0:00 [Music] Who are you? And where are you going? What do you [Music] want? Hello and welcome to Business Lessons from the Military. I'm your host, Kevin Bemel, and we're here every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to talk about military history, doctrine, and the practices of great military leaders, all so that we can distill
0:35 lessons from them that we then apply to our businesses and professional practices. So, as a military veteran and someone who benefited from the support of my fellow citizens, uh this is a way for me to give back to you for the kind of support you gave me and my colleagues versus what you know, frankly, people experienced back when I was a kid during the Vietnam War. So, I I this is this is my my thank you. So today um my the show
1:10 is called um uh small uh I lost the title. Oops. Uh uh small objective strategic breakthrough, right? And we're going to be talking up about the battle of Keni. It was the first battle in which the uh United States uh engaged in combat during World War I. And I'm gonna, as I typically do on the show, first I'm going to give you some history of of the battle so that we can then translate that into uh into
1:48 lessons for us to use. And and before I I do, I just want to mention that uh Business Lessons from the Military is sponsored by the Beverly Hills Council of the Navy League of the United States. and I'll talk more about our sponsor about halfway through the show. Okay. So, the battle of of of Kanti. So, the United States, well, World War II, sorry, World War I started in 1914. It quickly um boiled down to
2:23 trench warfare. Anyone who's familiar with World War I knows about that. You had the trench the the trenches for the allies and the um shoot they weren't called the Axis in World War One. Um Germany and and her her allies uh had had a different name but in any event and then there was sort of no man's land between them filled with barbed wire and and minefields and it it was it was a a horrible horrible bloody war.
2:59 So the United States did not enter the war until April of 1917. The American Expeditionary Force was led by General John Persing. um the best known military man of of his day in the United States certainly and and though and though the Americans got to Europe in April of 1917, they spent over a year training before Persian was thought that they
3:34 were ready for combat. And so uh comes May of 1918 and the uh Persing felt the American troops were ready and so he was looking for an objective that the uh that that the US troops could take on. And and so you know at that time it was really just a stalemate on the Western Front. Um uh not um not long before the battle
4:09 of of Kanti takes place um Russia uh well Russia had gone through its revolution. It was now controlled by the Soviets. It was now communist Russia essentially. They had uh withdrawn from the war and so Germany no longer had to fight a two-front war. they were able to take troops from the eastern front and start moving them toward the western front and um they were getting ready to launch their spring offensive. And so
4:47 um so Persing looking for an objective um in in uh um in consultation with the the French and the British uh uh decided on the village of Kantini which is about 75 miles north of Paris and it was going to be an Americanled attack. Um uh however uh there was going to be French support. I'll talk about that in a minute. So uh Kantini sat on a small rise. It was held by the Germans. Um and
5:23 it was a valuable observation point because it was on higher ground. So they the Germans could see the surrounding countryside. um capturing it would not only remove a a a tactical threat um but it would provide a morale boost for the for the American forces proving to them their fighting ability. So the forces were uh aligned as follows. So on the US side was the American first division known as
5:59 the big red one and it had about 4,000 AR uh infantry men uh in the main assault. They were supported by French Schneider tanks, French artillery and French flamethrower teams and engineers as well as coordinated air reconnaissance. And so you can see the French provided quite a bit of support. On the German side were elements of the 18th army. The number of Germans involved is is not as clear as it is for the uh the the allies in the American
6:34 side. It's thought maybe around 1500 to 2,000 Germans were defending Kingi at the beginning of the battle. Um, but as you'll but as I'll talk about in a minute, there were numerous counterattacks. And so it's estimated that maybe by the time the battle was over, somewhere between three and 4,000 Germans uh took part. Um and and the Germans, uh you know, aside from having a a fortified defensive position in Kenti, they had heavy artillery, machine guns, they had a whole trench system built up, all of the vestigages that are
7:11 so well known in World War I. So the battle began on May 28th, 1918. So you can see a little over a year after the Americans had uh had gotten to Europe um the Americans launched a very carefully planned assault coordinated with French uh artillery and armored support. Um, the French had a uh launched a preliminary artillery barrage which was
7:47 which was to become really was already but certainly became instrumental in uh offensives because it softened up the German defenses or the the defenses of you know the the the group that you were attacking. That that artillery barrage was launched just before dawn. Again, that was pretty pretty common uh in in World War I. The uh assault was launched at 6:45 a.m. So, you know, getting up early. Reminds me of the famous Berlin song from World War I. Oh, how I hate to
