This article was written by Sam Allen and shared through his generosity. Sam is an Executive Vice President and the Chief Operations Officer for Salesforce.com and also a former Marine. The article can be found in its original form here.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
The blog I wish I had read when I left the Marines for the private sector.
I wish I did a better job of looking at organizational politics. Coming in with a nose to the grindstone only goes so far. Understand your corporate surroundings, seeing how to wade through them, and avoiding landmines is very important.
— a former Marine Officer
Congratulations! You successfully navigated the interview process and are about to start your first job. But you have been so focused on getting this job that you probably haven’t thought much about what happens after you succeed. Sort of like the dog who catches the car, you don’t know what to do next. I started these blog posts because I remember how hard this transition was for me. So here is the blog post I wish I could have read when I was about to start my first job in the civilian sector (ed note: the word “blog” didn’t exist back then).
I reached out to about a dozen veterans I know who have successfully transitioned to the private sector to help me in the following words of advice. They represent different ranks, and the span of military service among them ranges from 5 to 27 years. One of them, Mike Grice, actually wrote a book about his transition. He always has to one-up me . . . but he and I both know that his most significant accomplishment is to have been my roommate. I took my own experience, married it to theirs, and birthed the following bulleted advice. And remember, the advice is free, and you always get what you pay for:
Seek continuous self-improvement
This one shouldn’t be much of a surprise to the veteran. The first Leadership Principle in the Marines is “know yourself and seek self-improvement.”
In the military, the most straightforward analog for self-improvement is physical training. Indeed, it was a requirement of your job. No matter how dark, how cold, or how wet it may be, we would join our fellow troops in the glory that is daily exercise. Although you can now leave behind the 0500 obstacle course, you must maintain the mindset of “always-on” personal improvement and consider it part of your employment responsibility.
Constant self-improvement is not an optional activity. Books, classes, and training are great resources, but your best source of knowledge is people. Practical application will always eclipse that which is learned in the classroom.
Chains of Command are cumbersome.
Do your diligence and understand the organizational design of your new team. Chains of command aren’t always transparent — and even when they are, they often aren’t followed, which can vex the veteran. Innovative and fast-moving companies aren’t hide-bound by “who reports to who.”
If I need an answer from someone, I simply go straight to that person. I don’t have time to wait for a request to go up and down the, often several, chains of command. Taking the initiative was rewarded in the military — as it will be in your civilian career. Just make sure it’s buttered with sound judgment.
Look for mentors.
Note the plural.
You need a mentor to help you understand “how everything works.” You need a mentor to help you think about your career progression. It would be best if you had a mentor, preferably not in your team, who can answer all the dumb questions you are afraid to ask.
And you need to ask questions because you don’t know shit.
When you approach a candidate for mentorship, make sure you are prepared to discuss what you want out of the relationship. “Uh, can you help me?” won’t work.
Guard thy tongue.
Consider this piece of advice career-saving: people in the civilian world — especially in certain parts of the US or in specific industries — will have thinner skin than those in your military unit.
Much. Thinner. Skin.
Be careful with your language, be careful with your jokes and be very careful in your written communications. The tone, intonation, and purpose are often left to the recipient to interpret. Understand the phrase “intent vs. impact.”
As you grow your career, you will need to become an ally to many people who don’t look, think or act like you. It will make you better, so embrace this change immediately. Be authentic at work, but be so with empathy.
The private sector is an inefficient meritocracy.
In the military, promotions follow a prescribed process, so you don’t spend a lot of time looking for angles or trying to game the system. Administrative considerations are beneath you, and there is a system of rules in place which handles such things.
These rules clearly mandate the requirements necessary for promotion: serve the appropriate amount of time, complete the required amount of training, and, most importantly, don’t “screw the pooch,” and you get promoted. You then begin again, surrendering your career fate to the bureaucracy**.
The practical trade-off here is that you know not to expect a promotion until the boxes have been checked. It’s pretty brilliant in that it requires zero emotional energy from you, allowing you to focus your energies instead on whatever mission is in the offing.
Now, if you will allow me an understatement, you will find this level of process wanting in the civilian world. Ambiguity, lack of transparency, loose rules, and, yes, nepotism may play a part in getting promoted or getting the best assignments.
Early in my career, this was frustrating to me, as it is to all veterans because I thought my work’s quality would be the only thing that mattered. Surely there would be a faceless machine behind a curtain somewhere tracking my progress and spitting out promotions with regularity, right?
Here is what I figured out — there is no bureaucracy doling out promotions and assignments. This lack of administrative design creates a vacuum. And humans, by nature, abhor a vacuum. So to compensate, people have realized that they are their own best “promotion machine.” To fill this void in the private sector, the veteran needs to find a new muscle: be your own best champion.
The only person who wakes up in the morning worried about your career progression is the one smiling back at you in the mirror as you brush your teeth. Don’t let him or her down.
Networking is part of your job.
In a previous post, I discussed the importance of leveraging the people you know — your network — to find a job. Now that you have landed a role, it’s time to double down building your fledgling network. One of life’s great truths is that “it’s now what you know but who you know.”
Your diligence and performance will speak loudly for you, but you need to nurture the reputation that such deeds proffer. Please understand me; this isn’t about sycophancy. (A side note about sycophants is that, despite their best efforts, they will eventually be discovered.)
Networking is about your need to invest in your peers who will form a solid foundation for building your professional network. Construct relationships based on common goals and shared beliefs and then cultivate the same.
Find people you can learn from and then do so. Educate in return. Find executives in the business from whom you think you can learn and get on their radar. Find others who share interests outside the confines of your duties and build enduring personal connections. Find fellow veterans.
Two of my most fantastic jobs came from people in my network with whom I had cultivated relationships based solely on their merits as human beings. Most of the people I have hired in my career have come from my network. The last thing here: treat your network like the valuable asset that it is, don’t trade it or sell it, and don’t let it go fallow. Water it with the respect and energy it deserves, and it will grow healthy.
Exhibit enthusiasm.
Be willing to go the extra distance — this won’t be lost on anyone. Be inquisitive. Find solutions to problems. Don’t ever point to a problem and say, “yeah, that’s a problem.” Please do something about it. You will quickly get a reputation built on performance.
Pay it forward.
Remember where you came from. Help those around you. Be dependable to the point of sacrifice. Respect every job — the most influential people in just about every company are the Executive Assistants. Be demanding but fair with your team, and always give them air cover. In this regard, the civilian world is no different than the military — people love and follow a good leader. So go and be one.
“You have what companies want… but they generally don’t want it in ‘military speak.’ Lead by example, even if you’re an individual contributor. Be mission-oriented, but understand your adjacencies and don’t leave a wake of bodies in your quest to get the job done; rather, motivate others to take the hill with you. Be a team player regardless of what environment you’re in or your role. Be technically and tactically proficient… if you don’t know, learn it. A lot of people appreciate you trying to learn so that you’re more effective and valuable to the team.” — Marine veteran
*I am, admittedly, oversimplifying here. While this is the case for the majority of enlisted grades and junior officer grades, there is, indeed, politicking required at the higher level. I just never got that far….
Sam’s bio:
I write about leadership, veterans affairs, & fatherhood. I read about finance, military history, & current affairs. I eat cookies and Tim’s Jalapeno chips.
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