You do not want everyone on your team, but some you do!

The hard and fast about real intention.

As I continue my journey into entrepreneurship or to serve, I have come upon many people with many different plans to grow themselves in small business or to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. The unfortunate thing I have learned is many times, their intentions are not aligned properly or they are not action oriented people which becomes a drag on the entity.

For these reasons, I am very selective in who I now choose to align with. I have picked a very good friend I served with to be Chief of Operations on the board of our pending non-profit for a reason. I know he is trustworthy and honest. He and I spent a week hiking in Superior National Forrest with others to discuss our way forward and what we would and would not accept. I know his skills and expertise and he knows mine. I have hand selected people who will move the organization in the right direction over time and Jim is one I can count on.

One red flag I look for in selecting good people is If you are money focused only, you are not even close to understanding what passion and purpose is about. Chasing Benjamins will never fulfill your dreams and only creates an expectation that will never be reached. Go make your money and chase that all you want. It will not in the end survive a strong why.

Picking others to be on your team requires a sincere conversation about why they will want to partner with you and what the win/win is for their time is. Your time is the most valuable asset. I have begun to network in the business circles again looking for the right people who possess the right virtues, alignment while trying to find others to match my drive and purpose. For some reason, its easy for me when I get into groups to decide within a few minutes if there is a second connection necessary or not. I enjoy all people but there are some that just would not fit to be on the team.

Not everyone will have your best interest at heart so be selective

Keeping politics and personal preferences out of it is key. I do not however leave that out of a conversation outside of my for profit business if it seems important to the other person. It must however not be part of a non-profit so we refrain from comments when engaging during events or non-profit activities.

If it is brought up, we provide a no comment approach to protect why we are really there which is to help veterans through education and a blueprint for their personal and professional growth. If there is a huge disconnect, its easy to move on and remove myself from any energy I feel is not going to be of value. I appreciate their input and thank them for any concerns but I do not have to move forward in a direction I choose not to.

The world of being PC is peppered with anger, harm and misdirection as well as untruths. There is no place for it in finding good team members and I fix it by eliminating it from my space.

Lets not ignore that currently we live in very difficult times. It might seem harsh to tell others this is not the time or place to discuss certain topics but that is a policy that protects when necessary. You have to know others real intentions in wanting to be a part of your venture. Not just what they tell you, but also in their actions. If red flags begin to fly, just make the correction and move on. You own no one anything.

If they are genuine from the beginning, honest, have integrity, have values and truly are supportive and caring about what it is you do and what they can bring to the team, then by all means give them a shot. If that changes in the course of doing business, you will see it in their behaviors and actions. Being a good judge of character takes practice. I have had to close a few doors by being taken by others. Learn to be aware of your circles and it will be worth the time you took paying attention.

I place high regard on protecting what I have built and building a circle that is focused on our mission to build resilience for veterans. When we launch, I will be going full tilt on event driven and personally driven educational content for those willing to come along.

It does not matter if you served two years or 30. You can get from where you are to where you want to be by getting help from others to change what you do not have, like or care about and replace it with what you want and like and care about in return. I also have found great result in those who support veterans who have not served. Their skill sets are welcomed and so is their knowledge.

Find your tribe and be ready for discovery. If you have an ego that says you have already arrived, no need to apply.

For Jim and his family, I welcome them to the team and our next few years will prove to be worth the endeavor. We served together prior and are about to serve the community together in a different capacity. I am looking forward to it.

I have been in the rabbit hole for months and months building, preparing and getting everything legal to hit the go button. We're so close! Let go!

Stay it the Fight!

Mark Green J.D.