8:24 get up in the morning, right? We That song is associated with World War II, but it was actually written for World War I. And um a lot of people don't know this. It was writ originally written for a Broadway show called Yip Yip Yapank. So it carried over into World War II. So the American infantry moved behind the rolling artillery barrage. Um and and and that you know kind of gave them protection and momentum and despite intense machine gun fire uh the Americans uh captured Canti within just
9:01 a few hours. So and then the the French engineers followed in behind them. They immediately g began fortifying the American positions in the village because they expected a German uh they expected German counterattacks. And indeed over the next 72 hours, the next 3 days, the Germans launched seven major counterattacks supported by artillery and poison gas. So again, if if if you're familiar at all with World War I, uh the mustard gas was used. uh other
9:38 types of poisonous gases. Um soldiers generally carried a gas mask with them at all times to prevent getting killed by the gas. Okay. And uh despite these numerous counterattacks, the Americans held firm. Um they did suffer significant casualties, but they retained control of Canti. And so it was in fact a resounding American victory in in their first uh battle test in World War I. So the casu what were the casualties?
10:16 Well um approximately 1,067,000 I'm sorry 1,67 casualties on the American side 199 killed. The remaining were wounded or missing. On the German side, it's estimated that between there were between 1,400 and 1600 killed, wounded, or captured. Again, the numbers on the Germans are are not as clear as on the American side. And so, you can see while the estimates are 1500 to 2,000 German defenders of Kanti originally, if that
10:51 were the case, they would have been virtually wiped out. So, that's I think that's why we we get to numbers of about 3 to 4 thousand. um because the the the German the German forces there were not wiped out um they were just substantially uh beaten. So uh why why is Cantoni so important? Well, aside from it being the first engagement in combat of American troops um and and being a small engagement by World War I standards, it really did have outside outsized
11:26 importance. Well, first of all, it was the first major US offensive success, right? And and and that boosted uh US morale considerably. Um it proved that American forces were disciplined. They were effective. They could withstand intense pressure. There was a lot of skepticism among the French and the British toward American troops. Um and and um both the French and the British had been pressuring uh um Persian during the preceding year that American troops were in Europe to embed them in their
12:03 own forces to essentially make them replacements for the French and British forces. Persing for his part was adamant that the American troops were going to fight as their own units. they were not going to become, you know, sort of um parts of the British and French forces. Um and in the event, Persian, uh, you know, proved his point by the Americans fighting such a a a disciplined, effective, uh, offensive, carrying it off, uh, you know, with the with the
12:38 French support, they were able to coordinate well and and really prove their metal. So, um this I mentioned that it was a big boost to American morale, but it was also uh it was also a boost to uh French morale. Um the French had had borne the brunt the longest. Although the British got there not long after World War I began, but the the Germans originally attacked the French and then the the British came uh to the continent in support of the French. Um but in the
13:13 beginning the British were not particularly effective uh and and and and and British I'm sorry French morale um was was suffering. There were even mutinies and so being a part of the American victory seeing that the American troops could fight on their own and be victorious that was a boost to French morale as well. And and then as I mentioned already a couple of times um the US French cooperation was significant. And when you take into account the average American knew no
13:48 French except for perhaps you know some salacious terms that they might use to uh you know to get with women. uh you know so um off the officers I for example George Patton was a um I want to say he was lieutenant colonel in World War I. Uh he spoke uh French. So some of the US officers spoke French but but not all of them by any means and and not necessarily uh was was that uh French um was it was it fluent French. And so the fact that the French and the
14:23 Americans could work together so well uh you know proved to be uh you know important. Okay. So what do we learn from Kantini in terms of lessons to apply to the business world? Well first of all start small but strategically. Okay. So the U United States, they did not enter into a massive offensive right away. Instead, they chose a limited but meaningful engagement so that they could
15:00 test their their readiness. They could test their their effectiveness and they could build credibility. And this was important. if the US had tried to mount some major offensive and lost. So the the pressure probably would have been impossible for Persian to resist to then embed the American forces with with among the British and French forces. And so quite uh
