MBAs are for wusses:
Traditional armies drill unquestioning obedience into their grunts. Israel’s encourages creativity. An IDF spokesman says it is “highly acceptable” for soldiers to point out problems and pitch ideas to superiors. That is why veterans are snapped up by start-ups, says Alan Baker, president of the Israel-Canada Chamber of Commerce in Tel Aviv. They also do well raising money, he says, because investors assume the IDF has already weeded out the dishonest and irresponsible. In other countries, employers rely on the college-entry obstacle course to select the brightest and best. In Israel, thanks to conscription, most job applicants have tackled real obstacle courses.
See the whole article at:
While the article may be half-satirical, it is true that military service in any country is usually considered a plus in the labor market. Ex-military are considered to be more disciplined, more resilient, more capable for taking on leadership roles.
Would you agree?
Has anyone in class had military experience?
John
I would not agree completely because the article points out the major difference in the IDF compared to other armies - they encourage creativity. I would argue that part of being a great leader is having flexibility and adaptability. While Americans may be prone to question authority (as pointed out in the article) American soldiers are just about forbidden to - they must follow orders or face charges. Case in point: I was the Lighting Designer for a theater production some years ago where the Stage Manager was a former soldier. While he was a very good Stage Manager he was so rigid in his approach that he clashed with EVERYONE. This created a very tense work environment. One afternoon we needed to alter the rehearsal schedule to accomodate some scheduling conflicts. He was so unyeilding that the process of negotiating those changes resulted in the production crew arguing in front of the actors during a tech rehearsal, which is not very professional. Ultimately it took others, including myself, to compromise and negotiate despite him to reach consensus - which undermined his leadership. Military service does foster some great skills, including discipline and resilience, but could it produce a better leader than an MBA? Not in my opinion, because there are many other factors that come into play.
ReplyDelete-Ken
I'm not too familiar with IDF veterans, but I wouldn't be surprised in Israel's mandatory conscription for most citizens (barring Arabs and certain religious sects) has a large effect on the mentality of people as they enter the military compared to the all-volunteer service in most other developed nations.
ReplyDeleteI do not have any military experience, but many of my family members have, including two WWII vets, a Vietnam veteran, a Navy vet, and two family members that have served in Iraq. Based on anecdotal evidence, their rank was largely reflective of their leadership skills. The enlistees did not have any specific leadership skills that stemmed from their military service, but they had a different sense of pride in their work ethic and took orders in their jobs easier than others. The two that held command posts were quite different. They were typically very organized and were not afraid to take charge is various situations.
I do not agree that ex-military are more capable for taking on leadership roles in every country. When I was working in Guangzhou, China, I lived in home of my uncle who is a military officer, and have several friends who once served in the air force. From my own experience, every soldier must one hundred percent obey the orders from the higher rank officers in my country. From corporals, platoon leaders to colonels and generals, every different level has its own strict scope of management. A corporal has very little opportunity to exercise his leadership since almost all his management duties are to control soldiers to observe the discipline. In the daily life of military, there is little chance for a corporal to develop his creativity which is so important for a successful leader. Leadership is not only about management, but also about creativity, flexibility, and ability of foresight. I do not think that a person can acquire leadership without chance to try and exercise new ideas freely. Although there are many excellent leaders who are veterans, it doesn’t mean that every veteran can take on leadership role. For an ordinary person, maybe an MBA program can provide him/her more chance to earn capability about leadership than an army.
ReplyDelete-Ni