Serve Your Company: Hire a Vet
Anybody who knows me understands the affection I have for members of the military -- particularly Marines. So when I feel the organization or its people are slighted in public, I take exception.
In today's MPDailyFix article, I take on several incorrect stereotypes of veterans in the hopes that it will inform hiring managers so that they can make better human resources decisions. - Cam Beck
Cam,
I left you a comment at the Fix. Good post!
Posted by: Lewis Green | June 04, 2007 at 09:48 AM
I'm with you on this. I think that a lot of military folks are type cast as order takers without brains and loud mouths. Although I never served, I've worked with a lot of people who have. To a person I've found them smart, hard working and articulate.
Posted by: Paul Herring | June 04, 2007 at 10:17 AM
I can't manage to admire members of the military. Probably because I'm a silly, post-hippy pacifist. Still, I just finished a presentation based on the experience of vice-admiral Stockdale who managed to survive 8 years in a prisoner camp in Vietnam. The key learning of his experience is "Retain faith that you will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties AND Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality whatever they might be". A very valuable lesson for the business world.
Posted by: Philippe | June 04, 2007 at 11:29 AM
Phillipe - I think the lesson from Adm. Stockdale is that we have to concern ourselves of who we become, not with what our circumstances are. There are many POWs who died in their prisons, so it's not a matter of one of those touchy-feely, "If you believe in yourself, you can do anything." Experience tells us that's not the case. However, if we believe we will prevail, we'll generally keep going longer than those who are predisposed to quit at the first sign of trouble.
Posted by: Cam Beck | June 04, 2007 at 11:41 AM