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Officers are hungry. They want to lead, they want grow and develop, and they want to be challenged. Unfortunately, across the military, officers hit a brick wall in their leadership development because of the built in design of a "leadership plateau" at the 6-10 year mark.

We're 2.5 years into the transition and the "Leadership Plateau", as we talked about 19 episodes ago, was one of the largest factors in our decision to ultimately transition. It's time to check in on what we've learned and how the theory holds up.

Recommendations:

Jay - The Hustle, Gone Baby Gone

Brent - The Popcast Podcast, Shot Caller, Passengers 

Find more from Corporate Captains at corporatecaptainspodcast.com 

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected], hit us up on LinkedIn, & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 700 current and former military officer talking transition. 

Later this week, we'll be revisiting the Leadership Plateau, but before we do, as a refresher and a launchpad to continue the conversation, we re-airing Episode 4 of the broadcast. Enjoy this primer we we get geared up for Episode 22 coming Thursday.

REBROADCAST SHOW NOTES

Early in their career, military officers start in a leadership sprint, launching past their civilian peers, but after 6 or 7 years, leadership development begins to taper off & they start to make up ground.

In this episode, Brent & Jay talk about the "Leadership Plateau." What is it & what are the implications for officers considering a transition into business & corporate America?

Find more from Corporate Captains at corporatecaptainspodcast.com 

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 650 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

This is a CAN'T-MISS episode! We can pull back the curtain as much as we want when it comes to the transition, but honestly, salary negotiation is a tough egg to crack. And for military officers, it's really freaking tough to prepare seeing as how we're part of a very small career field that has their exact salary literally posted on the wall.

Then, when it comes to preparing for salary negotiation, should you make more? Less? Same? Once you've figured that out, how do you prepare for the first conversation you've ever had to negotiate how much you'll actually be paid? After that, what are the implications for your future salaries if you get it right or wrong? Amongst dozens of other considerations, all extremely important questions and all are very tough to answer for transitioning military officers. That's what we brought in the big guns!

Philip Spencer is a former active duty Air Force officer (currently a Reservist) that has spent the better part of a decade learning about salary negotiation helping friends and clients prepare to maximize their earning potential. In fact, he's been so successful at something that basically started as a hobby that he wrote a book about it. Fortunately, Philip agreed to join us for a conversation on how what he has learned can help transitioning officers (and basically anyone looking for an edge in salary negotiation). 

I think that'll do it for the show notes portion of this podcast. This conversation was a blast and we both learned a ton. Enjoy the show and while your listening, click the link below to pick up Philip's new book that was released last Friday and check out his website for an awesome tool for officers preparing to transition.

Stealing From Your Future Self: How to Break Through Insecurities and Confidently Negotiate Your Salary by Philip Spencer

Find more from Corporate Captains at corporatecaptainspodcast.com 

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 650 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

As much as we have tried to make each episode "timeless" (as in, military officers can hopefully pick and choose episodes depending on where they are at in the transition) we can't avoid the 10,000-pound COVID elephant in the room any longer.

Like it or not, COVID has changed the landscape of the transition for military officers. What hasn't changed though is the push good officers continue to make towards development and their drive towards "purpose." So, while it can feel grim and a lot safer in the uniform, what hasn't changed is the desire for companies to bring in superior talent. This is good news for officers.

We talk about that, the bad news COVID might bring, what to do about it, and what are seeing in our own transition. The usual disclaimer is, we don't have the dadgum answers, but we do see the value in having the conversation. That's what the podcast is here for, glad you joined us!

Recommendations:

Brent

• Kings Wild Project - Premium Playing Cards Subscription 
• Brad Nailer and Air Compressor

Jay 

• Akimbo w/ Seth Godin

Find more from Corporate Captains at corporatecaptainspodcast.com 

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 650 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

For the military, as an institution, there simply is no care for your "purpose" or your "why." This isn't an indictment on the military, but if you're even taking a second look at taking the leap into corporate America or starting your business, this is a harsh reality that needs to be considered and dealt with. This not to say companies on the other side aren't guilty of the same thing, but as we talk about in the episode, the implications and what it means for officers is quite different.

That's just the starting point of the conversation for this episode. Queue it up and reach out. Let us know what you think. What's been on your mind as you consider your own transition?

Recommendations:

Brent - Forest App (Focus app for iOS/Android)

Jay - Shift.org (Transition resource for vets interested in tech)

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 650 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

We covered "decision factors" a little over a year and a half ago. That episode came at a time when the transition was still fresh and may have been better described as a therapy session. Well, it turned out to be one of our most popular episodes and a place we revisit often when it comes to talking about what's matters to military officers considering or going through the transition.

Episode Links/Resources:

Episode 3 - The Decision Factors

Jay - When to Jump Podcast with Mike Lewis

Brent - Trade Coffee, The Bouqs, MeUndies, Panera Coffee Subscription

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 600 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

A major part of the decision to transition for military officers is the internal struggle and debate we have with ourselves as we weigh our options. Everyone's "decision factors" are unique to them, but regardless of Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Army, there are common threads when it comes to the struggle we face to make the best decision for our career and, really, our lives.

So, nearly a year and a half after it was first recorded, we are rebroadcasting one of our most popular episodes to pave the way for Episode 19, coming later this week, where we revisit the "Decision Factors."

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 600 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

Every now and then we come across a resource or idea that is extremely helpful to some of the things we, as military officers, faced in the transition decision. That's what happened for Jay when we stumbled upon a podcast that covered the heart behind a book called "Stretch" by Scott Sonnenschein.

In this episode, we dive into the topic of "stretching" and "chasing" and how knowing the difference can be a game-changer for officers early in the transition process.

Here's a link to the podcast episode we talk about on Stretch with Brene Brown and Scott Sonnenschein.

A Google Talk where Sonnenschein unpacks his ideas on what it means to "Stretch."

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 600 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

This bonus episode of the pod features Brent and a post-transition with the Post Modern Patriot himself, John McCarthy. Reflecting on his own successful transition as a Marine and through the lens of the things he's doing with his own podcast and blog, John reached out. We exchanged a few emails and had a couple of conversations. The more we talked, I realized the conversation we were having could provide a ton of value to military officers wanting to have the transition conversation. One of the biggest reasons I thought this conversation, in particular, would be helpful to military officers is because of how different John's perspective and transition-story is different than mine and Jay's

We talk MBA, salary, data & analytics, and what we’ve learned are best ways officers can posture themselves to crush it in the transition. We also get pretty personal about some of the things we've discovered about identity through the joys and struggles of our own transition. Needless to say, it was a fun conversation, and hopefully, you snag a piece or two to apply to your own transition.

If you like what you hear, go check John out at postermodernpatriot.blog where John tackles mental toughness, fitness, and personal finance. And give his podcast, Post Modern Patriot, a listen.

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 600 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.

As military officers, we are constantly looking for signals or information to let us know whether we should get out or stay in. Better yet, it sometimes feels like it would be a whole lot easier if someone would just tell us what to do. Right now, COVID is hyperbole controlling the narrative and if we aren't careful, we could let it be a deciding factor. COVID or not, there seems to always be an internal conversation going on for military officers going on as they look to make the next best decision for their career.

Truthfully, for us, even going on two years after the transition there are still shades of this conversation. So, for this episode, we try and unpack the struggle things like COVID present to the decision making process, uncover the reality, and discuss what to do about it.

This one is a good one...

We want to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] & the Corporate Captains Facebook Group has over 600 current and former military officer talking transition. Come join us.