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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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[00:00:00.390] - Channing Walker
In the military, they have many individuals with stories where a team have freaking went down, a pilot's down. They fight until the last freaking breath in their body. And I think about that because I want to be the person that doesn't quit. I want to be that person that's resilient enough to say, Hey, if this is our last day, this is our last day. But guess what? We don't leave anything on the line.
[00:00:25.390] - John S. Berry
Welcome to Veteran Led. Today's guest is Channing Walker, former Special Forces soldier and current CEO of Longhorn Ventures Holdings and Longhorn Capital Partners. Welcome to the show, Channing.
[00:00:41.650] - Channing Walker
Hey, thanks, John. Thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it. And you give me the opportunity to even be here on Veteran Led. It is really important to me.
[00:00:50.430] - John S. Berry
I appreciate you being here. You are a veteran leader and doing what a lot of veterans wish they could do and what a lot of veterans are doing. But you're leading by example, and you're doing it Because look, after you had a great career, Special Forces, you get blown up, you get medically retired, you could have chilled out, but instead, you started building something even bigger, a bigger, better future. So take us to that moment where you knew that Well, take us through your service, and then that moment you knew that you were going to have to build a bigger, better future.
[00:01:19.820] - Channing Walker
So in 2012, I was hit with an IED blast. We were in the Uruzgan province, spent most of my career in Kandahar, and that was a great time for me. It was a great time where I was able to serve with some of the best warfighters I've ever seen in my life. Everyone there was a leader. They all vet led. It was amazing that it was just for me to have an opportunity to serve with these guys. 2016, getting ready, going through the medical retirement process, I was awarded my first contract. My first contract was Sear School, and that worked out. All the civilian role players there were under my tutelage, basically, and it worked out great for me. I had no clue what I was doing, and I had to learn very rapidly in 30 days how to phase in a contract and how to get your company up and running very rapidly. I had no clue. So my business partner and I used to say it was our best day and our worst day because we had to find funding. We didn't know we were going to have to pay these guys out.
[00:02:21.940] - Channing Walker
And I know, John, you know about contracts. It's like, hey, do we do net 30, net 90, net 60, whatever else? So you have to be as a company prepared to pay these individuals out. And with the government, they wanted it to happen very seamlessly. It was a test of my patience because I had no clue, but I was also happy, so it worked out really well.
[00:02:42.920] - John S. Berry
Yeah, and I think we got to go back to the beginning because this is such a great first contract story. I mean, you're with Seventh Group, you've been through Sear School, and just for maybe the people in the Air Force, some pilots do it, but Navy, tell us what Sear School is and then what you thought it was after you got the contract and actually had to run it.
[00:03:01.740] - Channing Walker
So Sear School is Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape, Sear School. And that's for every pilot. If you're in the special operations community or anything else to that extent, medical-wise, 160th soar. You go through Sear School. It is a series of events that they train you on what the code of conduct is. If you are ever behind enemy lines and are captured, a prison of war or anything else to that extent. It is one of the army's best schools, but it is one of the most difficult to endure and go through. It worked out really well. While I was still in, And under the Special Operations Command, USASOC, still under their organization, 2:00 in the morning, I get this back in the day, man, it was like FedBizOps. I get an email. I'm like, Hey, should I go after or pursue this contract? I messaged my business partner. He's like, Let's do it. And within 14 days, we had to secure that contract. We were competing against large companies. We're talking general dynamics, Cubic. And those were our competitors. They have maintained those contracts for over 10 years. Some of them. So it's like, Hey, man, we're a small fish in a large pond.
