Fanatical Military Recruiting

9Time Discipline

One of the best ways to keep peace is to be prepared for war.

—General George Washington

The greatest threat to mission is not lack of training, lack of talent, poor attitude, society, politics, generational differences, the news cycle, or any of the things that are often blamed for mission failure.

No, the most formidable threat to mission is where, how, and with whom recruiters choose to invest their time. When your behavior is shaped and driven by paralysis, perfectionism, and procrastination, you make very poor choices with the limited amount of time you have for recruiting.

At the beginning of every Fanatical Military Recruiting training program, we ask participants to tell us their greatest recruiting challenge. Eighty percent of the recruiters and recruiting leaders who attend our sessions say that they struggle most with having enough time to recruit.

The constant refrain: “I just never seem to have enough time for prospecting with everything else I have to get done.”

There is no doubt that most military recruiters are working insanely long hours. Which strains and disrupts relationships with their spouses and families and it impacts quality of life and work-life balance. Yet for recruiters, most time management problems are self-inflicted.

• Yes, recruiters and recruiting leaders have more on their plate each day than can ever be accomplished.
• Yes, military branches are asking more of their recruiters and leaders than ever before.
• Yes, the bureaucracy ...