In 2008 my business was, like so many others, struggling. The financial markets collapsed, business declined and the "Great Recession" was in full swing. We were late entering the decline - investment banking is a trailing indicator - and we were well into the recession when the last of our worthy deals closed.

Leading up to that point, I had a simple screening process in place for new customers I learned from a colleague:

1. Do they have the money to engage us?

2. Are they nice people?

3. Are they coachable?

4. Are they realistic?

5. Will they quit in the middle of the effort or will they finish?

More than one "No" answer was a clear indication things would not go well. It was best to find these things out up front, though I was not always successful.

As I sat in my office one Saturday, wondering how to respond, I decided to take inventory of past experiences, analyze results, and look for some answers. I thought about the transactions that went well and the ones that did not. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it was easy to categorize the root problems and catalog the outcomes.

And then the answer jumped right off the page.

Whenever we had a management team in a deal with prior military experience, we had a better outcome.

These businesses were different, but why? So we dug in, searched for data, and scoured articles and research, and drew ten conclusions about Veteran Management Teams. Management leaders with prior military experience are:

1. Leaders: Leadership is a choice, not a title. Leaders choose to make a difference.

2. Values driven: The management team can quickly state the values driving everything they do. Forged in the crucible that is our Military, these managers have beliefs they carry into all that they do.

3. Team Players: The military is the ultimate team sport. Individuals who cannot be team players quickly find their way out of the service. Team players understand their roles within the organization, and work to be the very best at their specific duty supporting welfare of the team.

4. Skilled organizers: Planners, detail oriented

5. Effective communicators: Clear and concise, these leaders understand how to communicate.

6. Creative thinkers: Contrary to common belief, the military encourages creativity throughout its ranks. While disciplined and playing within the rules, all service members down to the lowest ranking enlistee, are encouraged to offer creative solutions and to improvise whenever necessary to accomplish the mission. Privates are not afraid to lead when called to do so.

7. Mission oriented: Leaders focus on the objective, recognize the obstacles, but always begin with the end in mind.

8. Calm in stressful situations: They see the battlefield because they are not distracted by the noise surrounding them.

9. Honorable: Doing the right thing does not require much thought. When you have clearly established values that are communicated throughout an organization, you can count on your organization to do the right thing.

10. Personally accountable: Nothing riles a veteran more than seeing someone attempting to shift the blame. Nothing.

VeteranCrowd targets businesses that have great fundamentals and the additional attribute of being led by management teams with prior military service. As Paul Galanti, Vietnam POW and member of our Advisory Board says, " The Government has already done the heavy lifting with these guys."

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