[00:04:24.590] - Channing Walker
What we were able to do successfully was do teaming agreements, one with a company We call TSI, Thomas Solutions Incorporated. A really great guy, Al Thomas. He owns TSI, but he was retired, was Head of Colonel Special Operations Community. And then we partnered with another company, PD Systems. Pd Systems is a substantial federal contracting company, and they go after contracts. They don't even open an outpost unless they're doing 100 million in contracts or more in a city. And we were able to partner with Carl at the time. We partnered with him, also a former lieutenant colonel, retired, and he just knew how to write contracts the right way. It made us a certain synergy where our teams were able to be aligned, and we went after contracts We won that one, Sear School, specifically, and it worked out really well for us. From there, I maintained a very agile business model where we were able to pursue ciber contracts, we were able to go into construction contracts. Then we consulted even at some point in time in North Carolina, the city, with municipal contracts as well. So it worked out really well.
[00:05:40.890] - John S. Berry
I think the big lesson here, right? When you're thinking about, Okay, we're going to set up Sear School, probably got to figure out who your op for are going to be, get all the civilians and get all the players in. But you weren't thinking about that as much as you were thinking, who are the partners I need to make this happen? And that is the lesson here for veterans. I mean, look, this is your first contract, and you're going in hard and heavy because you knew who you needed on your team. And so nobody does it alone. It's just like the military. You get out and you want to build something great. You need a team. Channing, you found a great team. And from there, it just took off. So now you've got Two primary companies. Tell us a little bit about those.
[00:06:18.750] - Channing Walker
With Longhorn Ventures Holdings, the key to that is, as I said, I try to remain agile. So the trifecta of my business operations are staffing, training, development, and we also do construction. My three to five year plan is transitioning from this aspect and going into and really building Longhorn Capital Partners. I want to have a private equity firm where I am able to invest into projects that I actually believe in and that I'm actually passionate about. Oftentimes, you get into business, and business is just business. Business evolves over a period of time. That's fine. One thing I learned after this past conference that you and I both attended, are you growing your business to be acquired, or are you growing your business to grow it to a hundred plus million dollar company? I know I want to be acquired. I know that I want the capital partners organization to be the primary driver after that, where I can invest and be passionate about projects that I believe in. And that's why I started. And I believe that we are going to be able to grow and do better things as far as the private equity firm, and I think that'll be a great operation for us.
[00:07:37.030] - John S. Berry
Just to break this down in infantry terms, you start Longhorn Ventures Holdings, and then that was the initial play, and Longhorn Capital Partners is really what it's evolving into. You've got both entities right now, but the long game is it all evolves into Longhorn Capital Partners, or do you keep both of them?
[00:07:57.810] - Channing Walker
My plan is for Longhorn Ventures to be acquired in Chesco with the capital partners. With the holdings, we hold ownership in multiple companies. So we have the real estate arm of what we do. We have the construction sector. I have the partnerships with general contractors, subcontractors, everything else to that extent. And my job has been building out those arms and legs. And as we grew, it just worked out extremely well for us. Where my soft landing is, is with the capital partners. I see building a really great team, a really great board. It goes back to something you said a few minutes ago, and I believe in it. If you want to go far, you want to go somewhere fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you build a team. You know, You have excellent experience in building that team. You built a successful law firm. I look at it and I'm like, Hey, how many teams have I been a part of where, Hey, we just need the right continuity. We need the right vision. We need to grow at how we go and build the direction. I think that's what I'm attempting to do. One thing as a leader, you always question yourself.
[00:09:16.410] - Channing Walker
You're like, Hey, am I doing this the right way? I don't freaking know. Half of the time, I really don't know. But what I do try to do is remain diligent, and what I do attempt to do is remain responsive to whatever's happening in the market. I think that's important.
[00:09:32.030] - John S. Berry
I think that's a great point. I mean, you had an infield plan to get in, and now you've got your exfield plan to get out. But in between there, it's like, Yeah, you don't have the answers. We do not have the answers. We're going to seek them, we're going to find them. But it's, hey, this is where I am. This is where I'm going. Here's the vision, and you've laid that out. But I think that's the great brutal honesty we all have to share is, yeah, we've got a plan, but it's just like, no plan survives first contact, Shit is going to hit the fan, and you're going to have to deal with it.
