Business Lessons from General Stanley McChrystal
General Stanley McChrystal, amongst other things, was a 34 year military veteran in the US military including the US Commander in Afghanistan up until 2010 when he resigned and was replaced by General David Petraeus.
Recently he wrote and published a book called “My share of the task” and was talking with Charlie Rose on Bloomberg TV.
During the interview he was asked “What are the most important attributes of someone that wants to be successful?” The question was asked in the context of his 34 year career in the US military but his answer applies regardless of your walk of life and what you hope to achieve but especially, I think, if you plan to be successful in owning and operating a business.
Business Lessons from General Stanley McChrystal
General McChrystal’s two important or key attributes to be successful were:
- Personal discipline and
- Empathy.
Business value of self-discipline
General McChrystal went on to explain that personal discipline will determine how high and fast you grow and develop to be the best you can.
Personal discipline meant the efforts of an individual to develop a personal skill set so they were equipped and able to make decisions; that on review with the benefit of hindsight, were proven to be the best that could be made on consistent basis.
General McChrystal made it clear, however, that personal discipline not only wasn’t enough in itself, but on its own could be destructive and even self-destructive under some situations.
Business value of empathy
The second attribute important to General McChrystal was empathy. The ability to seek or provide a decision as it would be felt by another person or group of people. That is, some military commanders were great at making decisions but they lacked empathy or the ability to know how executing that decision would be felt by others.
For example, it simply wasn’t good enough to send out military personnel on a dangerous mission without taking into account how they felt about the mission or getting feedback from them to know what they thought would be their chances of success.
Two business lessons from General Stanley McChrystal
Self-discipline to be successful in business is a tremendous attribute; just as it is in the military. The ability to have empathy with how that decision will affect a customer, an employee, another business owner or a competitor can be the difference between success and failure. Interestingly the affect may not be immediate and it may not just be that one decision; but cumulative and over a period of time when it can make the difference between success and failure.
If you’d like more information about selling your business, feel free to schedule a time with me for a quick consultation. We’ll discuss your particular business and your personal goals to figure out together how you can maximize selling your business!
