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Veterans know how to lead. The lessons we learned in the military form the foundation for bigger successes in business, entrepreneurship and community.
Host John S Berry, CEO of Berry Law, served as an active-duty Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army, finishing his military career with two deployments and retiring as a Battalion Commander in the National Guard. Today, his veteran led team at Berry Law, helps their clients fight some of the most important battles of their lives. Leading successful teams in the courtroom, the boardroom, and beyond, veteran leadership drives the firm’s rapid growth and business excellence.
Whether building teams, synchronizing operations, or refining tactics, we share our experiences, good and bad, to help you survive, thrive and dominate.
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[00:00:02.16] - John S. Berry
How much would you pay to put your biggest problem in the rear view mirror and just enjoy lunch with your entire family?
[00:00:12.05] - John S. Berry
Welcome to Veteran Led. I'm your host, John Berry. I recently spoke with a Marine Veteran business owner who chose to write a check for $97,000, then to continue to let an all-consuming problem steal his ability to be present and pay attention to his kids and spouse. Now, this veteran has served multiple combat tours and had also dedicated a significant amount of his life to building and growing his business. But this problem seemed to consume him day after day, week after week, month after month, until he said, enough is enough. Now, this wasn't like most problems. This was a big problem, and probably even bigger in his own mind than it had to be. He finally realized that he, as not only the leader of the company, but the leader of his family, needed to focus and needed to make the problem go away so that he could put his energy towards greater things that would grow the organization and provide bigger opportunities and bigger futures, not only for his team members, but also his family members.
[00:01:25.15] - John S. Berry
Look, as leaders, we all find ourselves consumed by problems. Problems, whether it's a costly mistake, reputational harm, losing a key leader, a compensation issue, a vendor dispute, or even a frivolous lawsuit. Sometimes you just have to chew the meat. Process the problem and solve it. It's that simple. But other times, the problem becomes a long-term jealous mistress, pulling your focus away from what's really important. The question is, how do you refocus? Your logical brain knows how to refocus and compartmentalize the problem. But logic doesn't always keep the emotion away. Some of you veterans may remember resiliency training from the military. Now, on part of the training, you would analyze a problem and think, what's the worst thing that could happen? What's the best thing that could happen? Then finally, what is the most likely thing that will happen from this problem? Once you figured out what was the most likely thing that was going to happen from this all-consuming problem, you'd think about what you could control and what you couldn't control. The reason why resiliency training was important is because great leaders have little fires burning all around them at all times. The great leaders know that some fires must be put out immediately to avoid catastrophe, and other fires, you can just let burn for a little while.
[00:03:01.09] - John S. Berry
There are some problems that will just solve themselves if you don't get involved. Those little fires just burn themselves out, or someone else comes along and puts out the fire for you. If you have great team members and they notice the fire, a lot of times, they'll step in and take care of it. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just stay in your lane and not get consumed with someone else's problem or ask for help. Now, sometimes when you have these little fires burning, you don't need to put the fire out because you need a controlled burn. I can remember as a young lieutenant doing a land-nav course on Fort Benning, and I'm going through the kudzu vines and the trees, and all of a sudden, I come to a fire break. There's acres and acres of burned trees and foliage that range control intentionally burned. Sometimes that fire burning can be a good thing because you have to destroy something that you built. Anytime we build anything in an organization, we don't want to let it grow till it fails. We want to let it grow to the point where before it plateaus, we intentionally destroy it and rebuild it better.
[00:04:10.23] - John S. Berry
Sometimes we need that control burn and we need to be range control. We need to let those fires burn, and we need to be very intentional about it. But the fires that we know must be put out sometimes take time, and we must be vigilant about not letting them spread into our homes and the lives of our family members. You know when that little fire is out of control, when you can no longer focus on your family or your friends or having a good time because that problem is still on your mind. Of course, as leaders, we must all fight the all-consuming fires from time to time, but we must also be careful not to make it a habit. Of course, I've done this where I can't get away from the problem. It's in my head, and no matter what I'm doing, I am thinking about that problem. I am war-gaming it. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to solve it, and it takes me away from everything else. When other people, my family or friends, need something, I still am so focused on that problem that I can't be the friend or the leader that they need to help them solve their problems.
[00:05:21.15] - John S. Berry
What I've learned from this is that constant vigilance has a price, and that price can be anything and everything if you can't let go of that problem just long enough to enjoy your friends and family. Look, I get it. Top performers are obsessed, and that's a good thing. But there is a time to be obsessed, and there is a time to count your blessings and show gratitude for your family and friends. For my friend, the Marine business owner, who spent $97,000 just to solve a problem so that he could have lunch in peace with his family, that cost may not have been necessary, but it was a lot cheaper than alienating family members or a divorce. The money, the money was less valuable than a lunch with his entire family. That lunch was priceless. You see, some people are fortunate enough to have fuck you money, but no one has fuck you time. Be vigilant. Protect your focus. Protect your relationships. Let those little fires burn until you need to put them out. When you do, aggressively fight those fires. But with the same aggression, protect your relationships.
[00:06:52.15] - John S. Berry
Thank you for joining us today on Veteran Led, where we pursue our mission of promoting veteran leadership in business, strengthening the veteran community and getting veterans all of the benefits that they earned. If you know a leader who should be on the Veteran Led podcast, report to our online community by searching at Veteran Led on your favorite social channels and posting in the comments. We want to hear how your military challenges prepared you to lead your industry or community, and we will let the world know. And of course, hit subscribe and join me next time on Veteran Led.