15:36 intelligently Persian to uh chose a limited engagement, a limited offensive to to uh you know prove American meal and then build from there. And and by the way, we saw the same thing in World War II. So the first American offensive in Europe in World War II was Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. Um and and the US actually invaded uh Morocco and and kind of around that that area and then moved from there. And that
16:12 was that was smart for the for the United States to have tried to invade mainland Europe uh right off the bat could easily have led to uh disaster. Right. And so it was it was actually Churchill's idea to sort of uh vet American troops uh in a a more limited uh battlefield, the more limited battlefield of North Africa. Um Stalin was pressuring for an American invasion of continental Europe. Okay. Now, so, so the the translation to the
16:49 business environment is so when a business when you're entering a new market, launching a new product, okay, begin with a focused manageable initiative, okay? So that you can get proof of concept and you can earn the trust of your customers, your your team members, the you know the other people with which you're dealing. You may have a you know a marketing firm or a public relations firm involved that's an outside firm but part of your team right you can earn the trust of all the
17:24 different components before going broadly right so oftent times that is the best way to go especially if you're a smaller company right so to go wide initially if you suffer a setback or you're not successful could put you out of the game. So, a a limited but successful launch could will oftentimes be much better even for the long run than trying to go wide initially. And often times
17:59 the the temptation to say, well, once we launch, competitors are going to come in and they'll overwhelm us. Yes, that is a risk, okay, depending on what it is you're launching. Okay. But if you launch and you have a follow-up plan for expanding after launch already set up, even if you have to make modifications to it, if your launch is successful, you will have the momentum. Okay? And so it and so the key then will be keeping the momentum and you can still stay ahead of your competition. Okay? So start small
18:37 but strategically. Next, preparation and training pay off. So despite again tremendous pressure on Persian for the Americans to get involved or to for sorry for the American troops to be embedded with French and British troops um and and to reduce the the the training time uh that that it would take um to get them into combat. uh Persian was adamant that an appropriate amount of time be taken to train American soldiers and marines so
19:16 that they could be combat ready. And that paid off in spades, right? Because even in a a a very a a small but very hot battle with with seven counterattacks, okay, the Americans emerged victorious and and it was in large part this training and and Persian had his officers uh engage instructors from both the French and the British so Americans would would be able to uh take advantage of the the numerous
19:51 lessons lesons that the French and British had um you know had accumulated over the previous three three to four years of war already that that you know the American troops were able to take advantage of that by having British and French trainers. Okay. So in business right translated into business we need to invest in training we need to be training our team and our team and building a solid infrastructure. Now training is the byword of the American military and in many cases uh especially
20:27 in today's military more time is spend is spent training than in actual combat. That's one of the reasons why American forces tend to be so well, you know, so successful in actual combat. It's because we train. And the the saying is, you know, train like you fight. Okay. So, in business, we need to train like it's the real thing in business. So, we we we we need to if if we're dealing with our marketing people, they need to they need to train train to real
21:03 marketing objectives. Our production people, same thing. Okay? No matter what a member of our team is doing, that that person needs the proper training to be able to effectively execute his part of of obtaining the objective. And the fact of the matter is a prepared and highly trained team will handle pressure better and will will be able to deal with setbacks more effectively. Right? We I've talked about this numerous times on the show, right? You have to have a plan. But no plan as van multi said
21:38 survives first contact with the enemy. So whatever plan we have, our team needs to be prepared to improvise. So a highly trained team is going to be more effective in improvising than one that doesn't have the proper training. Okay? So so those th those go handin glove. the ability to maneuver, to handle setbacks, all comes back to training. Okay, so I'm going to take a break here for just a moment and tell you about our sponsor, which is the Beverly Hills Council of
22:14 the Navy League of the United States. I I'm the president of the Beverly Hills Council. So, the Navy League of the United States is an organization uh bringing together civilians and people in the military and military veterans in support of the sea services. The sea services are the United States Marine Corps, the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Merchant Marine. All seaborn services, right? And the Navy League has a three-pronged mission and that is support, educate, and advocate.
