Back To Back: Two Very good Reads On Entry Level Leadership And Culture

Soldier's Heart is a civilian English professor's take on the leadership culture of West Point, based on her ten years encounter as a faculty member. Professor Samet is in a uncommon, but nicely 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. Each of these works are an excellent 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 ten years encounter as a faculty member. Professor Samet is in a uncommon, but nicely 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 "typical Army." Samet's academic interest also tends to make her special she has studied the dynamic of command and obedience in American literature.

Soldier's Heart is not the 1st work about West Point by a soldier or civilian, but it comes from the most intriguing perspective: 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," a person who would kill for the glory of war, or the sake of killing.

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

The professor adds that today's military culture has conflated military missions with spiritual missions soldiers grow to be instructed to regain faith when article source there seems to be little cause for faith. Nevertheless, that may well be essential instruction to lead at a time when officers, enlisted and veterans are questioning our nations involvement in Iraq, a war that they think to be unnecessary.

This faith extends to open displays of the Seven Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Private 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 will by no means accept defeat

I will never quit

I will never leave behind a fallen comrade.

The Values and the Creed are possible not only due to the fact of the culture, but also simply because our soldiers are specialists who have selected to serve. Samet web sites 1 Army study that mentions that professional soldiers still fight for each and 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 companies, and has a culture where everybody must live by them. Some of the most productive corporations have copied the military's strengths and some of its imperfections. According to two on the web employment web sites, GIJobs and CollegeGrad, 24 of the Top 50 Military Friendly Employers in 2007 also hired 100 or more college graduates for their entry-level positions. It is protected to say that these businesses use the same values to develop and retain their entry-level and military transitional hires.

Which brings me to the subsequent question: can these without having the military orientation grow to be as productive in these firms as these 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 part of the dialogue in Punching In, another work 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-Car, The Gap, Starbucks and The Apple Retailer, took on-line aptitude tests with two retailers: Very best Get and Property Depot and went via the lengthy interview processes at The Container Shop and Whole Foods.

Like the Army, these corporations try 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 referred to as UPS the more info Other Army, simply because of the company's esprit de coir and the spit and polish appearance of the front-line workers. Each the Army and UPS do not accept alteration, recreational display or desecration of their uniform.

Frankel respected UPS more than the other organizations, due to the fact their workers, particularly the drivers, were look at this the most trusted. He adds that this is essential because UPS workers are all in the field. They can track their areas, but any troubles must be solved on route. Each driver and their helper is like a platoon of soldiers they have to follow orders, but they have some lee way in how to execute them.

Frankel did not say the very same about the other organizations. For instance, he praised Enterprise's efforts to motivate workers to think that they can advance from desk clerks to regional managers although he adds that additional advancement is less achievable. The company hires roughly 8,000 entry-level personnel, although the rest of the work force is no larger.

Frankel shows how Starbucks has turn out to be a "third location," a neighborhood-meeting place away from home and operate, but believes this will be a hard technique to retain since of the standardized look of the thousands of stores and staff. He considers Apple Stores to be an outstanding setting for those who are currently fans of the technology they need to have little indoctrination and coaching as well. And he shows The Gap to be tiny various from other retailers who are loathed by retail workers, a firm bent on standards and policies that put retailer design 1st, product second, credit card sales third and the employees final.

Like the Army, these organizations have a uniform, policies and shared values, but unlike the Army, they can hire and fire at will. It was fascinating that Frankel conveyed the most respect for the organization that was the most like the Army.

Provided UPS' success the company maintains 80 percent marketplace share against a number of large competitors, including the U.S. Postal Services that is really a complement for our troops and the males and girls who lead them.