“Bringing discipline, strategy, and elite team building from the armed forces to the boardroom.”
For Scott J Boulas, the lessons learned as a Junior Military Officer have proven invaluable throughout his accomplished business career. Currently serving as the CEO North America of MROpen Evo, an Open MRI device company, Scott has harnessed his military experience to achieve growth and success across various executive roles.
In sharing his key takeaways from the armed forces, Scott provides invaluable insights for business leaders and entrepreneurs looking to lead their teams to victory.
Gaining a Strategic Advantage
The first lesson Scott highlights is the military concept of reconnaissance – thoroughly gathering intelligence before engaging in any operation.
“In the military, every time you go on a mission you want to know as much as you can about the enemy – how large are they, where are they positioned, what they appear to be doing, is there a way I can gain an advantage,” Scott explains. “Well, business is a lot like that.”
He compares comprehensive market research, testing messages and branding, and understanding customer pain points to military reconnaissance. Just as this intelligence gathering is mission-critical for the armed forces, Scott emphasizes it’s a vital starting point for business success.
“There’s no substitute for speaking with your clients, customers, and prospective customers and understanding the issues they’re facing, what are the problems they’re having, what are the alternative solutions to yours, what are the pros and cons,” he asserts. “These things are all like reconnaissance and these things all help you be successful in business.”
Build Elite Teams With Specialized Expertise
The second military-honed business strategy Scott details is creating elite teams, similar to the U.S. Army Special Forces or Navy SEALs.
He notes these specialized military units comprise experts across myriad crucial roles – weapons, demolitions, communications, medical support. According to Scott, the same targeted expertise strategy applies in assembling business teams.
“In business, it all starts with the quality of people and having the right people expert at the right jobs,” Scott states. “Being an expert is not about doing 10,000 things five times each. Being an expert is doing the right, most important, highest priority things 10,000 times each.”
Provide Commander’s Intent for Mission Success
The third concept Scott highlights from his military experience is “commander’s intent.”
He explains that while military operations involve detailed planning, the most important facet is outlining the end goal and desired outcomes before engaging – and allowing teams flexibility in how they achieve it.
“It’s the opposite of micromanagement,” says Scott. “Basically, what it says is don’t do all the detailed planning, tell them what success looks like in the next period a year from now, next quarter, 3 years from now. Define it, get a visual of it, communicate it clearly to your team, and then let them have the innovation, initiative and creativity about how best to go about reaching your commander’s intent or your intent as a founder.”
Takeaways for Business Leaders
In sharing principles honed from his military service, Scott provides a blueprint for how business leaders can emulate proven armed forces strategies. From comprehensive market intelligence to building specialized teams to providing high-level guidance, his insights showcase how these concepts translate to startup and business success.
For entrepreneurs and founders, Scott emphasizes that applying these strategies comes down to understanding customers, hiring expertise, and effectively communicating vision. By taking lessons from reconnaissance to elite teams to commander’s intent, business leaders can lead their own forces to victory.
Beyond his role as the CEO of MROpen Evo, Scott founded and serves as CEO of New Growth Strategies, a sales and marketing consulting firm focusing on small and mid-sized businesses. He aims to share his insights and expertise with emerging business leaders across industries.
“If you’re a small to mid-sized business owner or founder and you think I can add some value, please reach out,” says Scott. “I’d love to hear from you.”
To learn more about Scott J Boulas and his approach, check out his LinkedIn profile.
