The WAY to WOW Shows
Solve Problems that Meet the Mission
June 18, 2024
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[0:00] to business lessons from the military one of the way to wow shows I'm your host Kevin bemel and we're here every Tuesday at 10: amm Pacific time to talk about military Doctrine history the practices of great military leaders and how we can take these ideas and use them in our civilian uh professions and businesses to improve performance so i' I've mentioned this a couple of times um so much uh of our resources as a as a

[0:35] nation go into training people in the military and so this is kind of my way of of of giving back to um my uh my fellow Americans so that um everybody can benefit from um the the things that I learned um in in in in the Navy over a a six a 16-year career so the uh today's topic is I want to quote it exactly it's solve problems

[1:10] that meet the mission so this would seem obvious uh you know why would we engage in doing something that doesn't get us to where we're going and the answer to that is many many times we get wrapped up in all all kinds of extraneous stuff right that detracts from our ability to get the real job done so I want to give you I tell you a a story about something that happened to me um very early in my Navy career that

[1:50] that really highlighted this this this problem in the military and and and and how I dealt with it and and really helped um my my command get get back on track so my my first Billet in the Navy I was assigned to um Marine Corps Camp Smedley D Butler in okowa Japan so this was actually um a a group of I believe it was seven uh Marine

[2:25] Corps facilities on okanawa so for example there was Camp f where I had my office there was um a camp I think it was Kinsey was the southernmost there was um um The Airbase um uh shoot I can't there was a Marine Corps Air Airbase um south of of foster I don't remember the name of it and and there were two other bases there was Camp Courtney and there was another base and then there was a whole sort of jungle fighting Training Center which unfortunately I never forgot to see so

[3:01] all of these were under the purview of the base chaplain's office and so I show up in okanawa you know bright new lieutenant Junior grade chaplain right um after a 20-year business career and uh you know pretty quickly I I see that this this does not run like a business so um after being there for about nine months um the the the senior chaplain the base chaplain was rotated

[3:38] out and um frankly nobody wanted to replace him none of the the the Navy Captain chaplain wanted to replace him and so the deputy based chaplain was an ' 05 um he was my mentor and so he was made acting based chaplain and so then the deputy spot was open and lo and behold here was me nine months in the Navy and and I I was what's known as an O2 a lieutenant Junior grade that's the second level of

[4:14] officer in the military and uh you know after nine months I was given an 05 position so an' 05 is just what it sounds like so most people you know never Advance higher than' 06 that's a Navy captain or a colonel right most people don't become Admirals in generals um so this is one step below that right nine months I'm like wow and all of the operations daily operations of the base chaplain's office were now in my perview including

[4:50] Personnel travel and Supply so when I took over as Supply officer I turned to the um senior enlisted person in in my um in my you know office or set of offices whatever you want to call it uh she was a petty officer first class and I said okay well if I'm Supply officer I think the first thing I need to do is uh review the inventory and she said to me the what I said the inventory the list of

[5:27] what supplies and and other things we have on hand she says we don't have anything like that I said you're you're you're kidding how can we how can there not be a list of supplies she said I don't know just none was ever done so here we are running an operation um budgeted at uh $2 million a year o only frankly about 15 or 20% of that was discretionary the rest was salaries and such but still $2 million a year that we're spending of the

[6:02] government's money we're running seven chapels and we have no idea how many candles we have how many sets of vestments we have how many bottles of sacramental wine we have nothing I mean absolutely zero so so I said to her okay well so then our first step is to figure out what we have right and um now this is all part of by the way meeting the mission because in the meantime um we were not even though we

[6:39] were budgeted for $2 million like I said of which about about 370 I think was discretionary we weren't getting our full discretionary um uh allotments um because of budgetary issues with the with the government over all and so I had to be very very careful about you know the the requisitions that I approved it really had to be for things that we needed um because um otherwise we

[7:14] wouldn't have enough money so so for example the Christmas holidays were were going to be coming up in a few months and in okanawa you need to pre-order things by literally months and we you know because of um the fact that my predecessor had spent a bunch of money buying Sacramento wine and a bunch of other stuff we didn't have Christmas decorations that year um you know because like I said we didn't get our full allocation of funds because because the the base hadn't gotten theirs because the government wasn't the

[7:49] government was it was you know heading to a a shutdown at this time so so you know we I got my staff busy on on doing an inventory and just to give you an example they were still finding closets full of supplies when I rotated out of okanawa about two and a half years later I have no idea whether they actually ever completed an an inventory of everything um at one point we determined

