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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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[00:00:02.00] - John S. Berry
What if you only got paid for the results that you achieved? Would you be comfortable with that? Would you be confident?
[00:00:13.20] - John S. Berry
Welcome to Veteran Led. I'm your host, John Berry. What if your employer only paid you for the value you provided and the amount you earned every two weeks depended on that performance? Now, years ago, I attended a conference, and the advice that the speaker gave to a room full of Veterans who were used to getting that payment based on rank and time and grade was that you should make guarantees to everyone. Your spouse, your children, your customers, and your team members. Now, people in sales just sat back and smile because they already knew that they got paid based on performance, and they were used to getting paid based on whether they sold a lot or sold a little. They knew that their future was in their hands. I think where a lot of Veterans fall short is that they assume that just because they meet the standard at their civilian job, they have job security. Spoiler alert, job security is a myth. Think back to the recession in 2008, if you were around then, and people believed back then that you could work for a huge company, you're your entire life, and that company would provide for you in retirement.
[00:01:35.09] - John S. Berry
But after the real estate market crashed, the financial fallout spread throughout every sector. Not only did some companies cut out their pension plans, but several failed outright, leaving a lot of people unemployed. So where could you find security? Well, back then, the next place that people look for security was in federal employment. I can remember, that was right after I came off of active duty a few years after. I was a Company Commander in the National Guard, and one of my peers was complaining about a full-time federal technician whose underperformance was killing morale on the unit. The problem was that it took an act of God to fire a federal technician, so the commander decided just to tolerate him. Now we've even seen with DOGE recently that even federal employment does not mean job security. Most recently, AI, artificial intelligence, has been replacing many roles because digital agents who cost less than humans, can work faster than humans, and can work longer, like 24/7, are becoming more and more proficient, so they're taking away tasks from humans. If job security is a myth, what do you do about it? Well, fortunately, you're a Veteran, so you know all about security.
[00:03:00.11] - John S. Berry
Providing security for others and for your team. Security comes from confidence that you can perform your duties to standard. Now, whether it's buffing the day room or shooting a terrorist in the face, if you can perform, everyone has more confidence, not only in you, but in their future because you, the American warrior, is confident to protect them. Now, the one thing I respect most about people in the sales profession is they have no false sense of security, and they own their results. Years ago, at a business event in Phoenix, a speaker told the audience, imagine if you only got paid for your results. Now, the truth is that in the long run, you only do get paid for your results. Money follows excellence. If you're world-class at what you do, you will always be in demand. One thing we did recently at Berry Law was that we changed all of our practice areas to contingency only, which means we tell our clients, we don't get paid unless you win. For the Veteran who's denied VA disability benefits, if we can't get them paid, we don't get paid. Veterans don't pay us any money upfront. They pay us based on results.
[00:04:29.16] - John S. Berry
And no results means we don't get paid for our work. While we've always taken this approach to VA disability appeals, we had other law practice areas where we billed hourly. I didn't like that model much because it didn't reward efficiency or excellence. You see, in the hourly model, lawyers get paid hourly, whether they win or lose. There's not much financial incentive to move with that sense of purpose and urgency that we see in the military. Now, in today's economy, people want to see instant value. If a lawyer spends hundreds of hours on a case and bills the client's tens of thousands of dollars and loses, the client may feel the lawyer's interests were not aligned with their own. That often raises a question in the client's mind, which is, had the lawyer been paid only if they won, would that lawyer have worked harder and achieved better results? The answer is, we don't know, but that question looms out there. Look, it's about maintaining high standards. Look, you learn in the military, you have to maintain high standards, regardless of what you're getting paid. You think back to your rank and time and grade, and that's what you got paid, whether you were great or whether you weren't great.
[00:05:45.12] - John S. Berry
But as time went on, if you were not great, you did not get promoted above your peers. If you didn't meet the standards, you didn't get promoted at all. If you didn't get promoted, within time, you were kicked out. But as long as you maintained high standards in the military and pursued excellence, you had security. Well, it's no different in the civilian world. As long as you maintain high standards and pursue excellence in your chosen field, you will always be in demand. Now, that's not to say that changing market conditions won't render some of your current skills obsolete. But you're a Veteran. You are conditioned to win. In great organizations, there is always room at the top to hire even better leaders. You see, great leaders are never out of demand. Now, some leaders who were great fail to maintain that greatness, either because they don't keep up with technology or they don't continue to develop those skills. But those who maintain greatness remain in demand. That is true job security, regardless of your industry. Excellence is always in demand, and excellence always has job security. There is no one specific position that will always be in demand, but excellence will.
[00:07:18.00] - 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.