This Summer, Don’t Just Post a Flag.

Memorial Day is often framed as a day to honor the fallen. But for those of us in leadership – especially in business – it’s also an opportunity to reflect on how we lead the living.

“Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way.”
– General George S. Patton, Jr.

This isn’t just a bold quote. It’s a filter. A challenge. A gut check.

Too many people hold leadership titles but duck the responsibilities that come with them: direction, decisiveness, and pressure-tested courage. If you’re running a company, leading a team, or shaping a culture — Memorial Day should hit you differently.

Some of your team members have worn the uniform. Some of them still carry the weight of that service. All of them are watching how you lead.

Don’t Just Honor Veterans. Lead Like One.

One of the biggest frustrations veterans face at work isn’t skill gaps — it’s unclear leadership.

“Mission-focused execution and a sense of team-first accountability are hallmarks of military leadership — and often missing in corporate life.”
— Harvard Business School, 2021

Veterans don’t miss the deployments. They miss the clarity. The camaraderie. The mission. Most companies struggle not with talent — but with alignment. That's a leadership problem.

What That Looks Like in Practice:

1. Purpose Before Process

Mission-driven leadership starts with meaning. Not metrics. Not memos.

In the military, people don’t just follow orders – they follow the why behind them. As Freddie Kim writes in “Finding Chemlight Batteries,” every Army mission includes a task and a clear purpose. Without that purpose, all the effort – sweating, running, and grinding in the dark – feels pointless. Unless, of course, you're pranking them.

In business, the same holds: Teams that understand why they do what they do move faster, stay resilient, and make smarter decisions under pressure. Then, hold them accountable. What is your mission?

Try this:
If your team can’t summarize this quarter’s mission in one sentence, that’s not their fault — it’s yours.

2. Standards that Scale Trust

Trust isn’t built on charisma — it’s built on consistency. Veterans spot inconsistency fast – and so does the rest of your team.

Veterans are trained to operate under shared expectations, not shifting rules based on preference or power. When business leaders model that consistency, they earn trust. And trust drives execution.

In the Build-Your-A-Team (BYAT) Podcast with guest CEO Jim O’Farrell, Freddie and Jim joke about holding his team accountable because “she knows where the bodies are buried.” But the message is clear: Jim creates a culture where values of the six C’s drive that performance and trust – consistently. 

Try this:
Audit your culture. Are your standards clear, consistent, and enforced? Or do mood and seniority get a pass?

3. Stewardship, Not Ego

Great leaders don’t build empires. They build people.

Military leadership is often temporary – a role you hold for the good of the mission and the team. Title doesn’t earn trust. Neither does veteran status, frankly. But showing up, listening hard, and making good calls under pressure? That does.

We recently put this into practice with a workshop at MilSpec Talent. Each member was evaluated – peer to peer – on how well we lived out values like humility, accountability, and ownership. Titles didn’t shield anyone. That’s because real authority isn’t owned; it’s borrowed. Earned. Re-earned. And never assumed.

Try this:
Train your replacements. Invite challenge. Take feedback. If your team is weaker when you’re gone, you didn’t lead — you hoarded.

Final Word

If Memorial Day reminds us of anything, it’s that leadership is a responsibility, not a perk. Veterans understand this instinctively. 

As a CEO or business leader, you’re in the business of building teams that perform under pressure too. For example: 

• Do You Say No to a Lucrative Client That Doesn’t Fit the Mission?

Big logo. Big dollars. Big distraction. They don’t align with your values or your strategy — but the revenue bump looks good on paper.

The tough call:
Say no. Say why. Say it proudly. Your team is watching. Letting in misaligned clients sends the message that money matters more than mission. That breaks trust fast.

• Do You Raise Prices — and Risk Losing Longtime Clients?

Margins are tight, and your costs have risen. You know your pricing hasn’t kept up, but you’re afraid of backlash from loyal customers.

The tough call:
Raise prices and raise your value. Script the conversation with clarity and conviction. The clients you want to keep will respect it — and the ones who don’t were never growth-aligned anyway.

• Do You Kill a ‘Pet Project’ That’s Been Stalled for 18 Months?

You’ve sunk time, money, and maybe a little ego into a side initiative — a new product line, a tech build, a services pivot. But it’s dragging, and your team is losing clarity on the core business.

The tough call:
Kill it, clean. Don’t relabel or reposition. Reallocate capital and attention to what’s working now. Letting go signals maturity to your team — and gives them permission to stop protecting sunk costs, too.

Of course, these anecdotes sound simple on paper. Maybe simplicity is the answer. Integrity, honor, accountability. Many CEOs attest to core values that drive their business, making the tough calls, and stepping out of the way to empower the business. 

That’s what builds teams that thrive long after you're out of the room.

This summer, don’t just post a flag. 

“Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way.”
– General George S. Patton, Jr.