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Why Listen:
I just wrapped up recording this episode, and it will cost me about $60 in books, or maybe $5 in late fees from the library because there were so many great books that Joe recommended. Here's a couple of things that stood out to me from this interview.
Joe has a great perspective on entrepreneurship and he and his other two co-founders started by only investing $1,000 into this company and they made the commitment that they would not join the company full time until it could pay their salary at a competitive rate. And it took three or four years to get there. And I feel like this is so contrary to the bad advice I so often see of burning bridges jumping off, Carpe Diem, seize the moment to start the company, all of these things that I think are potentially really harmful for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The second is that HigherEchelon is a company that is all about enhancing company and individual performance. Joe gives a lot of great frameworks that are applicable to your career and life, no matter what that lifestyle is, whatever that career path is. He talks about things like people process and technology and constantly learning about which one to focus on in your life or organization. He talks about the values that drive his companies, which I'm going to start borrowing, which is learn, grow, adapt, and lead, and why that's so important. He does a lot of work with transition assistance and talks about mindsets that he sees in military veterans.
About Joe:
Dr. Joe Ross is the President and Co-Founder of HigherEchelon, a service-disabled veteran-owned, human and organizational performance consulting firm that works with both public and private sector clients to enhance performance. HigherEchelon has over 150 employees in 25 different states with the corporate office in Arlington, VA, but Headquarters in Huntsville, AL. Joe started HigherEchelon over 10 years ago with his business partner, Paul Maggiano. Joe holds a B.S. from West Point, a Masters of Education in Psychology and Athletic Consulting from Springfield College, and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Walden University. Amidst all of this, he also found the time to serve as the Assistant Football Coach at West Point from 2009-2012.
Selected Resources:
Taylor Justice interview - https://beyondtheuniform.org/blog/btu-13-taylor-justice-army-to-raising-6m-in-funding?rq=taylor
The Outward Mindset - gets you to see beyond yourself and pull in high performance circumstances - https://www.amazon.com/Outward-Mindset-Seeing-Beyond-Ourselves/dp/1626567158
The Agile Leader - being resilient but more adaptable - https://www.amazon.com/Agile-Leader-Create-Business-Digital/dp/0749482737
Creating the Virtual Organization - talking about virtual environments
Built to Last - https://www.amazon.com/Built-Last-Successful-Visionary-Essentials/dp/0060516402
Good to Great - https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Good+to+Great&qid=1621984500&s=books&sr=1-1
Remote Leadership - https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Leadership-Successfully-Work-Anywhere/dp/1885228155/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Remote+Leadership&qid=1621984527&s=books&sr=1-1
Time Stamps:
Joe’s background [3:07]
When to quit your job [11:01]
How Joe knew that there was a missing person or skill set that he needed to round out his founding team [18:38]
Let values and letting guide your career decisions [23:08]
HigherEchelon [27:12]
The biggest blind spot for military personnel transitioning [30:56]
Joe’s recommended resources [34:37]