22:51 So support the sea services, educate the the public about what the sea services do and advocate on behalf of the sea services so that they can do their job more effectively. One of the programs that the Navy League started back in 1952, I believe it is, is the sea cadetses program, which is allows teenagers, pre-teens and teenagers to learn about the sea services and to participate in trainings and events to
23:31 show them what what the sea services are all about. And in fact, I met last week the uh uh incoming commanding officer of the Ronald Reagan unit of the sea cadetses here in Los Angeles. His name is Chris. And Chris was telling me that his daughter, who is I think he said 15, got to go to Florida where she participated in a nine nine-day field medical training and she came back just incredibly enthusiastic about what she learned and
24:08 the confidence that she gained in being given this this very um thorough training. So, the CCADETS is just one of the programs that the uh Beverly Hills Council of the Navy League of the United States supports, and we're we're very uh happy and proud to be working with Chris and his group as they build themselves back up. Um, and so if you are interested in more information about the Navy League, please go to navyleague.org on the internet. And if
24:43 you're interested in joining us and helping us with our work, uh a a a basic membership costs only $40 a year. And when you sign up, please if you're in the greater Los Angeles area, please designate the Beverly Hills Council as your home council. So, uh once again, the Beverly Hills Council, the United States Navy League, support, educate, and advocate. Okay. So now going back to uh uh business lessons from the military our topic small objectives strategic
25:18 breakthrough I've been talking about the battle of Kanti and and how what lessons we can learn from this first time that American troops were involved in an offensive in World War I. So I talked before the the sponsor break I talked about start small but strategically okay and then preparation and training pays off. Now third lesson is leverage strategic partnerships. So the US troops worked very closely as I mentioned with
25:54 French forces including armor which is tanks and artillery and and engineers and they really benefited from the experience that the French had gained over the previous four years. Okay. And and it really was a partnership in the truest sense of the word. So although um the it was the US infantry that that really took the brunt of the battle because they were the ones that attacked and and um captured the village and then held it against counterattack. They
26:29 couldn't have done it without the French artillery and armor support. And so it it it it worked out brilliantly from that from that standpoint. So in in the business world, right, we we need to look for strategic alliances, okay? And um especially with uh experienced players who can provide us with critical support and insight when we're entering unfamiliar territory. So I know I look to do that as often as I can in my
27:06 business. And in fact, my my shows that you that you see, you know, each each weekday, I I um have as a mentor, my friend Bill Gross, who is has been doing this longer than me. He's he's had more success than I have. And so, we have a strategic partnership whereby he mentors me as I grow my shows. But then uh I think it was two weeks ago uh I was a guest on his show and and uh surprisingly that show got uh over 700
27:41 views, right? So uh we we work together on a number of professional initiatives and and we we leverage our knowledge. So, I have a certain uh you know um a certain body of knowledge and and Bill does. They're not the same and so we can cross-pollinate. Uh now we're both you know small so so-called soloreneurs, small business small businessmen. Um but even in medium-size and large companies,
28:16 strategic partnerships are always a a good practice. It's always good to look for them. It's not necessary these days to build every capability inhouse and indeed it probably is a mistake to do so. It creates a great deal of overhead and a great deal less flexibility as opposed to teaming up with other companies uh or other organizations and and taking advantage of the expertise they have uh to to you know build your business while the pe the businesses
28:54 you're partnering with can also build their own up by having you as a client. Okay. So, especially when you're entering unfamiliar territory, look to team up with uh partners who have some experience in these areas. Um and that can uh that can increase the likelihood that you will be successful. Okay. So, number three, leverage strategic partnerships. Number four, leadership and morale matters. So the uh first division uh the big red one as I mentioned their nickname was
29:30 led by General Bullard and his leadership really helped instill confidence in the in the American troops. Um the success at Konini really raised morale across the American forces. The big red one, of course, was not the only division in in Europe at the time. The the the famous rainbow division was there and and several others, right? And so um but Bullard was a particularly uh good divisional
