After leaving the military, veterans are positioned to be successful in many areas of their lives. In fact, as a result of their training and character development and refinement, they often surpass their age-matched peers in most areas. This is particularly true in the area of career success.
In past columns, I've written about how vets are well-equipped to become future leaders in psychology, medicine, and politics. But what about business? Are current service members destined to be our country's next entrepreneurial millionaires? Billionaires?
History says yes, for various reasons.
Service imbues veterans with confidence. They embrace hard work, are comfortable with sacrifice, and have a never-give-up perspective. The very things that make troops successful on the battlefield also make them potentially unstoppable in the boardroom.
Philanthropist and retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Ken Falke sold his first business for millions and went on to start several other successful companies and nonprofits, and his success landed him on Entrepreneurs' Magazine's "Hot 500 List." And his sense of service has helped bring in millions of dollars in donations to support wounded warriors.
Few veterans, or nonveterans for that matter, have been as successful in business as former Army Green Beret Capt. Joe Grano. After serving in Vietnam, Grano began his career with Merrill Lynch, eventually overseeing 20,000 employees. He went on to become president of Paine Webber, one of the largest stock brokerages and asset management firms at the time. In 2004, he founded the highly successful business consulting firm Centurion Holdings, which holds substantial equity in companies around the world.
The acquired training and life lessons learned by in the military place our men and women in uniform in prime positions to become the country's next Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or Sheryl Sandberg.
It's just a matter of finding the courage to take calculated risks while learning as many lessons as they can from those who came before them.
To learn more about Grano and Falke, visit http://shoulder2shoulderinc.com/about/team/ken-falke/ and www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/jobs/31boss.html.
Bret A. Moore, Psy.D., is a board-certified clinical psychologist who served two tours in Iraq. Email him at kevlarforthemind@militarytimes.com. This column is for informational purposes only and is not intended to convey specific psychological or medical guidance.
