From Hero to Zero and Back!: Lessons From a Veteran's Civilian Employment Experience

This book is written for Veterans retiring or separating from the Military. Little has prepared us for life “after we put away the uniform”. It is a story borne of lessons learned from failure followed by recovery and ultimate redemption. Following 35 successful years in the Army, Steve was fired from his first civilian job. To help you in your journey, this is his story. We may feel we are alone in this transition, but over 50,000+ Veterans annually retire from the military and transition to civilian life, many of whom will struggle in commercial management positions. A common concern is we lack the needed awareness and skills to be successful in what is for us a strange new world. To help you in your journey, Steve reflects on his seven years as a civilian businessman and compares the two environments to share lessons learned. After describing his release from his first civilian job, Steve begins a thoughtful assessment of how to become more successful moving forward. He believes that while Servicemembers have much to provide, they also have much to learn before they can parlay their time in uniform into successful civilian careers. Using vignettes and his personal experiences the author builds a rich lore of common sense coaching to guide the prospective former military leader through the thicket of complexity obscuring and complicating the transition. Steve believes the key to strong civilian careers begins by studying how to interact, communicate, and relate to new civilian counterparts. While the author is primarily focused on speaking to Veterans, civilian leaders also have much to learn from this story. They will gain valuable insights to assist transitioning Veterans by learning both the vulnerabilities and needs of potential new Veteran associates. As Americans we can all learn from this candid story of initial failure followed by thoughtful self-examination leading to ultimate success in transitioning to a new way of life. Join the quest!

Steve Speakes is a proud Army Veteran with 35 years Service. For over 4 years he has been the President and CEO of a company making rough terrain equipment for the US DOD and the commercial marketplace located outside of San Antonio, Texas. His final Army assignment was as a lieutenant general assigned as the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Programs, G8, retiring in 2009. As the Army G8 he was responsible for the Army's financial strategy and equipping the force. Following his transition from the military, he began his civilian experience with an opportunity to serve as USAA's Executive Vice President for Strategy and External Affairs. After three years in the job, Steve was let go, free to learn from his mistakes and try another corporate experience. Shortly thereafter he became the CEO of Kalmar Rough Terrain Center. He has lead the Company through a comprehensive transformation featuring new products, organizational restructuring, and building new company values and operating systems. He is proud of his combined commercial and military leadership experience and speaks frequently on the challenges experienced by today's Veterans as the re-enter civilian society.