VETERAN LED

Berry, a U.S. Army veteran, applies his military training to running a business in this guide.

The author, CEO of a law firm, advises readers on how to apply concepts and principles from military life to civilian business in this book, which shares its title with Berry’s podcast. It’s divided into three sections: “Survive,” “Thrive,” and “Dominate.” Each themed section combines military practices, including the buddy system, moving in cadence, adhering to strict standards, and making good use of downtime, with common business scenarios to create practical and actionable applications. Some concepts—such as that leaders should spend one-third of the allotted time planning, so that their subordinates can spend the other two-thirds executing—are easy to apply directly; others head into metaphorical terrain, as when he uses procedures for handling a malfunctioning machine gun to make a point about maintaining momentum. Berry, who served in the U.S. military in Bosnia and Iraq, is particularly insightful in explaining how aspects of a sergeant’s role can be applied to the corporate world—a topic that reappears in many contexts throughout the book. This guide is aimed primarily at other military veterans; Berry occasionally asks readers to remember elements of their military training or barracks life. However, it will also be accessible to those who have no firsthand knowledge of boot camp or discharge paperwork. Readers who are skeptical of the educational value of doing pushups to the point of collapse may not share the author’s positivity regarding the rigors of boot camp, but they may also find his application of the Army’s assessment process to corporate performance reviews to be very worthwhile. Berry is a persuasive writer, combining an obvious enthusiasm for his thesis with well-reasoned, highly readable arguments, illustrated with numerous anecdotes. The book covers some material that regular readers of business books will find familiar, but it does so with fresh insights that make it a useful addition to the genre.

A persuasive case for bringing soldiering lessons into the boardroom.