[00:10:04.720] - Channing Walker
I feel like a lot of times in operations, a lot of shit does hit the fan. And we're like, Hey, where do I pull it all together? Where do I bring it all back to? When I left the army in 2017, I have never worked for another organization. I started my own company. And I've been able to scale it and build it. But that also is a lot of pressure and stress. And one thing I always talk about with a lot of individuals, like Channing how do you do it? What's your risk tolerance? What's your sustainability? I don't know what mine actually is, I know I've been surviving. So therefore, A, I'm doing something right. And I always think about that. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves as leaders and where we want to go. But as long as you're above water, you're surviving. And I tell people, man, I've been to the point where in operations where my nose was just above water. We're about to drown. But having that agility, having the resiliency has always been something that has kept our organization to float, even when I thought we weren't going to make it.
[00:11:19.430] - Channing Walker
In the military, they have many individuals with stories where a, teams have freaking went down, a pilot is down. They fight until the last freaking breath in their body. And I think about that because I want to be the person that doesn't quit. I want to be that person that's resilient enough to say, Hey, if this is our last day, this is our last day. But guess what? We don't leave anything on the line. And I think a lot of operations people do leave a lot to chance. Now, hey, guess what? We don't leave anything to chance. Hey, guess what? We anticipate everything, and we go for it in that aspect. Something I learned back when I was in the military, I know you heard it, John. It's called a pace plan. People don't understand what pace plans are. They don't even use it anymore because they say it's doctrine that's outdated. But primary, Alternate contingency and an emergency. I look at every freaking aspect with those thought processes. Hey, planning plans on doing this. Hey, this is my primary. When that plan doesn't work, what's my alternate? My contingency It looks like this.
[00:12:30.400] - Channing Walker
My emergency expo plant needs to get out of here. If you look at business in that same aspect, I walked in, I said, Hey, I didn't know what I was doing. Like I said, me winning my contract was the best and worst day of my life. I thought this was going to be amazing. Oh, man, 100%, it was a nightmare. We didn't even have the capital enough to finance our first project of being able to pay payroll for the days. We had to go through a factoring company. People don't even know what a factoring company is because the bank wasn't going to give us capital. I was still in the military. So we went through a factoring company. The factoring company was like, Okay, all right, you got your letter of intent. We know you were rewarded this contract. Okay, we will give you X amount of capital. You can do your capital cash draws to do your payroll going from there. And it was like, Hey. So my primary, I thought I was going to be able to go through a bank. My alternate was a factoring company. The contingency would have been, I don't know.
[00:13:30.210] - Channing Walker
I didn't have a contingency at that point in time because I didn't know what I was anticipating. It all worked out well for us.
[00:13:38.320] - John S. Berry
Well, I love the fact you bring up pace. I find that the amateurs will talk about burn the ships. And that's for weak people, right? People that have never done anything, right? I mean, by the time you started this, let's just go through some of your history. I mean, you'd already been shot twice, blown up in the IED. You graduated high school at age 16, and then you were out of college early and then the decided you were going to go in special forces. So it wasn't like you're some guy who like, oh, I'm going to get hyped up on some YouTube videos and burn the ships. You're like, no, that's not how it works in the real world. In the real world, real leaders who are responsible for missions and taking care of people, they follow Pace. We have to have contingency plans. We can't come up with some, oh, just burn the ships, go spend all the money. If it doesn't work out, you'll figure it out. You have bullshit. That's what losers do. What leaders? Leaders step the fuck up and they have a pace plan. They know that this primary plan may not work, but the team is not going to fail.
[00:14:33.950] - John S. Berry
The mission is not going to fail. Why? Because we got a leader like Channing who knows how to plan. Now, you were actually a warrant officer. Is that correct?
