Beyond the Uniform

Steve here from BTU. I live in Huntsville, AL and I’m trying to help the Chamber of Commerce connect with E-6 and below service members that are within 18-24 months of their transition window; that can be either be pre or post transition.

The Huntsville Chamber of Commerce is looking to connect via Zoom with soon to transition or recently transitioned junior/mid enlisted service members to pick their brains about transition, what jobs transitioning service members are looking for, what's important to them, what marketing material lands with them, etc.

Basically, there's a huge manufacturing labor shortage in the US and Huntsville has a lot of that manufacturing. The chamber is trying to figure out how to attract enlisted military talent that could step into high paying manufacturing jobs right out of transition after a little bit of training. For example, its entirely within the realm of possibility for an E5 to be starting a manufacturing job here making $100k; the problem is service members don’t know about the opportunities and local companies with manufacturing openings are struggling to connect with the ideal E-6 and below service member workforce.

My ask: do you know of anyone in your network who is an E-6 or below within 18-24 months of their transition window (either be pre or post-transition)?

If so and they’re interested, feel free to email me at [email protected].

This is part two of a book review of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.

I've read a lot of books on productivity, and this is by far one of the best I've read. Because it takes a completely different approach to our view of time and how to get things done. 

I recently read a book that I love: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.

I've read a lot of books on productivity, and this is by far one of the best I've read. Because it takes a completely different approach to our view of time and how to get things done. 

In this episode, I go through a tactical list he includes in the book about 10 Tools for Embracing Your Finitude. I hope this helps you as much as it helped me. 

I've interviewed 510+ top performers. Here are five characteristics I've seen them share:

Ryan is a case study in being proactive, intentional, and open to feedback. He shares some crazy stories about how his side hustles (6+) led to his eventual founding of Gridwise, which has raised over $20M in funding to date. Whether or not you're interested in entrepreneurship, you'll benefit from Ryan's story.

2 years after our initial conversation, Herb Thompson is back on Beyond the Uniform. In this conversation, we talk about topics including:

• What LinkedIn is and isn't
• How Herb wrote his first book in a single weekend
• How companies leveraging Veterans are improving their bottom line, not doing charity
• How to own your journey
• Building a bridge rather than a wall
• How Veterans gaining employment and success helps us all
• How important it is to believe you belong
• Why Herb chose to stand in front of 60,000 people, even though it made him uncomfortable
• Why it's important to not do anything alone

I found the modern incarnation of Alexander Hamilton. This must be what Dr. Dre felt like when he discovered Eminem. He’ll be interviewed by Tim Ferriss one day, but know that his warm-up was with @Beyond the Uniform.

Michael Muir and I connected via a LinkedIn post. We chatted for 20 minutes, and I knew I had to interview him.

Here’s what you should know about Michael: - He spent much of his childhood homeless or in foster homes - He left a full ride to the University of Wisconsin to follow his intuition - He joined the Marines - He went to Brown - He joined Bain & Company - He works at SVB - He’s interned at places including HBO, Google, and Deloitte

If I had this story, you couldn’t get me to shut up about it. But despite his incredible accomplishments, Michael is humble, introspective, and honest.

Had I been dealt the same set of cards as Michael, I’m not sure where it would have ended up. But I have a strong suspicion it wouldn’t be Brown, Bain, or SVB.

I hope you enjoy this interview with Michael Muir.

I've been MIA... I'm sorry! Here's a quick update on what's going on behind-the-scenes, and what's in store for Beyond the Uniform. 

Someone in our community sent me a message requesting a few thoughts on their military career transition. I wanted to take the opportunity to share four things that have been on my mind lately.