For any of you military buffs out there, you may find this interesting. I have been told that many business people find it difficult to understand how to translate military training to ‘the real world of business.’ And yet, it is so fundamental it is hard to imagine how one could not see the direct correlation. Discipline, detailed planning, execution, training, training and more training, but more important than any specific drill or exercise – one of the greatest assets that the military and most specifically, West Point can provide an individual is a guiding philosophy about accountability.

As a cadet at West Point one of the earliest lessons taught is that at a certain point in their training, there are only 4 possible answers that they may give to a superior:

Yes, Sir / Maam
No, Sir / Maam
I don’t understand, Sir / Maam
No Excuse, Sir / Maam

What is so important about this exercise and experience is that it engrains in the cadet/soldier that there is no time to waste coming up with a lengthy back story as to why you could not accomplish something. The philosophy is that you focus 100% of you time and effort figuring out a way to successfully achieve the task at hand, period.

To many, it may seem overly rigid or unrealistic, but the idea is that the “Long Gray Line’ has and will continue to train its cadets and future soldiers with a no holds bar – no excuse mentality and philosophy.
More business owners could benefit from adapting such a mentality. It does not mean that mistakes won’t happen; it just prepares the organization better for when things go wrong.

Countless hours and days are wasted in corporate America by subordinates and/or senior management spinning their brains to come up with the logical, rational and believable excuse as to why something can’t or won’t get accomplished. By creating a culture in which total 100% accountability is the status quo, an organization can insulate itself somewhat from this ‘cover my butt’ mentality.

The environment that a business creates for its employees is so important because it lays the foundation for everything that is to come. If an organization is enlightened enough and strong enough to integrate this type of ethical conduct into the fabric of the company, in which every person is truly accountable, the reality is, that you can create a much more productive company and one in which individuals police themselves. They understand this code and know that if they are to be successful, absolute adherence to this code is essential. (Reader survey: Have any readers found that there were times when you drew upon your military experience in solving a complex problem in corporate America?)

If you have a question for the Maniacal Marketer, please send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Christine Regan is the president of Redlake, Inc, www.redlake.tv, a marketing and sales agency in New York.