Veterans in the Boardroom
1/ As a military veteran I’m a big fan of military discounts. I make my family cringe sometimes when I ask if a store has one. When we do get a discount I believe it plants the seed in my kids prefrontal cortex that hey, maybe military service is not a bad idea.
I’m not a fan of people saying “thank you for your service.” It feels awkward, unnecessary, and forced many times.
2/ I’m confident that many veterans just need a chance/opportunity. I’m grateful for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA home loan (I’ve never used it yet but I’ve heard it’s an incredible benefit), and all the schools and organizations that have ever taken a chance on me. I believe that hard working, talented, and qualified veterans in higher education (Service to School), business (The Military Veteran), startup founders (Bunker Labs, Context VC, TFX Capital , Hivers & Strivers Capital ,The PenFed Foundation, Moonshots Capital, Veteran Ventures Capital, The Veteran Fund, etc..) execs, or as boardroom directors are good for vets, any org, & our country.
3/ One of my least favorite words is deserve. I tell my kids to avoid saying that word. Life is random and luck abounds. I believe it helps to work hard to create luck and opportunities. Just waking up every day is a beautiful opportunity that I’m not sure I deserve more than others.
Being a military veteran does not make me or others more qualified than anyone else. But being a military veteran also does not make us less qualified than others. Veterans deserve a shot/chance. No more and no less than others. But don’t scapegoat us or refer to us as a diversity problem.
4/ I’m astounded/flabbergasted when I read this essay from The Wall Street Journal that purports to claim that possibly having 2 Veterans and other diverse candidates on their board might have distracted the Silicon Valley Bank board from running their company. As a publication that has supported our endless wars/conflicts but has hand wringing if veterans are on boards or considered for boards makes me suddenly want to play the song “Fortunate Son.”
Reference: https://lnkd.in/gjmxdnGr
5/ My first essay for the New York Times At War blog back in 2009 was on “Unexamined Civil-Military Relations.” A decade later I still believe there are unexamined civil-military relations. Reference: https://lnkd.in/gdMH8CP7
6/ The initial Linkedin post that I saw that referenced this essay: https://lnkd.in/gdsiKyNS
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