Reference no: EM132709015

Wal-Mart, which lacked leadership in store management positions in 2008, decided to hire soldiers. The company sent staff in charge to the US military recruitment fair, hired 150 officers, and then attached mentors in the store to learn store work. Wal-Mart argued that learning about retail-something the company can easily teach-has gained top-notch leaders who can do their jobs at any time. Other companies have recently hired soldiers, including GE, Home Depot, Loews, Stape Farm Insurance, Merck and Bank of America.

It's no surprise that companies look for troops to find leader candidates. Classical books and seminars encourage leaders to think like grandchildren or military commanders like Norman Schwartzkov. And military berets have various skills through experience. General Dave Petraeus said, "Is there any place in a business where a 22-year-old or 23-year-old can lead 35 or 40 people on the crossroads of life? Apart from everything else, their every move is monitored. The harsh experiences they have to overcome will change themselves". Military officers are also often accustomed to working under extreme stress, having a high sense of responsibility, making decisions in suboptimal situations.

But they too have something to learn from their new job. Some of them will find it uncomfortable to lead people like geek programmers (working at odd times and wearing lazy but contributing more than average employees to the company's performance). In fact, companies like Google don't have the kind of command system familiar to military officers. Nevertheless, in the near future, there will be a large influx of military leaders who have finished testing on the battlefield and ready to jump into corporate work, and most companies will try to hire them.

Question 1: Compare the similarities and differences between military leaders and private business leaders.

Question 2: What are the conditions or circumstances under which military leaders can demonstrate leadership in a company? Conversely, what do military leaders need to learn from private companies?