Don’t act like a Marine

“Don’t act like a Marine.” I am paraphrasing the best piece of advice I received by my then boss, and mentor Jon Oka.

How Marines Grunts Perceived

Bossy, loud, obnoxious, and lacking emotion. Speaking about veterans in general, “they’re seen as doers, people who can sort of take action and get things done, but the consequences of that is people see them as sort of less feeling, having less emotion,” said Dr. Steven Shepherd, a marketing professor at Oklahoma State University speaking to Richard Sisk writing for Military.com.

Here are a some more stereotypes I have heard regarding the military in general:

they can lead when their direct reports are obligated to do so but leading in the civilian world is not the same as leading in the military.
Prior service members do not know how to take initiative.
The military makes robots

A year after getting out of the Marine Corps, I started working for Jon leading a team tasked with replenishment, reverse logistics, inventory control, inventory maintenance, and customer service. I did a good job monitoring metrics and making sure that we met them and take corrective action when possible deviation was detected.

I was focused on the mission and like a good Marine I took care of my team—making sure they had what they needed to get the job done. All lessons I learned from the Corps. I also picked up the habit of being direct, to the point, and assertive. The truth is I fit the stereotype of a Unites States Marine grunt.

In the fleet, grunts follow orders—swift, immediate obedience to orders. What is a grunt? A grunt is the infantryman whether in the Army or the Corps. Grunts are the ground stompers at the frontline everyone else is support. There is room for initiative, swift thinking, and on the go decision-making necessary for successful small unit tactics that is another story.

I was good at barking orders and making sure they were followed. One day Jon approached me and had a one-on-one with me. He told me that I was good at organizing, planning, and controlling, but that was not enough. He gave me some advice. He said that if I wanted to be a leader higher up in the chain of command that I would have to develop soft skills especially the ability to use diplomacy and navigate corporate politics. He said that without that skill I would be successful, but that he did not see me leaving the supervisory or frontline management ranks. Act less like a Marine

Fast forward to 2015, I was in my office when the Director of HR walked into my office and said that heard that I was a veteran. When I responded that I was, he said that I must have been in the Air Force. I responded that I served in the Marine Corps. He returned that I must have been an officer to which I replied that I was enlisted. He then said I must have worked supply. I replied that I was an infantryman. He then stated that I must never have been sent anywhere were someone was shooting at me to which I replied that I had. He shook his head in disbelief. The point I did not fit his notion (stereotype) of a Marine.

I have read some posts refuting the stereotypes. My interactions with sailors, airmen, and some soldiers in San Antonio have taught me that in fact that stereotype does not hold true—the caveat to all servicemembers. I have interacted with Marine Corps and Army grunts for whom the stereotype of lacking tact and IE/EQ holds true—I was one of them.

Of course, this advice is geared toward those already employed. My intent in this post is not to address the obstacles in gaining employment of which there are many articles already written. I will write about some traits inherent in Marine Corps’ grunts.

Marines run toward the sound of chaos

I cannot count how many times I have heard the saying Marines run toward the sound of chaos/Marines round toward the sound of gunfire. Well, in my case both are true, the latter in a literal sense as rounds were aimed at us, and I have run toward chaos ever since leaving active duty.

I have made my career running toward organizations whose divisions or business units are in distress, running at financial loss, or have toxic cultures that need to me addressed. Where others may have run away and preferred a turnkey operation with opportunities for nominal improvement, I have thrived while keeping a cool head, and bringing up morale. I have been called the fix it guy more than once.

My wife once told me something shocking. She called me the fix it guy then added that what makes me different is that while other fix it guys are known for coming in and firing staff, I go in work with existing teams, develop them, and via influence get their buy in for my vision of how the operation will run.

Small Unit Tactics

Isn’t that what Marine squads do? We cannot choose who is assigned to our squads. We must train our teams to eliminate deficiencies and perform at optimal efficiency—all those gun drills. Marines sharpen their skills and develop teams. The belief that Marines follow orders and cannot think for themselves is a fallacy.

Marines have been operating in small units with independence and autonomy since November 10, 1775. They operate in small units with a high probability of injury or death, (my MOS had a 6 to 10 second life expectancy) someone always must be ready to step in, to think on their feet as the situation unfolds. We were able to make decisions as long as the mission objectives were met.

