The Havok Journal

The Voice of the Veteran Community

West and Dunn Law

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship and Personal Accountability

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship and Personal Accountability by E.M. Burlingame Accountability:  it is considerably difficult in today’s globalized world to know what the real cost is for the mistakes the individual makes, mistakes most often simply the emergent result of personal biases, whether known or other, and the current needs of the individual. In the startup … [Read more...]

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: 3 Tips for Leading from Any Position

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: 3 Tips for Leading from Any Position by E.M. Burlingame It really doesn’t matter your role in a startup, even if in a more established startup with multiple successful Capital raises behind it and formal roles and responsibilities with some form of hierarchical structure. You can still lead. This is true also of a Special Forces … [Read more...]

In SpecOps and in Successful Business, It’s the Team or Nothing

In SpecOps and in Successful Business, It's the Team or Nothing by E.M. Burlingame That the team is everything in a startup, or any high risk organization for that matter, has been stated to such a degree it now passes as cliché and in such has lost most all of its value as guidance. So let’s not talk about it. For a quick and easy yet solid read take a look at Stephanie … [Read more...]

Small Business Survival: Preparing Before an Emergency

Small Business Survival: Preparing Before an Emergency by Greg Drobny Small businesses are the heart of the American economy, but many small businesses aren’t ready for an emergency or disaster. An article published on smallbusiness.com states that “only 37% of small businesses have a formal disaster preparation plan.” The Institute for Business and Home Safety claims … [Read more...]

On the SpecOps Battlefield, and In Business, Don’t “Believe,” Know

On the SpecOps Battlefield, and In Business, Don’t "Believe," Know by E.M. Burlingame Only two types of confidence exist: the artificial and the real. The first is the far more common of the two, arising from either a need to feel accomplished when not or from a need to feel strong when weak. Conditions even those with real confidence feel at times. The difference between … [Read more...]

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: Real Leadership is Accidental

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: Real Leadership is Accidental by E.M. Burlingame In Far Eastern philosophy, there exists a very ancient concept: “The student becomes the master, the master becomes the student - 學生成為碩士，碩士成為學生.” While this has remained with me more than four decades now, most of that time I thought, “yeah, yeah, yet another undecipherable, Yoda-like, … [Read more...]

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship – Team First, Always

Special Forces, Entrepreneurship - Team First, Always by E.M. Burlingame Though I played a year of football in high school, for the most part those sports I participated in growing up were solitary, distance running, skiing and later triathlons. Later in life this led me to approach all endeavours, whether business, personal or athletic, as individual sports to be … [Read more...]

So You’re an “Operator”: How Exactly Does That Benefit My Investment?

So You’re an "Operator": How Exactly Does That Benefit My Investment? by E.M. Burlingame This article first appeared in The Havok Journal 9 September 2016 Having recently ended active duty service with Special Forces (SF) to return to the private sector and to backing startups, we have so far brought in four management teams composed of former Green Berets (GB), to lead … [Read more...]

Plastic “Bullets”: Isn’t That a Really Bad Idea?

Plastic "Bullets": Isn't That a Really Bad Idea? by Scott Faith I read with interest a recent headline touting a revolutionary "plastic bullet." Could such a thing actually be done?  Given the marvels of modern science, I supposed it was a possibility. After all, people have experimented with a number of different types of bullets, including ice. But given the extreme heat … [Read more...]