30:06 division commander and so his leadership made a big difference in the success of the big red ones offensive. Uh and and by the way, Persing too was an extraordinarily capable leader. And so uh you know his his overall leadership of of the entire American expeditionary force also had a tremendously positive impact on not just the first division but of course all of the American forces in Europe. Okay. So in business effective
30:43 leadership inspires teams um especially in high stakes situations. So uh the the the the although the battle was short the battle of Keni was short uh it was bloody okay in in essentially three days uh there were almost 1100 American casualties. Now, for a force that had really not been in significant combat before, uh to to lose over 25% of your forces in 3 days could have been
31:19 devastating. Uh but the leadership was such that uh the troops knew what to expect and and indeed out of the 4,000 troops only 199 were killed. Right? So we're talking about 5%. Now by today's standards that would be very high, but by World War I standards that was not. And so out of the approximately 1100 casualties only about a fifth were deaths. And and again that that was good when you consider they faced entrenched
31:54 positions, they faced machine guns, they faced artillery, they faced poison gas, right? Um the losses were actually very low. Okay. So in business, we need to be aware of the impact of leadership. We need to prepare our teams beforehand for what they may face. It's all good and well to raw raw rah rah, but we also need to prepare them for what the struggles may be for for potential setbacks. You know,
32:31 we don't want to convince them that this is going to be a walk in the park launching this business business initiative. Maybe we're launching a new product. Okay? It's never a walk in the park. So, we have to prepare them for the struggle so that they will be able to endure that struggle and come out uh you know come out winning if at all possible. Okay, that is a function of leadership. One might say it is the most important function of leadership is setting expectations and then creating an
33:08 atmosphere where our team members are convinced that they can meet the expectations and they can be victorious in achieving the objective. Okay? They have the training, they have the tools, they have the resilience. And so even though we're we're almost for sure going to meet um hurdles, we're going to figure out a way around those hurdles. We're going to be resilient. We're going to be creative and we're going to get there. That is a leadership function. And if we we need to have that in the
33:43 business world. Okay. So leadership and morale matter. That's that's point number four. Point number five, resilience against counterattacks. So, as I mentioned when I was talking about the battle itself, while uh the Americans captured Kontini in a in just a few hours, with French help, they immediately started preparing for counterattacks that they knew were going to come. And over the next 72 hours, three days, the Germans counteratt attacked in force seven times. Okay,
34:20 imagine that. seven times. So about, you know, on average every 10 hours the Germans launched a major counterattack. Okay, that would have been devastating except that the Americans and the French had had anticipated that that was going to be the case and they prepared for it and so they were able to be re resilient in the face of these onslaught. Okay. And by the way, I said one was launched every 10 hours, but that doesn't mean
34:55 there was 10 hours between them, right? Because the counterattack had to be launched uh you know, they lasted for various periods of time. But in between the counterattacks, right, the Americans and the French, they had to uh replace their supplies of ammunition. They needed to rest. They needed to eat. They needed to sleep, right? and and so all of that making sure all of those needs were taken care of played into the resilience that the the Americans and French were able to exhibit. Okay. So in
35:32 the business world once we gain an edge whether it's getting a new client launching a new product launching some new innovation okay we need to expect competitive push back okay even if we're launching something that's new okay the pace of business is so rapid these days that other companies are going to quickly uh glom on to what we're doing, especially if it's successful, and they're going to
36:09 launch their own initiatives. They're going to launch counterattacks against us, and they're going to try to knock us out of the way, overtake us in success. Okay? So uh you know what we need to do as I mentioned earlier is we need to maintain our competitive advantage by preparing our team for the inevitable counterattacks that are going to come from other businesses, other organizations etc. Okay.
