Colonel Ken Allard
Colonel Ken Allard
U.S. Army (Ret.)
Former NBC News Commentator and Former Dean, National War College.
Based on my varied experience as a highly visible military officer, a professional educator and business leader/communicator, I believe that Star Force is uniquely equipped to guide transitioning veterans succeed in Branson’s world. The defense-related companies dominating the HR space commonly believe they have an edge with veterans; but often prepare them “by the numbers” only for government service or for vanishing jobs in dying industries. In contrast, Star Force concentrates on the whole person, identifying unique survival skills earned during multiple combat assignments. Even better: Star Force considers both the veteran and his or her family as an integrated unit – and hones skill-sets badly needed by the private sector. While other transition programs ignore or minimize such factors, Star Force understands that leadership, personal initiative and critical thinking are vital 21st century survival skills.
Writing for the New York Journal of Books, I recently reviewed two contradictory views of the business world. One, relying on research and quantitative data provided by the Gallup Organization, suggests that fear is the basic motivator of American management practice. Written in his inimitable style, Sir Richard Branson presents a contrarian view of the common factors uniting in his diverse Virgin business empire. They include: a fanatical devotion to customer service and an absolute reliance on the initiative of Virgin employees to satisfy existing customers while winning new ones. Guess which approach generates happier customers and employees while winning higher profits and growth?
Based on my varied experience as a highly visible military officer, a professional educator and business leader/communicator, I believe that Star Force is uniquely equipped to guide transitioning veterans succeed in Branson’s world. The defense-related companies dominating the HR space commonly believe they have an edge with veterans; but often prepare them “by the numbers” only for government service or for vanishing jobs in dying industries. In contrast, Star Force concentrates on the whole person, identifying unique survival skills earned during multiple combat assignments. Even better: Star Force considers both the veteran and his or her family as an integrated unit – and hones skill-sets badly needed by the private sector.
While other transition programs ignore or minimize such factors, Star Force understands that leadership, personal initiative and critical thinking are vital 21st century survival skills. The quest for commercial advantage begins with a precise understanding of the operational environment, customer needs and likely competitors. Equally essential: The use of competitive intelligence to anticipate these factors as well as each phase of the business cycle. Alone in its field: Star Force recognizes how the transitioning veteran already brings a mind-set placing them well ahead of their civilian contemporaries. Their essential task: developing and positioning each veteran for maximum commercial success.
In short: Your unique capabilities can be especially helpful for the transitioning veterans entering an international economy where rapid change is the only constant.