I have plenty of examples where I made the call for high risk decisions that others before me were scared to make. One example that comes to mind is when I took over an operation that was losing money. After analyzing the situation, I made the call to give the staff a 16% wage increase. The operation was paying below market rate and was experiencing high turnover. Because of the high turnover, labor was being supplemented via a temp agency at a cost of a 35% markup. I took a calculated risk that increasing wages would reduce turnover thus eliminating the need for temp labor.

The leadership team that reported to me said it was a crazy idea. How can I increase cost when we’re already losing money? My tactic worked, and I was able to return an annual 84K USD back to my P&L that would have been margin paid to temp agencies. My mission was to get the operation back into the profitability.

Mission Focused

Leading teams during difficult times requires focus, determination, tenacity, and the ability to navigate ambiguity. This is the case in business as it is in a combat environment. In both situations, the rules of engagement are not clear and/or are constantly changing. Irrespective of what difficulties pop up, situational awareness is necessary in order to navigate through and around obstacles while reaching mission objectives.

My Advice to Marine grunts is learn the soft skills, learn about emotional intelligence, and get a mentor. Be proud of being a Marine, act like a Marine—adapt and lead.

November 10, 2019 0

Experiences Not Titles

On October 19, I spent my Saturday morning at an iEmpower event that started with a panel discussion and ended with Harriet Dominique speaking about her experiences, what she learned along the way, and how she values experiences over titles especially in the context of career development and professional growth. Her conversation was thought provoking and I reflected on an experience where I failed, but I learned from it.

I was privileged to work in ecommerce operations during the rise of the dotcoms of the late 90s. The company I worked for had the stereotype benefits that the news broadcasted at the time—ping pong tables, huge bonuses, beach days, etc. I gained experience implementing, training, and using SAP, Oracle, and other Internet based systems.

Fast forward to the early 2000s, I interviewed with a multinational (MNC) headquartered in Mexico. The MNC was undertaking a big project of migrating from their homegrown ERP to SAP. I completed my first and second rounds of interviews. I made the final shortlist—it was going to be between me and another individual.

I tried my best to speak only in Spanish, but I failed.

When I showed up for the final interview, I was greeted and then told the interview will be in Spanish. I went into the interview where I was asked many questions for which I knew the answers. I tried my best to speak only in Spanish, but I failed.

I walked out of the interview and I was informed that although they liked me and could use my experience I was not selected. In retelling this story, I have been asked why it was important to speak Spanish if the site was in the U.S. My response is that many of the management was brought in from Mexico, so it was vital that the individual speak Spanish. I get it—I currently work for a Danish MNC and we have many Danes filling roles here in the U.S. albeit they speak English.

I moved to Texas in 2006 and I began to practice my Spanish more albeit not in a professional setting. I was using conversational Spanish with people I encountered in retail stores, while buying groceries, and filling up my vehicle’s gas tank.

In 2017, I was lucky to introduce a colleague into my team whose first language is Spanish. I informed him that I wanted to have all our meetings in Spanish. Additionally, I asked him to correct me if I used the wrong word, phrase, or grammar. He agreed, and so we did. He thought me business terms, corrected my Spanish often, so I kept learning.

In December of 2107, I interviewed for a role in Argentina. The interview was in Spanish with the CFO from Argentina and eventually the America’s CEO. I discovered that I was the only one interviewing who was neither born nor raised in the Latin America. What chance did I have? I got the role. Of course, it was not just my ability to speak Spanish that got me role, but it helped.

I had a couple of hiccups, but I was forgiven because I speak very good Spanish for a Yankee

I was fortunate to have a leadership role that allowed me to live and work in Latin America—leading operations in Argentina and Uruguay for my organization based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I had a couple of hiccups, but I was forgiven because I speak very good Spanish for a Yankee. When I held my first leadership meeting, I voiced how hot it was by stating how hot it was but what I said translated to how horny I was. Some of the ladies in the leadership team, called me over and corrected me while their faces turned red.

