Alex Fink - Leadership Advice from a US Army General

Orion's The Weighing Machine

Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Alex Fink, Retired US Army Major General and former Chief Marketing Officer for the US Army. General Fink last served as the Army’s Chief Marketing Officer and is credited with reinventing the classic “Be All You Can Be” campaign. General Fink served for over 33 years in a variety of domestic and overseas operational and strategic leadership positions. General Fink also serves on USO’s Midwest Region Advisory Board and as an Executive Board Member for the Boy Scout’s of America’s Pathway to Adventure Council.

• [04:27] - General Fink’s professional background and how he straddled both private and military roles over the course of his career.
• [07:12] - General Fink’s thoughts on the geopolitical crisis happening in the Middle East and what it might mean for the US Military Forces?
• [11:47] - What are some of the recruiting challenges that the US Army currently faces and why?
• [17:41] - Learn more about the “Be All You Can Be” marketing campaign that General Fink spearheaded for the Army.
• [24:11] - What does General Fink believe goes into effective leadership?
• [27:24] - How does General Fink define culture and why is it so critical to developing and leading successful teams?
• [34:22] - How does General Fink approach innovation and how does he approach building a creative environment that fosters innovation for his team?
• [38:15] - What has General Fink been up to since retiring from the US Army and what are his plans moving forward?
• [40:20] - What is currently his favorite investment idea and why?

Quotes

[26:15] - “I think also, depending on the scope of influence…the rules associated with your personal brand of leadership also set the standard for others to follow, in that they instill a sense of predictability…The organization [will know have] a feeling on how you make decisions, thereby instilling trust and confidence. It also further empowers decentralized decision making…which I’ve always tried to do, is push decisions to the level that’s closest to the challenge or the problem. ” ~ Alex Fink

[32:04] - “You can’t just say, ‘hey…this is our culture, this is what we are going to be about’ [and] put it on a bunch of cards and pass them out and think it’s just going to last. It’s something that has to be constantly nurtured and reinforced…with examples.” ~ Alex Fink

Links

• Alex Fink on LinkedIn
• “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve
• "Boom" by POD
• "Uncaged" by Zac Brown Band
  "Game of Thrones Theme" by Tomas Hilber

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