Beyond the Uniform

John Allen is the CEO & Founder of Elite Meet, a Non-Profit organization that connects high performing, transitioning veterans, like Navy SEALs and Fighter Pilots, with companies who are looking to hire. He started out at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, after which he served in the Navy as a Navy SEAL for seven years.

Why to Listen: 

There are so many reasons to listen to this episode. First of all, John faced an unexpected transition from Navy SEALs to his own civilian career. While had been planning on going to business school and then doing consulting work, things changed and he found himself with just eight weeks to find a job. Through that process, he started Elite Meet, which is a fantastic resource for transitioning veterans. We talk about Elite Meet, we talk about starting a non-profit, we talk about how to present oneself in the hiring process, and much, much more.

Anne Meree Craig is the Executive Director and Co-Founder, The COMMIT Foundation, which is changing the way highly talented veterans think about transition and creating serendipity for them by fostering mentorship, networking, and inspiration. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Bunker Labs.

Why to Listen: 

The Commit Foundation is a fantastic and free resource to help veterans get where they want to go… just a whole lot faster. They take a very individual approach with each veteran with whom the work, and tailor their approach to help instill veterans with information, confidence, and imagination. Having worked with so many veterans over the years, Anne Meree has some fantastic advice for listeners about interviews - it’s some of the best advice this subject I’ve had on the show.

This is a book review of Seth Godin's book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick). I think this is a great book for both Active Duty members of the military, as well as transitioned veterans. It talks about figuring out what you want to be the best at, and going all-in on that one thing. Anticipating the setbacks that will come along the way, and also recognizing when a fight is un-win-able (or not worth the effort).

 

Aaron Milledge is the Co-Founder & Chief Compliance Officer of Targeted Wealth Solutions, an independent Registered Investment Adviser that provides comprehensive wealth management across all stages of their clients’ lives. Aaron started out at Emory University, after which he served as a Fighter Pilot in the U.S. Air Force for over 12 years. After his service in the Air Force, he founded Targeted Wealth Solutions. He holds an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

Why to Listen: 

Many guests on my show in the past have advised those on Active Duty to take care of their finances so that they have the time they need to find their ideal career. Well, today’s guest, as a financial advisor, has made it his profession to help people take control of their finances. He talks about financial advising as a career path, as well as what it has been like to start his own company.

Timothy Cochrane is the President, ACP Citizens Program at American Corporate Partners, a non-profit that offers free mentorships for long-term career development to the veteran community. He is also the Senior Managing Director at Prime Executions, an agency only broker dealer located on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Tim served in the US Marine Corps for four years.

Why to Listen: 

American Corporate Partners is a resource I have mentioned on - literally - hundreds of episodes. In this interview, we dive into everything a veteran needs to know about ACP and why EVERY veteran should use their free service to find a mentor to help them further their career.

In the last 149 interviews, a common theme that comes up in interviews is the importance of self-knoweldge: of knowing what one is good at, knowing what gets one energized, and knowing what one wants out of a career and life. For today's Skills episode, I wanted to share my experience with a powerful tool: Meditation and Silent Meditation Retreats. While the benefits of Meditation is well documented with respect to concentration and increased productivity, I wanted to share four different ways in which this may help veterans. The episode covers (1) the basics of meditation, (2) why a veteran may be interested in a silent meditation retreat, (3) an overview of silent meditation retreats, and (4) resources in case you would like to learn more.

Selected Resources:

 

• BTU #123 – The Veterans Yoga Project (Dr. Dan Libby)
• Spirit Rock Meditation Center is where I have done my four retreats, and I have also heard very positive things about the Insight Meditation Society
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) - a great introduction to meditation; there are programs around the world that offer MBSR. I took mine through UCSF.
• Book Recommendations
  • 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story
  • Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)

Patrick Cleary is the Chief Operations Officer at Alpha Architect. He started out at the University of Pennsylvania, after which he served as a Platoon Commander in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. After his active duty service, he received his MBA from Harvard Business School, worked as a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group, and worked at the global business service provider, Algeco Scotsman Group.

Why to Listen: 

This is a must-listen-to episode. Patrick covers so much ground in this interview - we talk about choosing a team that is lean and mean; we talk about his experience not being sure of what to do for 5-6 years, wandering from business school to consulting to ultimately finding a place he passionately calls home; we talk about work and life balance and how to think about this as an entrepreneur; and we talk about finance and entrepreneurship. There is so much great advice in this interview!

Bill Angeloni is the Founder & Director of Tenzing Consulting, a global management consulting firm he co-founded that now has over 850 experts and works with Fortune 1,000 clients and private equity. He started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served as an officer in the Navy for five years (while also earning his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management). After his time on Active Duty, he worked at United Airlines doing strategy and operations work, was a Manager at AT Kearney, and a General Manager at FreeMarkets, Inc - a startup where he opened Europe and helped grow to $200M and then took public. After that, he co-founded his own Management Consulting firm, which he has co-led for seven of the last 15 years — he took an 8-year leave of absence to lead a tech company turn around, and start a couple other companies. He has worked with over 30 start-ups over his career and thinks of himself as a bit of a start-up junkie.

Why to Listen: 

Bill has had an eclectic career and covers a lot of ground in this interview. In addition to talking about how to find and join a high-growth startup, he also talks about his experience starting his own consulting company. He also has fantastic advice about networking - how to approach it and why it's so important for veterans to learn how to do this effectively.

Gordon Logan is the Founder & CEO at Sport Clips Haircuts, a company that he started back in 1993 and now has over 1,700 locations in the US & Canada. Logan started out at MIT, after which he served as an Aircraft Commander in the U.S. Air Force for seven years. After his military service, he worked as a financial planning and control consultant with Price Waterhouse & Co. in Houston, Texas. He holds an MBA with Honors from The Wharton School of Business.

Why to Listen: 

In the past I've interviewed veterans involved in Franchises. Gordon started a company that has become a franchise with over 1,700 locations, and many of their franchise owners are veterans. He gives an incredibly vivid look at what it is like to start and grow a company, how to remain fresh and grow with your business, and how failures are never final.

Andrew Neuwirth is a Private Wealth Advisor at Goldman Sachs. He started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served as a Submarine Officer for seven years. After his military service, he transitioned directly to Goldman Sachs.  

Why to Listen: 

Andrew never considered a career in the Financial Services industry until a friend contacted him and told him he should apply for a position... where the application was due in just 18 hours. This led Andrew to learn everything he could about Goldman Sachs and a career as a Private Wealth Advisor. Andrew does a great job of explaining more about the Financial Services industry, and why this may be the ideal career for a military veteran.