In a combat situation, you panic — you die,” Ted Daywalt told me. He is a retired Navy captain and the chief executive of VetJobs.com Inc.
“In an entrepreneurship situation, you panic — your company dies,” he says.
Daywalt believes that the military teaches employees and business owners how to manage risk without panicking.
Korn/Ferry, a prominent human resources firm agrees. It lists “the ability to remain calm under pressure” as one of the six leadership traits that military experience teaches. The other traits cited in the company’s 2006 report are:
* Learning how to work as part of a team.
* Organizational skills, such as planning and effective use of resources.
* Good communication skills.
* Defining a goal and motivating others to follow it.
* Highly developed sense of ethics.
The report, called “Military Experience & CEOs: Is There a Link?” can be downloaded from tinyurl.com/oo5ywa.
