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...]
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...]
Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: Group Think Kills
Group Think Kills by E.M. Burlingame Equally on the battlefields of war, startups and politics, group think kills. There is no more destructive force than everyone at the table thinking the same way, interpreting the intelligence to mean the same thing. Particularly when information is incomplete, when the truth is something quite different, or when an enemy is actively … [Read more...]
Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: The P.A.C.E. Business Plan
Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: The P.A.C.E. Business Plan by E.M. Burlingame To quote one of my more colorful and influential Special Forces instructors during the train up for SF selection, who we will call ‘Mike’, “Have a plan. And have a plan for your plan... because you are ignorant and your first plan sucks.” In the old days of Silicon Valley it was required to … [Read more...]
The Special Forces ODA as a Startup Team
The Special Forces ODA as a Startup Team by E.M. Burlingame As an investor in startup companies there is always a difficult balance to be maintained, with respect to what are decisions management must make alone and my role as investor, adviser and often board member. This is due primarily to two constraints, namely my availability for any single company in our portfolio, … [Read more...]
An Investor Goes to War: 7 “Key Truths” from a Green Beret
An Investor Goes to War: 7 "Key Truths" from a Green Beret by EM Burlingame When I set out to join the U.S. Army Special Forces, better known as the 'Green Berets', I never imagined the skills and mind development as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and later as a technology investor would be applicable. Nor could I have imagined how my Green Beret training and mission would … [Read more...]
4 Reasons to Purchase Collision Insurance, Even If It’s Optional
4 Reasons to Purchase Collision Insurance, Even If It's Optional While you may think of your car insurance as a single policy for which you make one monthly payment, auto insurance providers price each coverage component separately. While shopping around for a new insurance plan, you'll have to decide which coverage forms you want to include in your policy. Before … [Read more...]
2nd Rule for the Counterradical
2nd Rule for the Counterradical by Speciali Copias Rule #2: “The people possess far more intelligence than is currently developed.” Even the least educated and inexperienced individual can grasp incredibly complex concepts and ideas if provided in the context of their own cultural background and societal experience. The, not-so-very-liberal, liberal radicals … [Read more...]
Could Tech-Savvy Vets Be the Next Line of Defense?
Could Tech-Savvy Vets Be the Next Line of Defense? by Avery Devereaux Source: Pixabay Military technology is often cited as a reason for success in battle or failure in war. World War II saw Alan Turing and his colleagues at Bletchley Park successfully crack the German’s Enigma ciphers, which led to many secret missions being foiled and the Allies eventually winning the … [Read more...]
Special Forces At the Intersection of the “Mind of the System” and the “Mind of the Disruptor”
Special Forces At the Intersection of the "Mind of the System" and the "Mind of the Disruptor" by E.M. Burlingame I did not surrender idealism when our only child was born, but rather I came to see the world and its strengths, flaws and dangers specifically in terms of her future. Before the birth of my daughter I entertained all kinds of ideas as to how the world is and … [Read more...]
