Five Ways a Military Approach Can Help Every Non-Military Manager

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2013/01/07/five-ways-a-military-approach-can-help-every-non-military-manager/

This article is by John Esposito, a member of the board of the consultancy McKinney Rogers, formerly president and chief executive of Bacardi U.S.A., president and CEO of Moet Hennessy USA, and president and CEO of Shieffelin & Somerset.
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D-day: The leadership vision, organizational preparation, tactical planning, and broader strategy required were staggering.

When I was the U.S. chief executive at Moët Hennessy, I spearheaded the merger of three Moët Hennessy U.S. companies into one new one. The deal could easily have gone sour without full recognition of the countless challenges organizations face during a monumental merger of this kind. To avoid the potential pitfalls, our organization adopted a military ethos. This meant constantly evaluating tactics against strategy, and actively avoiding mission creep. I found that the military-inspired approach we took was a key factor in aligning Moët Hennessey USA as a global organization. Later, as President and CEO of Bacardi North America, I found that the military ethos remained a part of my thinking and managerial approach.

I have been a civilian my entire life, but ex-military business execution professionals have shown me the value that a military approach and the principles of commando training can bring to any organization. My advice to management anywhere is to be open to what your teams can learn from the military and apply the following five lessons.
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1. Insist on clear communication and alignment. Clear communication and alignment are hallmarks of the military. Don’t underestimate the importance of language in reinforcing or shifting an organization’s mindset. Words like “mission,” “vision,” and “tactics” empower people to think differently about what they’re doing. When you use terms like “interdependency” you force a conversation between people that can drastically improve outcomes.

2. Create high-performing teams. Military experience emphasizes organizing and defining your team’s goals and missions, your team’s members’ roles and responsibilities, and your action plans. This empowers people to become part of a high-performing team in an organizational setting. Everyone talks about leadership, but the successful business must be able to recruit people who want to be part of a team and are willing to be good followers. There is no substitute for putting the best people with the right skills in the right roles.  Like a commando team, they allow you to do more with fewer resources.

3. Get comfortable in dynamic environments.In today’s dynamic and uncertain business environment, the most successful firms are those that can act quickly and decisively in response to change. Strong self-efficacy, high achievement, autonomy, and the ability to take decisive action in the face of uncertainty and dynamic environments are critical capabilities. Preparing individuals to evalu

ate a dynamic environment and act in the face of uncertainty is a particular strength of the military, and it should be a priority for executive training programs. It all begins with having a clear vision and a specific mission that enables people to act in alignment with the company’s objectives.

4. Hire your replacement. In a combat setting, casualties of war require that junior officers assume the roles of their superiors at a moment’s notice. Because of that, the military trains people to function at least two levels above their rank. Imagine how much more effective employees are when they know how to do their boss’s job and understand the big-picture vision as well as their own immediate responsibilities.

5. Ask for help. Recognize that there’s no need to go it alone.  Even for a CEO it’s okay to ask for help. You owe it to yourself and your organization to assemble the best team possible. Don’t be distracted by the desire to get all the credit. From a commando perspective, you may have an efficient team and still need to bring in resources from another division, or outsource a function, to get the job done.

Hiring veterans can be a part of the solution, too. Today military presence at corporations is at a low, when we need it most.  According to researchers at Boston University and Harvard University, 59% of companies in 1980 were led by boardroom generals from the military. By 2009 that had dropped to 8%. Take it from a civilian CEO who has experienced the benefits of a military ethos first hand, and accelerate your organization’s performance by applying military knowhow to drive your organizational success.