entire twenty-two man watch team was trained and ready to do their job in an emergency situation, because if they couldn’t, it would distract others from their jobs, leaving important, life-saving actions undone.

Out of the Box Problem Solving Process

A common perception is that military people are great at following orders, which can be falsely interpreted that they can’t think on their own. However, the best soldiers and sailors are the ones that realize following orders is a filtering process. You see, procedures and orders from trusted team members, the things that someone else has already thought through, lets you focus on the things that require deeper analysis. For every possible emergency on a submarine there are “immediate action” procedures. These are the ones that stabilize the situation as quickly and safely as possible, creating a calmer environment to look for other indications and start real problem solving.

The movie U-571 is one of my favorites. At one point in the movie the World War II American Submarine crew finds themselves on a deserted German U-boat that is under fire! After urgently working through their immediate actions, slightly modified for the foreign design, they started solving the bigger problems ahead, using the methodical troubleshooting and decision making process that military members use everyday, though typically for less dramatic situations. Many business managers never stabilize the situation. They make quick decisions with too little information in an environment that is still changing. In that reactionary state, it’s very difficult to develop solid, out of the box solutions to fix the problem.

Taking Responsibility

Unfortunately, in one of my first patrols on-board the submarine we ran aground. More accurately we were pushed onto a sandbar by a tug that was turning us around in a narrow channel. I was the topside deck officer during the event and could clearly see what the tugs had done, it’s not like the Captain drove us into the ground. However, our captain was fully expecting that his relief would be waiting on the pier when we pulled into port the following day, and he wouldn’t have questioned that outcome. As a military leader, when something goes wrong it’s your fault. The crew wasn’t adequately trained, the wrong people were in place or you trusted someone to make a decision they weren’t qualified to make. In the same manner, the military typically provides the authority and guidance that enables their leaders to be successful. Sure, things go wrong. But it is rare that you hear military leaders blaming others when it happens. Although our captain took responsibility, he was not solely at fault and fortunately was not relieved. It’s a strong leader that reflects on how they could have done better, then improves the organization to overcome their weaknesses.

Training for the Task

A culture of challenge and training – that’s how I would describe the Navy way. Sure there is honor and integrity, but even those are a result of training! When I was at the Naval Academy there was an unfortunate tennis racket accident that resulted in a sharp cut above my left eye. I still have trouble talking about the incident…. My friend John, who I was beating at the time, jumped over the net and ripped the sleeve off his shirt to stop the bleeding while he led me to the on site medical clinic. At the clinic the 2nd class medical corpsman, who was maybe twenty-two, was guiding his much younger and less experienced apprentice through his first sutures. I wasn’t too anxious until I heard the “older” one calmly say, “now try to be careful and neat, because eyebrows don’t grow back over scar tissue.” Ahhhhh! In the navy everything is a training opportunity and they are very good at it. The importance of continual training has impacted my parenting, coaching, management style and, of course, my business. The military seems to instill a sense of forward movement and continual improvement that most veterans convert to a lifelong learning philosophy. Doing your best at your current task, but always training for the next opportunity!

In Conclusion

My military experience lasted about ten years, including my time at the academy. When people ask me about the experience I tell them that I have no regrets, it was a great time of my life.  Those ten years were a learning experience that had me leading a team of men responsible for driving a multi-billion dollar submarine at the age of 26! You don’t get that type of experience in most corporate training programs. For those parents who have watched their kids choose a career serving their country, I can only say this – there is tremendous opportunity for them to come away as a better person, for the rest of their life.

For my veteran readers, I’d love to have you comment about the lessons that you learned while serving this great country!