Back To Back: Two Excellent Reads On Entry Level Leadership And Culture

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Soldier's Heart is a civilian English professor's take on the leadership culture of West Point, based on her 10 years expertise as a faculty member. Professor Samet is in a rare, but well qualified position to pen Soldier's Heart. Only a fifth of the a...

This month, I read two books back to back: Soldier's Heart by Elizabeth Samet and Punching In by Alex Frankel. Both of these operates are an exceptional introduction into entry-level corporate culture and leadership development.

Soldier's Heart is a civilian English professor's take on the leadership culture of West Point, based on her 10 years expertise as a faculty member. Professor Samet is in a uncommon, but effectively qualified position to pen Soldier's Heart. Only a fifth of the academy's faculty is civilian instructors the rest are military officers on rotation or "standard Army." Samet's academic interest also makes her special she has studied the dynamic of command and obedience in American literature.

Soldier's Heart is not the 1st perform about West Point by a soldier or civilian, but it comes from the most interesting point of view: an outdoors operating inside.

Soldier's Heart has a balanced appear at the military culture. Samet writes that no cadet desires to be, in one cadet's words, a "non-thinking slasher," an individual who would kill for the glory of war, or the sake of killing.

West Point is, and has often been, a literate culture. Classical literature via Armed Forces Editions educates and entertains soldiers in battle, and reinforces American values. She writes of books as weapons to spread concepts, and counter actions meant to curtail freedom. But she also states that tales of war talk of motherhood or a womans adore for soldiers but not a woman's enjoy for soldiering. There is absolutely nothing about motherhood in the military culture, but there is the require to fight for mother.

The professor adds that today's military culture has conflated military missions with spiritual missions soldiers turn into instructed to regain faith when there seems to be tiny cause for faith. However, that may be needed instruction to lead at a time when officers, enlisted and veterans are questioning our nations involvement in Iraq, a war that they believe to be unnecessary.

This faith extends to open displays of the Seven Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. Soldiers tape the Values to their dog tags. Soldiers also display the Soldier's Creed, officially posted in 2003:

I will often location the mission 1st

I read more will never accept defeat

I will never quit

I will never leave behind a fallen comrade.

The Values and the Creed are feasible not only simply because of the culture, but also because our soldiers are experts who have chosen to serve. Samet web sites one particular Army study that mentions that specialist soldiers nonetheless fight for every other, as they did, for example in Globe War II, but they also accept the responsibility that Army has entrusted to them.

The Army, as an institution, has had mottos and mission statements longer than most American corporations, and has a culture where absolutely everyone should live by them. Some of the most profitable corporations have copied the military's strengths and some of its imperfections. According to two online employment websites, GIJobs and CollegeGrad, 24 of the Prime 50 Military Friendly Employers in 2007 also hired 100 or much more college graduates for their entry-level positions. It is protected to say that these companies use the same values to create and retain their entry-level and military transitional hires.

Which brings me to the subsequent question: can these with no the military orientation turn into as productive in these firms as those who have served with honor? The answer, according to Alex Frankel's Punching In, is sometimes, if you can get along to go along.

Values, missions, attention to detail and duty are component of the dialogue in Punching In, another operate where an outsider looks inside, and serves on the front lines of indoctrination into corporate culture.

Frankel worked in entry-level client service positions at United Parcel Service (UPS), Enterprise Rent-A-Auto, The Gap, Starbucks and The Apple Shop, took on the web aptitude tests with two retailers: Very best Acquire and Property Depot and went through the lengthy interview processes at The Container Retailer and Complete Foods.

Like the Army, these corporations attempt to engage and turn their workers into fanatical and loyal personnel. Interestingly adequate, he refers to front-line workers as the Brand Army of these firms and called UPS the Other Army, due to the fact of the company's esprit de coir and the spit and polish look of the front-line workers. Both the Army and UPS do not accept alteration, recreational display or desecration of their uniform.

Frankel respected UPS much more than the other organizations, due to the fact their workers, especially the drivers, had been the most trusted. He adds that this is needed because UPS workers are all in the field. They can track their places, but any difficulties have to be solved on route. Each and every driver and their helper is like a platoon click for source of soldiers they need to comply with orders, but they have some lee way in how to execute them.

Frankel did not say the identical about the other organizations. For example, he praised Enterprise's efforts to motivate workers to believe that they can advance from desk clerks to regional managers even though he adds that additional advancement is less possible. The company hires roughly 8,000 entry-level personnel, though the rest of the perform force is no larger.

Frankel shows how Starbucks has turn into a "third location," a neighborhood-meeting place away from property and function, but believes this will be a hard approach to maintain since of the standardized look of the thousands of stores and personnel. He considers Apple Shops to be an outstanding setting for those who are already fans of the technologies they want tiny indoctrination and instruction as properly. And he shows The Gap to be little various from other retailers who are loathed by retail workers, a business bent on standards and policies that put retailer design very first, item second, credit card sales third and the staff final.

Like the Army, these organizations have a uniform, policies and shared values, but in contrast to the Army, they can employ and fire at will. It was interesting that Frankel conveyed the most respect for the organization that was the most like the Army.

Given UPS' achievement the firm maintains 80 percent industry share against several large competitors, including the U.S. more hints Postal Services that's fairly a complement for our troops and the males and ladies who lead them.