Down Range: A Transitioning Veteran's Career Guide to Life's Next Phase

Chapter 1

Transition Your Mindset: It's a Brand New Mission

Who are the most influential people in your particular military community? Is it the chief of staff of your respective service or the leader of your military branch or community? Perhaps you closely follow the activities, blogs, broadcasts, or other messages of the senior enlisted member of your service, such as the sergeant major of the army or marine corps. These are individuals who you would recognize instantly if you were to meet them, but would you recognize a similar leader in the business world? Be honest with yourself. Can you name a single chief executive officer (CEO) from any one of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies?

If Jack Welch and Steve Jobs are the only names that come to mind, you need to develop a little more knowledge of current business topics. (Jack Welch is retired and Steve Jobs, sadly, passed away in 2011.) If neither of these names is familiar to you, and you can't at least recall what companies they led, then put this book down now, go to the Internet, and do a simple search to find out who, exactly, they are. You lack the most basic knowledge of business history. We could tell you who those two people are in this paragraph, but then we would be failing to communicate something far more important, which is that you must be committed to learning about this new world you are about to enter. You must be willing to research information related to every potential employer so that you are able to both ...