MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 26: From Navy Nuclear Technician to Elite Veteran Talent Connector with David Brown-Dawson

Join host Rod Loges and guest David Brown-Dawson as he shares his journey from serving as a civil engineer officer and air advisor in the U.S. Air Force to founding LeadCommGym and Palm, a growth intelligence platform dedicated to helping professionals turn real-time feedback into actionable career insights.

In this episode:

• David's experience serving as a civil engineer officer in Okinawa, Japan, and as an air advisor leading multidisciplinary teams to African countries
• His path from college ROTC at Texas Tech to five years of active duty service
• Learning the power of curiosity, humility, and asking questions in his first week as a second lieutenant
• The internship with Congressman Sam Johnson, a Vietnam POW, that shaped his understanding of service
• Building his Christian faith into something personal during his time away from family in Okinawa
• Transitioning from military service to UC Berkeley Haas School of Business to learn the language of business and public policy
• Writing "Enduring Urgency: Thinking Like a Tortoise in a Time of Hares" as a framework for consistent action toward what matters most
• Founding LeadCommGym to provide leadership development workshops and coaching
• Creating Palm to help leaders know, grow, and keep their best people through scalable technology
• His involvement with Y-Build, an organization supporting Black professionals in real estate
• The three main challenges of entrepreneurship: developing assertiveness, meeting leaders where they are, and effective communication

Key takeaways:

• Effective leadership starts with being humble enough to ask questions and learn from subject matter experts
• A conversation with the Air Force Civil Engineer freed David from the pressure of planning decades ahead, teaching him to focus on excellence in each assignment
• At the end of the day, everyone is a person first regardless of rank, title, or role
• Palm addresses the disconnect between leaders who want to invest in their people and the lack of scalable tools to do so effectively
• The platform targets companies with 30-300 employees in professional services, nonprofits with $5M+ budgets, and construction
• AI should extend and enhance a leader's effectiveness, not eliminate the need for leadership
• Companies that don't focus on their people will eventually see performance suffer, no matter how strong their metrics appear today
• "Enduring Urgency" explores what it means to take consistent action over time toward what matters most, with principles drawn from studying the life of Jesus Christ
• Napoleon Hill's "Outwitting the Devil" shaped David's thinking about actualizing human potential and helping people avoid drifting through life

Guest: David Brown-Dawson, Founder of LeadCommGym and Palm, Air Force Veteran (5 years of service)

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bd/ 
• Business Websites: https://www.ownyourgrowth.ai/ and https://leadcommgym.com/ 

David Brown-Dawson is an Air Force veteran who served as a civil engineer officer and air advisor from 2011-2017, with assignments in Okinawa, Japan, and New Jersey. After his military service, David earned his MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business with a focus on leadership development and real estate finance. He became a certified Working Genius Facilitator and iPEC Core Energy Coach, creating LeadCommGym to provide leadership development through workshops and coaching programs.

Through his work with leaders and teams, David repeatedly saw the same disconnect: leaders wanted to invest in their people but lacked scalable tools to do it effectively. This insight led him to found Palm, a growth intelligence platform that uses AI to help managers provide ongoing career development and feedback, moving beyond annual performance reviews to help team members feel seen, valued, and supported.

Looking ahead: David is conducting pilots with companies in professional services, nonprofits, and construction while exploring an angel funding round to scale Palm's team and impact across more organizations.

The MILCOM Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business owners. Each episode brings practical insights and lessons learned from successful veteran entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at https://www.milcomfounders.com/