[00:14:40.180] - Channing Walker
Well, so when I was getting transitioned out of the army, I was picked up for Sergeant First Class, and I got picked up for a warrant officer as well. But the key to that is I had to make a decision very quickly. I'm like, Hey, if you have a billet, when you're getting medically retired out, you can go out on one way specific, or you can go out the other way. Would I take that slot away from someone else? No, I wouldn't do that. Hey, that's kind of crappy. But you do have a choice. On both lists, I could have made either one. But the key for me is knowing that I was selected that was important because I put in the time and the work, you know, and I put in the effort to be able to do so. That meant more to me than anything. My service at that point in time, it was very exemplary, I would say myself. I mean, Bronze Star awarded freaking A. I had my MSM you know and Purple Heart during that time frame you know. Those things were all pretty cool. I looked at it, I was talking to a buddy yesterday, last evening.
[00:15:47.100] - Channing Walker
And I was just like, man, I can look at my ribbon rack, and it still is comparable to people who are still in right now. That was important to me. And I wasn't a badge chaser. I wasn't any of those things. You can go and you meet some guys, all they want are awards. All they want are freaking AA, just that recognition. Me, I really felt very comfortable just building a composite group around me, building leaders. At one point in time, I looked at them like, Hey, these guys are going to get washed out. Hey, send them to me, man. Let's see how can we build... I have a really great guy. His last name is Johnson. I don't want to say his first name. They told me that he should be chaptered out of the army. He needs to go. I was like, Give him to meet me, man. He ended up going on to the Delta side, becoming a very big leader. Right now, he's still in. He's getting looked at for E9. I'm like, Jeez, man. I don't write everyone off. I believe that there is actual potential in everyone. Let me build it.
[00:16:51.170] - Channing Walker
Sometimes... And you know, because you've seen the army in two different phases. Army of One and the army be all you can be, were two different army trajectories that were set. People don't talk about that. When it became Army of One, Army of One was a selfish army. And I would say that because everyone was looking out for themselves. Right? Hey, I need to get all these badges. I need to get these I need these freaking awards. I need to get... But be all you can be was the army where they taught you how to bring everyone together. I was actually fortunate to see both of those armies, and I was actually able to understand both of those leaderships as well. That's significant, and a lot of people don't really address it, but I think that's really major. Right now, the army is where everyone is self-centric still, and They are only looking to pad their ERBs, ORBs, like all this other kind of stuff. That's not what it's about. When I joined, I believed in what the army was about in building people, building leaders you know? And That's very important because we don't really address it. I believe in a good leader or a good mentor really actually curates or creates an amazing person.
[00:18:10.590] - Channing Walker
I think of, and I know you said we're going to do our AAR, but I think of the best leaders I've had, and I think of the worst leaders I've had. And I'm telling you, they're night and day. And one of the best I could say I had was a guy. His name was Mike Maloney. He actually lives out in Saint Petersburg, right here. And I have not seen him since. Since I saw him in the army, I actually need to reach out to him. But he went over to the Delta side, became a Delta commander, and he was freaking efficient. But what he told me a long time ago, and what I really keep as my core concept is those who have the ability, have the responsibility, Channing. And I never forget when he said it to me and I was sitting there, those who have the ability, have the responsibility. That started shifting how I viewed everything else in my military career. And that was during the time frame where I was holding myself back from getting promoted. I said, I'm not ready yet. I don't think I'm prepared for this position yet.
[00:19:13.810] - Channing Walker
It wasn't about me being prepared. It's take the position and you will get prepared. Some things in life, we're not ready for a lot of things. I remember being young and being thrusted into the army and getting into my first firefight over We were never ready for it. There was nothing that I could have ever done that prepared me for that moment. But once I was there, I lived it. That's what leaders do. They don't back out. They don't draw down. They are always there, and they're able to stand up when no one else freaking is doing it. That's what makes a leader. If you walk into a business operation, you're like, Hey, this company is failing. Bro, show me how it's failing. Let me look at the numbers. Let me see the books. And guess what? We're about to reshape We're going to refocus and we're going to draw this organization to a profitable one. Or if you look at it and you say, Hey, man, this thing isn't going to work. It ain't going to work. Walk away when you can. And that's also the two different dynamics of being a leader. You got to know when to walk away.
