Aviation

BTU #437 - Blockchain Ticketing (w/ Matt Zarracina at True Tickets)

BTU #437 - Blockchain Ticketing (w/ Matt Zarracina at True Tickets)

Matt brings the perspective of what I'd call a midlife entrepreneur, someone who had decade in the military almost a decade of experience a couple degrees before he founded a company and I just always love hearing those stories. His company uses blockchain. So we talk about that how that impacts his business. What that industry looks like, like might be appealing to our listeners, he talks about COVID and how it actually helped him grow as a company in an unexpected way, a very atypical story. He talks about managing cash flow to the day predicting when he was going to run out of money and it's the pandemic he talks about playing Super Mario Brothers as an analogy for keeping a company alive and up leveling, I talked about over communicating in a crisis how Navy pilots are like entrepreneurs, how you figure things out and supplement your knowledge in whatever career you do. He talks about how in career in life, it's a game of at bats not batting average really great point that I'm still thinking about. And he talks about how we're migrating from in person not not migrating from in person to digital but connecting the two and really forward looking thought of where the industry is going.

BTU #413 - 3x Growth in Two Years as CEO (Justin Wells)

BTU #413 - 3x Growth in Two Years as CEO (Justin Wells)

Why Listen:

Today's interview is a different story than I've heard before. Because Justin didn't found a company, he was working at a company called Intuit, getting a lot of experience in product innovation. He was contacted by a company right when he was starting his entrepreneurial journey about having the possibility of him taking over as CEO. It's a path that I haven't heard of a lot. He's done well at tripling the size of this company in those two years. Even though at that time the pandemic started and he lost a third of his revenue overnight. I love this conversation. Keep an ear out for when he talks about it. He took action while on active duty, earning his MBA and volunteering so that when he got out of the military, his resume had mostly non-military items, which was an impressive idea. I learned a lot from Justin; he seems like a natural coach, and I'm personally looking forward to keeping in contact with him and continuing to learn from his example of leadership.

About Justin:

Justin Wells is the CEO at Interlaced.io. It's a 50-person IT services company in San Diego. They provide premium IT managed services, essentially enterprise-grade IT programs and fractional IT departments with Apple Cloud and networking expertise. Justin started at the Naval Academy, after which he served in the Navy for ten years as a Naval Aviator. He earned his MBA from UC San Diego, focusing on innovation strategy, business development, and growth partnership. Interlaced.io was founded in 2009. Justin took over as CEO two years ago, tripling the company's size over that time through organic growth and a recent acquisition.

BTU #325 - Clark Kent-ing Your Resume (Shannon Gregory)

BTU #325 - Clark Kent-ing Your Resume (Shannon Gregory)

Why Listen:

Shannon’s military career includes time in both the Marine Corps and the National Guard, and so he has faced multiple transitions. Shannon has been a mentor at the University of Minnesota and it comes through - he has so much great advice on topics including:

  • resumes - how he has nearly a dozen version of his resume based on to what job he is applying.

  • being Clark Kent - not always revealing your super powers. yes, you may have dozens and dozens of crazy stories from the military, but based on the position to which you’re applying, you may just pick one choice gem out and leave the rest in the bag, unused in both your resume and your interview preparation.

  • networking - Shannon has received several jobs and - more importantly - very helpful intel about the jobs to which he is applying - due to his approach to networking.

  • We talk about dealing with depression, we talk about how most of what you need in your civilian career you learned in the military, but it is ALL about lifelong learning - about building skills and adding to them every step of the way. Shannon is a great example of this - he’s held three different jobs and also earned his MBA leading up to his role at Xcel… while he may have gone directly into the energy industry, his circitiuos route was exactly what we needed. and we talk about the Energy Industry - why you don’t have to be a navy nuke like me to go into the energy industry - we talk about all the disruption and changes going on, and how they NEED fresh perspectives, like Shannons, who has no direct background in energy.

This is a sponsored interview - which means that Xcel Energy supports Beyond the Uniform financially so that we can continue to do this work, for free to Veterans. I’m very grateful for their support. Although this is a sponsored interview, Shannon and I only talk about Xcel Energy for about 4-5 minutes in this hour long conversation. The rest is packed with tactics and tidbits to help you in your career path, whatever that may be.

