The Havok Journal

The Voice of the Veteran Community

West and Dunn Law

Pick Your Fights, Carefully | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship

Pick Your Fights, Carefully | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship by E.M. Burlingame Years ago, my then mentor and lead investor, told me calmly, succinctly. “You don’t know what you don’t know.” This a week into my discussing, increasingly arguing, value of pivot strategy and necessary funding. A week in which I was becoming angrier each day. Why was he ready to … [Read more...]

Stop, Shut Up and Sit Down | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship

Stop, Shut Up and Sit Down | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship by E.M. Burlingame 2003, Far East Asian nation, mere formality of a meeting. Little more than a press event really, final meeting between Minister of Finance and Minister of Science and Technology as well as with four of the nation’s leading industrialists. Mock signatures and chops on agreements signed … [Read more...]

The Type of Failure is What Matters | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship

The Type of Failure is What Matters | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship by E.M. Burlingame Lot of talk going around last few years in the circles of experts. Talk related to the importance of failure. Having failed a good number of times in my life, I cannot and would not disagree with most the experts on the importance of failure to ultimate success. I might … [Read more...]

Get Ready, This will Hurt | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship

Get Ready, This will Hurt | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship E.M. Burlingame There’s an incredible amount we don’t know. About self, others, the ever more connected world we live in. Of course, these are the big unknowns we’ve wrestled with since the beginning of time. What about the more immediate and critical? Our organization and functional team, market segment … [Read more...]

You’re Not Going to Like This | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship

You’re Not Going to Like This | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship by E.M. Burlingame You’re not as valuable as you think you are. Read that correctly. To be fair though, no one is. Evolution optimized us for propagation of species, not for self-assessment. Not even the most critical assessment, that of our value to individuals and the group. To ensure we participate … [Read more...]

Unconventional Investing | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship

Unconventional Investing | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship by E.M. Burlingame Drawn directly from the methods, best practices and lessons learned during 65 years conducting the Unconventional Warfare of U.S. Army Special Forces, Unconventional Investing is getting directly into violence and poverty repressed communities, identifying and developing local business … [Read more...]

In Any Organization, De Facto Leaders “Run the Show”

In Any Organization, De Factor Leaders "Run the Show" by Nick Perna At McDonalds the dayshift manager tells the other employees what to do. At Ford Motor Company the production manager for third shift ensures that doors are properly installed on Ford Mustangs by the employees who work at night. In 3rd Ranger Battalion a Staff Sergeant is in charge of a squad of soldiers and … [Read more...]

Book Review: Mindset

Book Review: Mindset by Marshall McGurk Military reading lists are sometimes criticized as too narrow, too lengthy, or—ironically—excessively military in content. Two alternatives to the traditional Chief of Staff of the Army reading catalog are lists by Andrew Exum and the Australian Army. Here is another atypical recommendation for junior leaders and younger soldiers. … [Read more...]

Delayed Emotions: A Perspective from an LEO and Combat Veteran

Delayed Emotions: A Perspective from an LEO and Combat Veteran by Special Guest Author Craig L. I recently had an unexpected emotional release. I thought I was perfectly fine, impervious to the emotional setbacks that the violence of war brings us. My experience is a little bit different than most. I was a veteran police officer with 20 years of experience under my belt … [Read more...]