[00:20:13.240] - Channing Walker
Like they say, know when to hold them, know when to fold them. And as a leader, you have to know that.
[00:20:18.300] - John S. Berry
Know when to hold them, know when to fold them. Love it. Well, and you brought something important. Now, leaders build leaders, they don't build followers, and you've taken that challenge personally. And yeah, you've taken individuals that other people have lost hope and said, We just don't see potential in this leader. And you've stepped up and you've done that. And of course, on a personal note, I'll always be grateful for you. And for those of us, look, in the business community, we can be absolutely killing it, crushing it. But the one thing that always bothers me is when something goes wrong, especially in your personal life, and it wasn't your fault, right? And somebody else did something and you can't fix it. You got to deal with it. And you can't use that four-letter word fair, because fair is a word used by spectators, not by people in the arena, right? So you're in the arena, you can't say it's not fair. That's the thing. So it's fair, we wouldn't have to fight for justice. But the thing is we got to fight for justice. So we've all been hit with these things where as leaders, when we create the problem, we can live with it, right?
[00:21:12.420] - John S. Berry
But when somebody else creates a problem and we got to fix it, it's tough. Now, if it's in our business, that's on us. But outside leadership, personal life, those things happen. And we got to take care of our team when they go through personal things. And sometimes it's their fault, and sometimes it's not. And I think when I went through something that I was really struggling with, man, I didn't screw this up, but I have to handle the consequences. And luckily, everything is great in business, but here's this thing in my personal life. Somebody else screwed it up. I got to deal with the consequences of it. Horrible for my family, horrible for everybody else. And I'm trying to get through it. And there's Channing going, Hey, man, when am I going to see you? And you called me, and you called me, and you hunted me down. And you didn't just say, and this is the thing I think where leaders come in. Channing just didn't say, Are you okay? He called and said, Okay, are you eating? Are you sleeping? You're working out? You working? What's going on? And then he said, You're going to see me.
[00:22:02.950] - John S. Berry
And of course, I did. After several calls, we linked up at West Palm at his club, and then had an amazing Italian dinner. But I think that's what leaders do, right? Channing, so I'll forever be grateful that You were looking out for me because a lot of people were like, Hey, John, heard what happened. Is the family okay? Are you okay? And they pay lip service to it. But you're like, No, I am coming to see you, whether you like it or not. And so God bless you.
[00:22:29.580] - Channing Walker
Hey, One thing I learned a long time ago is that a real friend show up. It doesn't take much. But guess what? If I was able to show up in that manner, that means the most to me. In 2018, I was going through a very tumultuous time in my life. Things were spiraling out of control. It was, like I said, my best year and my worst year all at the same time. Went through a very nasty separation. It was very not good. Some of the stuff was self-inflicted. Some I wasn't prepared for. I got sued during that year. A lot of things had happened. And I was spiraling. That was also the year around the time frame when I transitioned out of the army. I had no one to depend on. I had no buddies to talk to when I transitioned out of the army because the mission continues to go. Everyone is still, while they're still active, they're doing their own thing. You're by yourself. That was the most isolated feeling I've ever had in my life. I understand what it was like when I was sitting in my house, no lights on. I did have power, of course, you know what I mean?
[00:23:42.090] - Channing Walker
But I was just sitting in the dark because I felt isolated, and no one showed up for me. I made it purposeful that when someone else that I really care about is going through something, I want to show up. Hey, I want to show up because guess what? Those dark moments, the right person can pull you out of those moments. And I would do it again, man. It was great having the opportunity just to show you that I would be there for you in any moment that you needed. And I think people need to know that. Us as leaders, there's a lot on our shoulders. You run your company, you got a family, you're leading that, you're doing that. And, hey, man, the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back is not the straw. They call it the straw, but it's a lot more that is built up that actually break the camel's back. I think about that and I'm like, man, I'm strong, but it's a quote that says, I'm strong, but sometimes I'm weak. And I think about that, and we're all strong. Man, have we went through things? I think about when you said you did that 50-mile ruck march, bro.