36:44 So you know it's it's we we we have to prepare for the the shortterm burst of energy to launch it but we also have to prepare for the long term so that we can maintain our competitive position against other other companies etc coming into the field and trying to push us out. Okay so again resilience against counterattacks is crucial. Finally, and this is the the sixth point and final point that I'm going to make. Symbolism matters. Okay. So though it
37:22 was a small victory, especially given the scale of of the battles that were happening in World War I where sometimes there could be a million troops involved in total both sides in in especially in some of the battles in um 1918. Cantoni was a relatively small battle somewhere between you know 7 8,000 troops altogether it was tiny in a way right but it it loomed much larger
37:59 symbolically because it signified that America had arrived as a legitimate serious player in the combat that was going on And it showed it showed both our allies, primarily the British and French, that that we could we could attain victory as as well as they could, which was a big morale boost to them. But it also showed the Germans that despite being relieved by having to fight a two-front war, they had a new
38:37 competitor in the United States and a competitor with a tremendous amount of industrial might behind it, a tremendous amount of manpower behind it, and one that was prepared and could fight and win. And so the the the symbolism of the victory by American and French forces at Cantoni was not lost on either side. The Anton I've been trying to think of the word for the for the Germans and their allies. So we had the the allies
39:13 America, United States, France and and Great Britain and the Antant which was was Germany uh AustriaHungary and and and other other uh countries. Okay. So both the the allies and the ants saw the symbolism um behind this small victory on the part of the United States troops at Kini. So in business, okay, the perception of strength or confidence um oftentimes can open more doors than just
39:49 raw numbers. So you know one can have a huge company but that the fact that they have lots of people and lots of resources doesn't necessarily mean that they can be effective. Uh so a smaller company that can prove itself in the marketplace will have a competitive advantage because although they may have relatively smaller victories um because they've shown customers, clients and competitors
40:24 that they can enter and a market and and and and achieve an objective they can enter and win. So they are they may be the most formidable competitor even though they're not the largest, okay? Or the competitor that's been in the marketplace the longest. Okay? They can be the new kid on the block, right? But they can still be the one that is going to uh that's going to be the go-to um you know company for whatever service or or product that they provide. Okay. So
41:00 symbolism matters and when we have a victory we want to tastefully I would argue um publicize that victory communicate it effectively so that people can understand our true value as a company. Okay. So there's so much blather out there about this and that is when we have an when we have an actual reason to tout our success. We should do so, okay? We should do so credibly, honestly, okay? So that people can see
41:36 who we truly are. Okay? So symbolism matters. So real quickly the lessons reviewing the lessons we can learn from the uh US victory at Keni. Start small but strategically preparation and training pay off. Leverage strategic partnerships leadership and morale matter. Res build res have resilience against counterattacks. And finally symbolism matters. So, those are the business takeaways
42:11 from this first uh US offensive in World War I in May of 1918. It's interesting to note that World War I ended with the armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th month, November, on the 11th day of the month in 1918, less than six months after the battle of Kanti. Right? So the effectiveness of of the American troops turned the tide. The war had been going
42:46 on for uh four years uh before Kantini. It ended six months later. And it shows you the the the true impact of this small but but highly consequential victory. And we can do the same thing in our businesses and professional practices if we if we learn and adopt adapt I should say these lessons. So I thank you very much for joining me today and especially
43:21 my live viewers. Always great to have you on uh out there in the in the viewing sphere I guess we call it. Tomorrow at 1000 p.m. Pacific time is my show uh people making money and I'm going to be talking about business continuity during a personal crisis. The fact of the matter is life does not go smoothly. What are we going to do if we're running a business and suddenly we have a crisis in our personal life, health crisis, um relationship crisis,
43:57 etc. So, we're going to talk about tomorrow 10:00 a.m. Pacific time. Wednesday on people making money. And then, uh, next week on Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time is my show, Trust and Estates Weekly. And then one week from today, I'll be back with the next edition of Business Lessons from the Military. So, I thank you again very much for joining me. wish you a wonderful rest of the day and signing off as I always do. Oh, one one last mo with thanks to our sponsor, the Beverly
44:32 Hills Council of the US Navy League. Signing off as I always do. Marie darling, you are