Since moving back to the U.S., I have worked on, and continue to work on projects that involve Latin America. Today, I am coordinating activities between the United States, Chile, and Argentina so I still get to practice my Spanish. This morning I was on the phone with our colleagues in Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

October 24, 2019 0

…start considering those who have high potential, not just top performers

The title of this post is takien directly from HBR’s Hire Leaders for What They Can Do, Not What They Have Done. Josh Bersin and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic recommended three questions to help determine whether you’re considering the right peron:

Does the candidate have the skills to be a high-performing contributor or the skills to be an effective leader?
Can I really trust this candidate’s individual performance measures?
Am I looking forward or backward?

My point is not to summarize the article (the link is above), but to highlight an individual who this made me think of, Jennifer Ruiz, FMP, SFP and take a moment to brag about her and how lucky I was to have worked with her.

I met Jennifer when I was recruited to help guide the operation through change.

The operation I took over was part of a legacy team from a 2007 acquisition that after several years was resistant to change, and was not aligned to the organization’s mission and vision.

Jennifer joined the organization 2011, and after some time in the corporate office decided to transfer to operations in early 2015. She was welcomed into the operations team, but was relegated to the status of junior member who had to prove her worth to the team because of her lack of operational experience. For some reason, her lack of experience was the first thing that was brought up in discussion regarding opportunities for Jennifer–yet I never heard efforts to help her gain experience.

When a leadership role opened up reporting directly to me, I interviewed several people who were recommended by the senior leaders reporting to me. There was nothing wrong with them, in fact they had many years of experience in facility services, and many years with the company, they new the local market, and intimate knowledge of our clients. I also saw that they were being recommended because of their past performance and success.

I also knew that the individuals who were being recommended did not have working MS Excel knowledge, could not read a P&L, and were apprehensive about taking initiative and making a call. I knew that the organization was changing and the aforementioned skills were vital to future plans.

Jennifer did not have the many years of facility service experience, but she can dole out a spreadsheet in seconds, she has an accounting background so she knows a P&L. She was in the procurement department so I can trust her to read a contract. She is also a former teacher so she can present in front of customers, employees, and colleagues, and teach/coach her team.

I promoted Jennifer and did not regret it. She exceeded my expectations and continues to amaze me. In addition to successfully running her account, she sits on the board for the San Antonio Chapter of IFMA where she is chair of Professional Development. She is also on the board for Prospanica San Antonio. She does all that while being a mother to her daughter and wife to Dr. Ruiz.

I don’t know how many times I have had someone ask me how is Jennifer able to be everywhere all the time. Well, let that be a testament to her organizational skills and ability to prioritize effectively.

Rounding this back, I have to ask myself the questions with which I started this post:

Did Jennifer have the skills to be a high-performing contributor or the skills to be an effective leader?
Can I really trust Jennifer’s individual performance measures?
Am I looking forward or backward?

I have not had one regret promoting Jennifer, and I see great things in store for for her in the future.

October 14, 2019 0

She’s Not the One

While working on the backyard, I listened to this episode of HBR Ideacast podcast, “The Surprising Benefits of Sponsoring Others at Work,” and it had me thinking of the different individuals who I have mentored and most importantly sponsor at work. I previously read an article about the benefits of mentoring someone that to summarize stated that mentoring someone can help the mentor see different perspectives and offers opportunities to learn too (there are many out there and I cannot find the original one I read).

I make it a practice to mentor and coach others wherever I have worked, and sponsor some of them. One person stands out is Jennifer. I met Jennifer at the start of a new leadership role with a new organization. I make a point of meeting members on my team, and when I get the chance I ask them what they would change if they could.

At this point, I am going to digress a bit. I was recruited for the role because the operation was made up of employees from an acquisition that took place 9 years before. The operation was resistant to chance and was not aligned to the company’s mission and vision. The operation and its leaders still referred to themselves by the acquired company’s name and kept notepads, pens, and equipment labeled with the old name.

They wanted things to remain the same and wanted someone to protect them from corporate intrusion and their attempts to move them in the direction of company.

Jennifer had been in the operation for two years, and transferred there from the corporate office. She was genuinely looking for an opportunity to gain some operational experience in hopes of developing her professional career. She was seen as an outsider by the rest of the team, and relegated to someone that did not have enough experience nor knowledge to advance.