[8:26] that we had in excess of 15,000 Candles now even using a hundred a year right even a 100 a year in each Chapel which would be 700 a year we had enough for what 20 years 20 years worth of candles and I kept getting requisitions for more candles right and I would I would you know when I found out how many candles

[9:01] we had so then when a requisition would come in for candles I would call the person who was who was asking for more candles and I would say um are you aware that according to our current inventory we have over 15,000 candles in the various chapels no would be the answer I said um is it possible that among the 15,000 candles are the kind that you need well I don't think

[9:38] so why well I need the following kind of candles and they would describe them to me and I've got the inventory in front of me and I'd say well I think we've got a thousand of those up at Courtney so um please have your RP that's a religious program specialist it's the the list of people that help chaplain please have them go bring the candles in Courtney down and see if those will [Music] work you you're not going to buy me more candles said I don't think that's

[10:14] warranted given that we've got 15,000 plus already that was just you know the bottom line so you'll say oh come on candles who cares right the government wasts tons of things very true very true but buying more candles was not a task that was going to help us meet the mission okay um later on I think it was a few months later um I was given a requisition for a

[10:49] a small box that has a a a lid that opens up in front that that's that that has what glass basically framed in wood I I don't remember what the box was called but the box was used to hold um certain sacramental um items for the Roman Catholic mass and it cost $1,000 or $1,500 now this is back by the way in 2007 2008 so you know almost 20 years ago and I asked what this was for and

[11:24] they said well we don't have one of these at the chapel at I I I think it was Kinsey uh Camp Kinsey and I said okay I I I got it that you don't have this um what is the requirement for it I said well you know we need this because we have to keep the these sacramental things in it and I said I I I got that you're saying that this is crucial to the performance of the Roman Catholic mass yes

[12:00] H okay well let me let me kind of do a little checking and um I'll I'll let you know so by then we had gotten a new base chaplain who is a Roman Catholic priest and when he had gotten there he had met with each one of us and and when he met with me I I knew him from from chaplain training I had met him there great great guy loved him um and and he said so um he he asked me so you know what do

[12:35] you do here you know what are your duties and I said well you know of course I handle the all the you know Jewish services and I do counseling and you know all the routine stuff and I said but I'm also the supply officer the travel Appropriations offic or the travel approval officer the I I I was the credit card approval officer all these admin duties that I had he said okay great he said he said I don't know how any of that is done so will you promise to handle this so neither one of us goes to

[13:11] jail you know good old father Kean right I said absolutely I said as much as I like you father keing don't want to be in jail with you so he said great just you know keep me Keep Me advised um about what you're doing and why but otherwise I'm counting on you to handle this you know according to regulations etc etc etc great so after I got this this requisition for this box I called up father Keane and I and I and I said father Kean I I've been given a requisition for an item related to the

[13:48] Roman Catholic Services down at Camp Kinsey and uh I said it's for a very large amount relative to our budget and before I approve it or disapprove it I thought I should run it by you because as the senior priest in the command um I it just seems to me that this is The Prudent way to handle it he's he's like absolutely so in other words let's talk about this so you know we don't end up in jail right without saying that so I explained to him what had been requisitioned this box and I and I told

[14:24] him what I had been told and and he said and he said to me the following he said well first of all do not approve that requisition said I I sir and he said here's why um it is not necessary and given our budget this is not something we need to be spending money on um especially since it's not mandatory for the service I said okay sir got it no problem and and and he said now do you want me to call the chaplain and explained to him he said no

[14:59] sir that's that's my responsibility um I said you know you may get a call from him seeking to override me um and if so I you know I I I'm you know I know you'll back me up but I said you know I I'll I'll speak to the chaplain and and to his credit when I called the chaplain back and I said Le I've looked into this and it it's been explained to me that indeed this isn't mandatory uh you know for for the Catholic mass it's a nice thing to have if we have you know a lot of if we had a lot of money and all of

[15:34] that but but it's not mandatory and so you know I'm not going to approve this requisition he said okay you know thank you not long after that I got a call from a Marine Corps officer he was a lieutenant colonel um well let me actually let me tell you the back story to this so um I mentioned that we had vestments these are the clothing that Roman Catholic priests wear when they're