[00:25:00.080] - Channing Walker
On a whim. Hadn't really trained up for it, but guess what? Your body's built for it. And I start thinking about that. A lot of aspects in life, John Berry's condition to win. Channing Walker is conditioned to win. We condition ourselves. You know what I mean? And there are people in life that are actually just losers, right? 100%. I don't think people are going to say that, but that's a fact. Some people are just losing. They're never going to freaking amount to anything. But there are other people that actually took the time and the training and the effort, and they conditioned themselves to win. We are those individuals. We went through hard times. They could have broke us, right? Guess what? At the end of the day, we're conditioned to win. When you were training in the military, bro, you train because guess what? You condition your mind that out of anything, we will win. And I think about that. So I like it, John Berry. I like it. Like us, bro, we've all been through things that could break us. But, man, we're not broken. That's how we have to understand we're not broke you, man.
[00:26:04.200] - Channing Walker
We just keep pushing ourselves. Keep pushing, we win. That's it.
[00:26:09.930] - John S. Berry
Veterans are conditioned to win. So all you veterans out there, you raised your hand, you went through it. You are conditioned to win. So, yeah, don't take the losses. There are a lot of losers who stayed home, never took an oath, still live in their parents' basement. They got the yellow Cheetos stained fingers. They're playing PlayStation all day. They never took the oath. Yeah, they're not conditioned to win. But those of us that went over there and did it, we are. And all of our brothers and sisters who've been through, you're conditioned to win. And don't ever forget that. And don't ever lose hope. Now, Channing, let's go to the AAR, the After-action Review. Your three examples of great leadership and the three examples of bad leadership. You don't have to name names, but tell us about those examples, and stories are great here.
[00:26:51.220] - Channing Walker
I mentioned Mike Maloney, amazing leader. He was probably the most stoic leader I've ever experienced. Man of very minimal words, but he lived from the front. That's amazing. Another guy who I could think about as an excellent leader, Alfred Zalinski, a Amazing guy, freaking 18 Zulu. He's retired out of the army now. He still holds out with seventh Special Forces Group. He was probably one of the best leaders I've ever had as far as just his grit. He was a spicy individual, man. The first day I met him, we were doing freaking an arms room check. We had just did what's called the base realignment. Seventh Group used to be in North Carolina, but we moved to Florida. We're over there freaking counting weapons and all that stuff, doing serial number checks. He walks into the arms room. I'm like, Who the F are you? You know what I mean? I don't know who this guy was. I'm not tall. He's also not tall. So he's like 5,6. I don't know who this guy is. He's like, Hey, I'm the new freaking team out here. He was about to take command. I'm like, Hey, I just never forget that he was the leader that led on the front.
[00:28:15.760] - Channing Walker
If he asked you to do something, he would do it. If we're getting down doing push-ups, he's doing it. If we're going out to the range, he's doing it. If we're going to do freaking a qualification, he's going... But at a certain point in time in your career, you see You see the leaders that like, Well, this is beyond me now at this point in time. Hey, I don't have to do this. Hey, I'm past that level. But you still see other freaking hardcore guys that are still pushing it. Another guy, Sergeant Major Campbell. I never forget, man, we went and we were going a ruck march. He came in third. He's the oldest guy. He's like, It's just walking. What he was saying is like, Hey, we did 15 miles, but it's just walking. Hey, If I still can do it, then you can do it. I look at that, those were great leaders that you look at. They led from the front. I look at great leaders are the people with the chest plate. It says Stripeface 4 on your plate. Hey, they lead from the front, they're not running. They got your back.
