Don Young, retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, is a great example of leveraging opportunities in the military and goal setting to eventually form his own company.
Summary
Don Young, retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, shares two actions he took that were essential to his career success.
Don spent a significant amount of his career coming up through the enlisted ranks before transitioning to officer ranks. After his time in the Navy, he went to work for Caterpillar and then ventured out on his own to form his own company, C5MI, where he helps companies work through manufacturing challenges by leveraging technology.
Episode Highlights
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00:32 Meet Don Young, retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy.
02:22 Don describes his military service.
05:00 Taking advantage of the opportunities in the service.
05:50 Transitioning to the corporate world and setting goals.
10:03 Significant lessons learned from crossing over from active duty to the corporate position.
12:25 Leveraging collateral opportunities to advance your career.
13:20 Transitioning from corporate to starting his own business in the IT space.
14:17 Advice when maneuvering through post-military career.
15:26 Charitable organizations that Don supports and why giving back is important to him.
18:36 Gene’s business tip: Amp up your reading; otherwise, you are missing opportunities to grow and enhance your business and customer conversations. Don’t assume that your military experience equipped you with the business tools you need.
Your Move
Show Resources: If you’re working in federal sales and you need a quick way to identify how you’re doing in the federal sales process, go to genemoran.com/federalsales and download your copy of Shape of the Sale tool. This will help you assess the overall health of your operation and quickly identify any weak spots.
Connect with Gene on LinkedIn for more useful tips and proven strategies to maximize your post-military career success.
Connect with Don Young on LinkedIn.
Coming Up On Episode 6: Gene speaks with Ted Fordyce, Vice President of Washington Operations for Elbit Systems of America.