[16:11] offering the mass doing their service we had hundreds of sets of vestments different colors Fab I mean unbelievable what we had we finally collected them in one place so that um the the uh so that father Kean could just take a look at them all um and it was scandalous how many we had because they'd all been bought with you

[16:48] know taxpayer money um and most hadn't been used in probably well years if not decades right right so here we have all of these things and here's now so just as a side note here's the interesting thing we could not give them away because because we weren't clearly we were not going to use most of them right um so I said I suggested to Father Keen I said well how about if we you know donate them to parishes I don't know

[17:25] maybe in the Philippines um I I bet they would love to have them he said that's a great idea can we do that I said you know great question we're keeping each other out of jail right and it turn the answer was no we could not give away religious articles it wasn't permitted so we had all of these vestments that we couldn't do anything with and in the meantime my Supply petty officer he was a petty officer second class great sailor he got a requisition for new vet vest

[18:03] vet vestments for the priest down at Kinsey now the priest I don't think knew anything about this um the fellow who wanted the Box um it was submitted by a Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and when I when when the requisition came across my desk for approval because my petty officer he was not responsible for approving he was responsible for writing things up and you know in the prop on the proper form all if you recall ever watching MASH right radar

[18:39] would write up the form but you know Colonel Blake or or um his replacement whose name I'm slipping up on they would have to approve it right so um it came across my desk for approval and I saw vestments I'm like nope not approving this you know and so when my when my uh petty officer came back I said I said hey you know I that that requisition for vet vestments you know we've got hundreds that we don't know what to do with we're not we're not going to get any more Investments he's like I I sir no problem so you know to his credit he as a courtesy called the colonel and to

[19:15] let him know that I had turned down the requisition well the colonel went off on this guy he was screaming at him if you you think blah blah blah blah I'm gonna I am GNA take the I mean he was just screaming at it and a little while later the petty officer came back to my into my office he looked Shell Shocked I'm like hey what's going on it's like that Lieutenant Colonel just went off on me because you didn't approve that

[19:53] requisition I said oh really I said do me a favor bring me the requisition back I assume it has his phone number on it and uh give it to me and close the door he's like uh I I sir so he brings it back goes out closes the door I pick up the phone I dial the colonel and I get him on the phone and I said Colonel this is Chapin Kevin bamel I'm the supply officer for the base chaplain's office he said oh so you're

[20:29] going to you're going to approve my requisition right I said no Colonel I am not going to approve your requisition that's number one if it wasn't explained to you and and there's no reason why we need to explain to you but if it wasn't we have hundreds of sets of vestments that haven't been used for a long long time we are not going to buy anymore that is the bottom line I said number two if one of my staff calls you as a courtesy to give you information and you

[21:05] don't like the information that you're receiving you will treat my staff appropriately and you will take it up with me because I can assure you I will not hesitate to call your Superior and explain to him that I will not tolerate my staff being a abused by anyone now I don't think this Lieutenant Colonel had ever had anyone speak to him like that who wasn't his Superior in

[21:40] rank and now I'm sure he knew at the time I was Lieutenant so I was in I was in E an 03 he was in 05 and and and he I could hear how Furious he was but he wasn't going to to his credit he didn't raise his voice to a chaplain probably afraid he'd go to hell although as a Jewish chaplain I can't send anybody to hell I can just make you pay retail the rest of your life um yes so he said well this isn't the end of this I said Colonel for your own good I

[22:18] recommend you make it the end of this said I'll take this up with the Bas chaplain said okay got it click picked the phone back up called father King and I explained to him what had transpired and and I said sir I this is how I always you know Endeavor to you know keep the people senior to me out of out of trouble because I I don't want people you know doing difficult things on my behalf I said sir if I have handled this

[22:53] inappropriately you please just say so and I will call the Colonel back and I will tell him that I handled things inappropriately said you know because he he is right in the end you have the authority um because my author you you delegated the authority to me he said he said no Rabbi said don't worry about it if he calls me I'll I'll take care of it right click and you know

[23:29] here's the Crux of the story all of that yelling and screaming on his part trying to get something that was not necessary had nothing to do with meeting the mission right I I don't know whether he called father Kean I think he did and I'm pretty sure that father Kean said essentially the same thing to him that I did which is do not call up one of my people and scream at them because

[24:06] that is not appropriate we do not treat people that way in the base chaplain's office period if someone has made a mistake we will talk to them about the mistake they've made if some kind of punishment is warranted they will get disciplinary action but we do not scream at people that is unpr professional that is not how it's done that is not meeting the mission now you're in combat or you're in combat training and you need to scream to to overcome the sounds of grenades going