[00:29:21.260] - Channing Walker
They'll freaking take care of everything. The best part about it in that aspect is even until their last breath, they will attempt to protect you. People always see leadership on the highest level of, Hey, these people are excellent. Look at where they have some magnitude. But I also seen leaders who exited this life and transitioned to the next. They were still a leader until their last moment, their last dying breath. They were leaders. That's important. People don't recognize that that is also leadership, too. The worst leaders I've saw, I'm not going to name names on this because I don't want to have any contention with people, but I remember back many years ago, and I'm going to share a moment. We were getting deployed a lot. Guys were getting alcohol-related incidences, all this other stuff. At this point in time, I was a stellar soldier. I went to a bar to pick up one of my buddies who was a soldier as well. Our rule was, you go in, you typically have one drink with the guy, and then, get them home. So you never know what people are going through. You don't know what they're going through at their house.
[00:30:49.950] - Channing Walker
I went there, I was sitting on the couch, and my buddy hits me up. He's like, Hey, man, I'm out. I'm in a dark spot. Okay, all right. I get up, I go meet him at the bar, and have one beer with him, and I was leaving. But I had already had one beer at the house, too. What I learned is a two Heineken's puts you at the legal limit, right? A 100%. So I was pulled over following him, but he was initially pulled over. I was pulled over behind him. And I blew a 0.08, right? That is the legal limit. So technically, I'm in a big... I'm in some trouble. I call my unit, I'm like, Hey, This is what's happening. I was coming to pick up one of my guys. He actually is way over. He refused to blow. And I blew, I blew a 0.08. They're going to take us into the station, et cetera, et cetera. And I never forget that moment for me because I've never had an incident in my military career, but that was one of the most defining ones for me. Everything all in all went through.
[00:31:58.270] - Channing Walker
All charges dropped, not convicted. To anything else to that extent. But what I realized is the leader that I had in charge of me at that point in time was really not... He was very toxic, terrible leader. He would see us. It was snowing outside. He would drive past as I'm walking on base because I can't drive on base. He drive past and blow at us. And I'm like, Man, is that the type of leader that I want to be? This dude's a shit bag. Hey, he's a dirt bag. And I was one of the best freaking top performing soldiers at that point in time in our unit. He showed me what I didn't want to be, 100%. From there, I was able to evolve to be the best leader. See, me, I always wanted to be the best leader that I could be. I never know what people are going through. The next worst leader that I would say I had, was a guy, he was actually a very good leader, but he turned out to be toxic in the end. He's no longer alive. But the thing is, I looked at...
[00:33:04.100] - Channing Walker
He was very smart. He told me, he was like, Channing, man, I see you're going far places in the army. I'm going to tell you exactly what to do. Read the regulation and understand it. So I took the time. I read the regulation, I understood it, and therefore it taught me my left and right limits, and it also taught me the gray area and how to operate. He just turned out to be someone who was just a toxic leader, and I don't think it's all to blame on him, but just the army just eroded his mental capacity and had turned him into a person that he should not have been, and ultimately, a bad leader on my list. The third worst leader that I could ever you ever see. He was a Command Sergeant Major, one of the worst Command Sergeant Major you can ever see in the military. He did over 26 years, and he was a toxic leader. He did not do anything to build a regimen. He didn't do anything to propel our organization as a whole. When he, as a senior leader, could have really helped a lot of soldiers out.
[00:34:14.830] - Channing Walker
I've seen him take people's Special Forces tabs away. It's called tab revocation. They can take it as if you were never a part of the community altogether. He did that to people that had more combat experience than he had. He didn't get his CIB until he had 24 years in the army. He was just not a good person. He could have actually influenced the regimen and made it better. He chose not to. I've been out at this point in time, multiple years. That is a leader. I never forget because my wife and work for General Dynamics, GDIT at Fort Bragg at this point in time. I heard his voice in the background. I was like, who is that? Is that Never forget it. I say, that's the worst person you can have working for your company. If you often fire this guy, get him out of the... He's a toxic leader. And I will never forget that. To this day, he's just one of the people that I can never say benefited my career. He was there to hinder it. Real leaders uplift. Real leaders show operations or organizations how to be better. You know? I don't think any one of us are in the business to see people destroy it.