About Shannon:

Shannon Gregory is a Program Manager, Enterprise Resiliency for Xcel Energy. He started out in the Marine Corps, where he served in the infantry for over six years. He has also served in the Army National Guard for nearly 8 years. His post military career has included working as a Rotory Wing Pilot at Air Methods, a Senior Corporate Security Manager at Target, and a Safety Business Consultant at Predictive Safety SRP. He holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a BS from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

BTU #294 - Advice from a Prisoner of War (Charlie Plumb)

BTU #294 - Advice from a Prisoner of War (Charlie Plumb)

Why Listen

I LOVED my conversation with Charlie, and found myself partly taking notes for Beyond the Uniform, and partly taking notes just for myself. As a Prisoner of War, the lessons that Charlie shares in this episode are hard earned. We talk about mindset, finding your purpose, resilience, and more. I left our conversation inspired and uplifted and hope that you do as well.

About Charlie:

Charlie Plumb is an author and motivational speaker. He started out at the Naval Academy, and served in the Navy for over 31 years. A pilot of the F-4 Phantom Jet, Charlie flew 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam and made over 100 carrier landings. On his 75th mission, just five days before the end of his tour, Charlie was shot down over Hanoi, taken prisoner, tortured, and spent the next 2,103 days in an 8-by-8 foot cell as a Prisoner Of War. During his nearly six years of captivity, Plumb distinguished himself as a pro in underground communications. He was a great inspiration to all the other POWs and served as chaplain for two years. Since his return home, Plumb has captivated more than 5,000 audiences in almost every industry around the world with stories that parallel his POW experience with the challenges of everyday life.

BTU #281 - 30 Year Navy Veteran to Lockheed Martin (Chuck Hollingsworth)

BTU #281 - 30 Year Navy Veteran to Lockheed Martin (Chuck Hollingsworth)

Why Listen:
After a 30-year Navy career, Chuck made his transition into the corporate world. We talk about what that transition was like, and how leadership differs inside of the military vs. outside of the military. We talk about his role in Corporate Strategy & Business Development at Lockheed Martin, and how the collateral jobs we did in the military may play a bigger role in our career choice than we often realize. We talk about the breadth of skills Veterans bring to their employers, and how to communicate this in interviews. We also take a detailed look at the incredible breadth of opportunity at Lockheed Martin, and what they’re doing to support the military community. Lockheed Martin employs over 22,000 Vets, and just last year they had 19,000 connections with Veterans, with 170 events and 3,500 Veterans hired.

About Chuck:
Chuck Hollingsworth is part of Lockheed Martin’s Corporate Strategy and Business Development, where he focuses on strategic customer relationship development, corporate orders growth and focus programs, and several functional development courses such as the Doing Business Overseas Institute. He started out at the US Naval Academy, after which he served as an officer in the Navy for over 30 years. This service includes serving as Chief of Staff to the Chief of Naval Air Training, with oversight of all undergraduate Navy flight training, as well as the Navy Flight Demonstration Team (Blue Angels.) It also includes being a responder to support in the aftermath of the USS Cole attack. And it includes being the, immediately after 9/11, being dispatched to Islamabad, Pakistan where, at the Pakistan government’s request, he served as the principle U.S. military liaison to coordinate combat operations. through Pakistan into Afghanistan. Chuck has worked at Lockheed Martin for over five years

BTU #278 - The Rotary to Airline Group (Erik Sabiston)

BTU #278 - The Rotary to Airline Group (Erik Sabiston)

Why Listen:
In this interview, Erik talks about the challenges the airline industry is facing, with an extreme shortage of personnel anticipated in the future. He talks about the Rotary Airline Group, which exists to help members of the military - with ANY background - to enter into this industry. He talks about why Veterans may love this industry, and how he can commute to work for free… from pretty much anywhere in the world.

About Erik:
Erik Sabiston is the Founder and President of Rotary to Airline Group, whose mission is to significantly increase the footing of military and civilian helicopter aviators in the commercial airlines. He is also the Co-Producer and Military Technical Advisor of Strong Eagle Media, where he has worked on four documentaries. And he is the author of the #1 Amazon bestselling military book "Dustoff 7-3 - Saving Lives Under Fire inAfghanistan”. He served in the Army for over 14 years, as an Enlisted Navy Reserves (cook), enlisted Regular Army (Crewchief), Blackhawk Instructor and Standardization Pilot

BTU #126 - Airlines, E-Learning & finding excellence in VERY different industries (Nicholas Loudon)

BTU #126 - Airlines, E-Learning & finding excellence in VERY different industries (Nicholas Loudon)

In this interview we discuss a variety of topics relevant to veterans in any industry. Nick has great advice for veterans about checking one's ego at the door, rolling up one's sleeves and doing whatever it takes to improve whatever task you're given. He shows how a willingness to learn has allowed him to transition - and be successful in - wildly different industries. And how a mindset of happiness, learning and humility can make all the difference.