[24:41] off and all the kind that's different okay combat we are not this is not combat training this is the running of day-to-day life in a military facility and yelling and screaming and demanding things that are unreasonable is not completing tasks that meet the mission and and and this is you know it's it's interesting so I'm sure those of you who've watched the show before you know how much I respect the Marine Corps

[25:17] and this was a this was a pretty rare instance in the Marine Corps because Marines tend to be very Mission focused so but but there are you know there are always on who they take their eye off the ball or whatever so I I think that as you know how do we apply this then to our professional and business lives well one of them is we act professionally always so I know in my professional life right now I'm dealing with a situation where I I'm um I'm dealing with a business where

[25:56] the former owner of the business had a tendency to create chaos he liked the yelling and the screaming and and his employees at this point are just basically shell shocked and they're in most cases unwilling to take any kind of initiative for fear of of blowback and so that is that is not helping the business meet its mission of serving its client and and so my job is to

[26:33] help rework the business in order to not a great word but empower the staff there to have the courage of their convictions both are the two key people there very bright very hardworking very dedicated and they know what the right answer is probably 90% of the time um but they're concerned about taking the initiative taking the responsibility because they don't after you know years of being pounded they just don't want to

[27:09] be pounded anymore right and so you know the rule is screaming chaos no it's not tolerated not from from me not from anybody else on the staff and not from our clients so we had a couple of clients who they thrived on creating chaos calling five 10 15 times a day making demands screaming at the staff and after

[27:44] repeatedly being told by myself and one of the other senior staff that this behavior is not appropriate and would not be tolerated they are no longer clients of this firm right because it's taking us away from meeting our mission our mission is to deliver Superior Service to our clients we can't do that when a client is screaming at us because basically they're just an unhappy person has nothing to do with the performance of of the services that we're per that we're

[28:20] handling for them so you know it's it's very easy to get caught up in the emotions of a situation it's very easy to get caught up in the blame game of a situation but in the Heat In the Heat of battle what really matters is that we stay focused on what is our objective what is the mission right and in that this is the one thing that combat will force you to recognize there is no time in combat for

[28:58] extraneous tasks because while you're pursuing the extraneous task somebody else could be injured or killed right there's no time for extraneous tasks in our businesses either we I'm not saying we should treat our businesses like combat so that we're fighting I don't mean it in that way I mean in terms of the focus we bring to our business yeah ing screaming creating chaos completely worthless thing to be

[29:34] involved in but also if we decide to do a particular tasks is this task really going to drive the business forward okay or or is it really something we don't need to do so I I I have a friend who he does not return emails until he's rece received a second or third reminder from the person who sent the email because only then does he know that the this is this is his way of doing it only then does he know that it

[30:09] really is something that he needs to take his time to deal with so he so he happens to be a lawyer he's so busy this is how he this is how he treats it this is how he determines you know what is the most important thing for him to be dealing with meeting his mission okay I I don't know that I frankly agree with that as a process but that's what his process is that's how he keeps focused each of us in our business lives needs to determine how do we stay focused on meeting the

[30:44] mission and the first step is to get rid of the extraneous the extraneous Behavior the extraneous activities okay and and that's that's what one would learn in the military on the combat side on the operational side when you're in Garrison like I was in the example I gave you that's where you see this kind of craziness extraneous activity going on okay but you wouldn't see it on the operational side right so let's think

[31:20] operationally not Garrison so that's our show for today thank you very much for joining me and tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time is my show people making money we're going to be doing our monthly state-of the economy cutting through all the nonsense and the the the information and all that kind of stuff that that seems to obscure more than illuminate what's really going on and uh we're going to get down to the nitty-gritty where is the economy as we stand now and then next week Monday at

[31:56] 10 a.m. Pacific is my show trusts and Estates weekly my guest is get it for you here my guest is Suzanne fineberg she is a notary republic and if you're not clear on what a notary public is then definitely tune in on Monday at 10: a. because Suzanne will explain that and also talk about new developments new developments in the notary business so there have been some quite interesting ones um that I was

[32:31] unaware of and so um do join me uh and and and Suzanne um on Monday and then a week from today it will be the next edition of business lessons from the military so thanks so much for joining me wishing you a wonderful rest of the day and signing off as I always do Marie you're my bell courage at all times my friends