[00:35:34.240] - Channing Walker
I don't think any one of us want to see another CEO or a veteran-owned company fail. No, we're not in the business of that. Why do we start to watch people fail? No. It's one of those things that I could say one of the best groups I've been a part of is the CEO circle, right? Seeing all these veterans that are pushing, they're leading, they are running industries that are Some industries I've never even heard of. I'm like, Jesus Christ, man. And this is essentially how I met you. It's very important for me to be around people like that because guess what? Those leaders are actually the drivers of society. They are pushing people to be better when other people are watching John Barry or Channing Walker fail, bro. They want to see us fail. Guess what? We will never fail because we win. And that's what leaders do.
[00:36:30.490] - John S. Berry
100%. Outstanding. I think that's a great point. In the veteran community, we want to watch our fellow veterans win. You're right. We win. We're conditioned to win. Like you said earlier, we are conditioned to win, and it's great to be around winners. The old saying, Show me your friends. I'll show you your future, or show me the five people you spend the most time with. You're going to be like them. And I think the key is you got to be around winners. And the greatest winners are the veterans, because we have all failed. Even if You've just been through basic training or boot camp. You've failed. You've been pushing the Earth down. You've screwed up. You've made mistakes in front of people. You've been in front of formation. You've been embarrassed. You've failed missions. And it's amazing to me how many people I meet who have never had that experience. And so, yeah, you can't be conditioned to win unless you know what it's like to fail. And you have to hate failing so much. You have to hate losing so much that you don't even want to be around it. So you don't want to be around the losers.
[00:37:31.090] - John S. Berry
Why? Because you hate losing so much. It feels toxic. Then you get around winners like Channing who say, Man, I'm going to show up. And then the stuff that you do and your success, it's infectious. So it's tiny heart syndrome. When you're around losers, that's infectious. You're a loser. You get around great people who want to help other people. I got to tell you, it's infectious. It makes you want to do more. And I'm proud of your success. And then I hear about it, I'm like, Oh, man, I'm not doing enough. It's like being at the gym and it's like, oh, Channing was here for five more minutes longer than me. Oh, I got to do 10 minutes more. And that's just leadership by example. And that's how we learn. Channing, thank you so much for coming here on Veteran Led. I'd love for you to let our audience know where people can learn more about Channing Walker and more about Longhorn Ventures Holdings, as well as Longhorn Capital Partners.
[00:38:26.820] - Channing Walker
I just want to start off by saying, Hey, John, thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it. Your podcast is something that I watch to gain strength from, but also just I like your posture, I like your demeanor. Those are things that I wouldn't... You and I talked once before. I'm like, Man, I don't have the confidence to do the things you do or just even have a caliber just to push myself to do that. Not yet. Hopefully, I will. But if you want to learn- You will. If you want to learn more about Longhorn, please look us up, longhorn Ventures, longhornvh.Com. I also have a LinkedIn account, which I have not been big on LinkedIn until the whole IBMF CEO circle. That's when I started a LinkedIn account. It was at that point in time, since I was winning contracts already, I didn't think I need a LinkedIn, right? But that is the business aspect of things. So if you ever want to find us, please look for us there. One thing that I really attempt to do is be tangible, where you can find me. If you see me, talk to me.
[00:39:43.960] - Channing Walker
I'm an open book, and I appreciate just how your candor is. You're open. If somebody sees you out, you talk to them, you don't care. And that is what leaders also do. You got to let people touch you. You got to let people feel that you are tangible. And that's also another side of leadership that I really value And I think that I work tirelessly to continue to portray the tangibility of just me being a person. So I appreciate it, though, John. Hey, thanks for having me on Vet Led. And please continue the efforts of what you're doing. I see the benefits and the impacts of what you're making. Thank you.
[00:40:24.510] - John S. Berry
Well, thank you for leading by example, Channing Walker. 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 Lead.