What’s it take to be a Navy Seal?

Recently, while working with a government client, I struck up a conversation with an ex-Navy recruiter. He shared a story about a recent change in the ideal profile for a Navy SEAL. Apparently, the most fertile ground for finding elite candidates has traditionally been high school and collegiate athletics. Recruiters have long spent considerable time and energy looking for the cream of the crop to fill the ranks. As you might imagine, they targeted the top swimmers from the top college programs in the nation, since the job of a SEAL requires surviving aquatic conditions most of us would consider impossible.

Unfortunately, two-thirds of candidates wash out of the program, requiring considerable investment that is eventually lost. So recently the Navy commissioned the Gallup organization to conduct an analysis of the SEALS to identify what separates the elite from the very good.

While collegiate swimmers made the list, they were not at the top. Football, baseball, and basketball players weren’t even on the radar. Instead, the best candidates played water polo. But close behind were triathletes, and others in sports that have nothing to do with water at all. Lacrosse. Rugby. Boxing. Wrestling.

But the most surprising thing? Athletes who played chess were three times as likely to succeed as those who did not.

On the surface, it seems odd. But after a thoughtful analysis, it’s clear why. The sports listed require incredible stamina, endurance, and the ability to take a beating. Couple that with mental agility and you have an ideal candidate for SEAL excellence.

Once you read the study results, it makes perfect sense, but my guess is that recruiters never used to ask about chess.

The same thing happens in our organizations. When making decisions, we utilize experience and “common sense” to develop criteria for the decision, but often times the criteria aren’t really those which will predict the most successful outcome. To guard against this problem, consider the following actions:

1. Ask, “Why are we making this decision?”: Answering this question helps you identify which criteria will be most important. It sounds simple, but if you are looking to select the best IT consulting firm because your current resources are not delivering fast enough and leading to project delays, then “speed” will be one of your key criteria.

2. Study Success: Let’s face it, sometimes even expert opinions can be wrong. When possible, examine past decisions to identify which characteristics were the real differentiators for success. This helps clarify the criteria that are truly relevant in the decision, and which ones seem like common sense, but really have no bearing on success.

3. Get Clear on Your Top Three: Malcom Gladwell’s book Blink offers many examples of those who found success trusting their gut in decision making. However, the examples also show that those who are successful are experts who can sift through mountains of data and find the few key markers of success. Before drowning in an ocean of data, consult your experts to identify the top three criteria essential criteria, and focus your information gathering there.

At LifeWork Associates, we have nearly two decades of experience helping our clients quickly identify the root cause of problems and implement effective solutions. And if you are looking for your own “Coffee Cup Moment”, give us a call. We'd love to help!

*Post shared courtesy of our partners at Action Management Associates. Check them out

Study Article (published in March 2010): http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/15/navys-seriously-sports/

A few years ago I remember sitting at home with a sick kid. Picture it. He’s six years old. Today is PE day at school - Jake’s favorite - but he’s on the couch with a nasty stomach bug. The poor guy is miserable. It’s times like these where you wish you had a magic wand to make illness go away.

Now, imagine a doctor came to you and wanted to inject your first-grader with HIV?

That’s what happened to the parents of little Emma Whitehead. At age 5, Emma was diagnosed with leukemia. For over a year doctors tried a variety of treatments, including two rounds of chemotherapy, but nothing worked. They were running out of options.

That’s when the doctors approached Kari and Tom Whitehead proposing a radical treatment. They wanted to inject Emma with HIV – a virus that normally invades the T-cells in our blood that are responsible for fighting what ails us, rendering us unable to fight infection.

With Emma’s leukemia, the B-cells in her blood (and the T-cells’ crime fighting partner) turn malignant. The doctors needed a way to attack the B-cells to get rid of the disease. The T-cells could do the job, but they needed some help.

So, as a last-ditch effort, they injected a special “disabled” form of HIV. In its new form, the HIV virus still invades the T-cells, but it doesn’t destroy them. Instead, it modifies them, allowing them to produce a special protein that enables them to attach to the B-cells and kill them.

The treatment was a risk. After putting the modified T-cells back into Emma’s body, she became terribly ill and nearly died. But today, she is happily bouncing around her house, leukemia-free. It’s a miracle of innovation that turns conventional wisdom on its head. There’s a lot to be learned from Emma’s story. Here are three key aspects that you can apply the next time you are searching for innovative solutions.

1. Focus on the Positive: Rather than throwing out ideas that will not work, focus on what is good about them, and brainstorm ways to hang on to the positive aspects of the solution while minimizing or eliminating the drawbacks. (HIV isn’t all bad)

2. Defer Judgment: We often judge ideas as they come up. Worse yet, we discuss how we might implement them. This prematurely shuts down the flow of new ideas. Instead, make sure you set aside time to generate ideas without discussing the details or implementation potential. (Human nature has a bias for action and/or disregard for new and unusual ideas. Fight the urge.)

3. Force Connections: Research shows that groups fare better than individuals when it comes to innovation. This is due to the interaction of our unique perspectives. Build upon this by forcing connections between ideas. How can we use our competition to our advantage? Who else has solved a problem like this in a different industry? What can we adapt from nature that might help us?

At LifeWork Associates, we have nearly two decades of experience helping our clients quickly identify the root cause of problems and implement effective solutions. So what are you waiting for? If you would like to explore strategies to get to the bottom of your own mysteries, give us a call. We'd love to help!

*Post shared courtesy of our partners at Action Management Associates. Check them out!