Jennifer was honest and expressed how she wanted the operation to resemble how the company looked in marketing material, social media, and the company’s website. I told her that I would do my best. In talking to her, I discovered that she transferred from the procurement department, and that she also was an accountant and a school teacher in the past. Oh, and she was a TCU graduate.

She’s Not the One!

Some time had passed and an opportunity for an account manager role managing a large regional account became open. I asked Jennifer’s immediate supervisor (the Director of Operations) what she thought about Jennifer for the role–it would have been a promotion. The response surprised me! The Director of Operations mentioned that she was not the right person for the role–that she lacked experience and know how and that up until this point she had only managed a portfolio made up of small local accounts. She offered the name of one of Jennifer’s peers as someone she thought was perfect for the role.

I thought about the person for a second, then replied that I disagreed. I mentioned that although her recommendation was a hard worker, dedicated, and the customers loved him, he did not have the P&L knowledge and did not seem to show interest in learning the skill during our training sessions. Additionally, he did not know MS Excel, and usually needed someone to resolve conflict. I told her that I disagreed with her and that I was going to approach Jennifer about the role.

I was surprised to find out that Jennifer did not believe herself qualified to take on the role. I actually had to convince her that she was a perfect candidate. I told her that she had ops experience to manage the day-to-day; her accounting experience translated to P&L knowledge; her procurement experience would allow her to read the contract and determine the deliverables, and negotiate with vendors and the client; her teaching background would help her coach and develop her team. I told her that the best part would build her team and make sure it matched what she saw on social media, marketing material, and company website. Jennifer was convinced and accepted the role.

She reiterated how she lacked experience...I made a mistake

I informed the Director of Operations and immediately she began telling me how I made the wrong choice. She reiterated how she lacked experience, and underscored how I made a mistake. News got around before I made the formal announcement, and the Office Manager met with me in order to echo the Director’s concerns. She too emphasized how I made a terrible mistake and that it was going to have a negative impact on the client relationship, service delivery, and morale as a whole.

Professional Development

Jennifer took helm of the account and immediately started to have an impact. I’d like to say that I guided her throughout the whole process, but the reality is that she was a natural. Jennifer came to me with situations for which she used me as a sounding board, but her ideas and direction were sound and I agreed with most. She was a natural, like I said–when I say natural I really mean that her combination of experience, knowledge, and education prepared her for this. She just needed some encouragement.

During this time frame, I offered and encouraged my leadership team to sign up for an Emerging Leaders Series course offered by the San Antonio Chapter of Prospanica (formerly the National Society for Hispanic MBAs). Jennifer was the only one to sign up.

I invited my team to attend a Texas LEAD event in Austin hosted by the Austin Chapter of Prospanica. This is a one day event of professional development with distinguished key note speakers and presenters. Jennifer was the only one to sign up.

Credit Where Credit is Due

I should have prefaced that the account Jennifer took over was running at a loss–taking a 12% loss at the close of the fiscal year. I in turn took over the whole operation also taking a loss so turning around this large account was an important part of my strategic plan for the operation.

The account started to generate a profit under Jennifer’s direction and finished the fiscal year with a 12% margin. That’s a 24 point swing! My other initiatives were having positive impact too and the operation closed the fiscal year with a positive margin for the first time in a couple of years.

Jennifer taking over the account, allowed me to focus on the bigger picture. I truly believe that had it not been for Jennifer stepping in to tackle the account I would have been too involved in the account to effectively navigate and transform the whole operation. I was congratulated for the turnaround for which I in turn mentioned that it was a team effort and that Jennifer along with others helped me achieve my goals.

Reputation

Jennifer has since developed into a confident leader who gains loyalty and trust from her team. She now sits on two nonprofit boards, and has received two professional credentials. Additionally, she volunteers for roles within company projects–in reality she agrees to those roles after I tell her that I threw her hat in the ring when speaking to other senior leaders.

I was speaking with someone from corporate yesterday, and when I mentioned Jennifer’s name they mentioned how well liked she is at corporate. I am very proud of Jennifer and I am genuinely excited for her professional future.

July 18, 2019 0