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Navy SEAL Finds New Way to Serve with Dana De Coster
124 Plays3 years ago
In this podcast Guardian Grange founder, Mark "Matz", chats about military service and transition back into society with former teammate Dana De Coster who is a retired US Navy SEAL Commander with 20 years in leading and synchronizing fast-paced teams on high-stakes missions. During his military career, Dana experienced first hand the power and influence of harnessing advanced data analytics with an intuitive user interface, and he has merged his former skills into the civlian marketplace as the co-inventor of PATCH and co-founder and COO of Roper Solutions, Inc. where he serve a new mission. Roper Solutions, Inc. is a woman and veteran-owned technology company that is revolutionizing the IoT and wearables market with high performance, cost-effective sensing and communicating technologies.
We dive into the PATCH technology he and his partner Maeve Garigan, CEO use to track cattle for ranching. This same technology is the backbone for providing off-grid encrypted communication ability through cell phones for hikers, hunters and outdoor enthusiasts.
PATCH is currently avialable for pre-sale through a Kickstarter campaign found here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danadecoster/patch-encrypted-off-grid-texting-and-gps-made-in-usa
Find more information about PATCH and links to Roper Solutions below:
But first, thank you for listening to the Guardian Grange podcast. We are a grass roots movement sowing the seeds for a decentralized, local-focused, family-oriented network of food sovereign communities. Please find us on social media and join our email list to stay updated with our projects as we grow. Feedback is always welcome and encouraged!
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More buzz about PATCH
The technology trailblazer, Roper, has launched a new product to keep your team connected even in the most remote locations. Styled as a US flag, PATCH is an ultra-slim and waterproof device that is made in the US and uses the same wireless charging as a smartphone. Packed with the latest encrypted technology, PATCH pairs with your smartphone so you can text, share GPS and maps, and monitor your team’s activity—all without cell service, Wi-Fi or satellite.
Roper is a hardware-software company focused on high performance encrypted sensors for rural and off-grid markets, all proudly designed and built in the USA. Invented by a US Navy SEAL and a DOD engineer, our flagship product PATCH is the ultra-lightweight, low profile, high perfor
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Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
What's
Introduction and Previous Episode Recap
00:00:02
Speaker
up, friends and fellow humans? Welcome to another Guardian Grange podcast. It's been a minute since our last one, which was actually only released on YouTube back in February 26th of 2022. It's titled Likehearted Part 1. It's a short one. It's like less than 10 minutes. So if you want to check that one out, it's over on our YouTube at Guardian Grange.
Guest Introduction: Dana DeCoster and Roper Solutions
00:00:32
Speaker
But today we have a friend I haven't talked to in a long time from the teams when I first got in to team five, Dana DeCoster, who is a retired US Navy SEAL commander. And now he's the co-founder and chief operations officer of Roper Solutions, Inc.
00:00:56
Speaker
which we're going to talk to him about because that's what he's doing now. This is his new way to serve. He's building a technology company.
00:01:17
Speaker
that's revolutionizing the internet of things and wearables market. His partner is a fellow veteran woman. So they're a woman and veteran owned technology company and they're focusing on creating cost-effective high performance sensing and communicating technologies. And he's also the co-inventor of Patch which is one of their
00:01:49
Speaker
technologies, which is pretty cool. It allows you to communicate encrypted off grid. Um, so we're going to chat about that and go into some interesting stuff. This is going to be a shorter conversation today, trying to keep them around 30 ish minutes. And also,
00:02:15
Speaker
I got a new Mac computer and unfortunately I couldn't get my nice microphone to work when we were on our call recording this podcast over the computer so my audio is going to be a little bit
Dana's Navy SEALs Experience and Transition to Civilian Life
00:02:33
Speaker
less quality wise than it is right now so fair warning that my nice silky smooth sounding voice right now is going to change a little bit but Dana sounds good so that's what really matters and without further ado let's get into it.
00:02:53
Speaker
All right, so good to chat with you Dana, man. What was it then a link up over LinkedIn there technology in a minute? Absolutely, Mark. Yeah, I mean, it's funny. I like a lot of our teammates. I seem to be able to reconnect on LinkedIn. So I guess it's good to see that all of us know how to actually use a computer. Yeah, I don't have my normal like sound setup. So we're just going through the computer like we chatted about the
00:03:22
Speaker
max always change their input towards them. So my system doesn't really work right now. Hopefully this will be good. Yeah, we can work a little bit. Yeah, right. Right. Exactly. But yeah, it's been a while. I mean, shoot, I think it's I mean, it's directly right. I don't know. From our time at team five. I mean, that was what was that like, 2005, 2005, I think is when I left.
00:03:52
Speaker
I'd have to look at my paddle over here. Let's look, I can do a quick, it's actually hidden over there, but yeah, when I left team five. So that was a great, great time, man. Yeah, man. And then, um, where'd you go from five?
00:04:05
Speaker
So from five, I went over to Bud's basic underwater demolition seal at the schoolhouse. And I did a quick, maybe just a few months as the second phase division officer, so running the dive portion of the training, and then moved over to run seal qualification training, which was definitely more my speed and kind of where I was at in my headspace, because that was after we'd all just gotten back from that Iraq deployment.
00:04:35
Speaker
I mean, one of three or five total. But anyways, but at that time in my career, right, you know, that was after me doing my platoon commander. So it was, you know, going in the second phase, just, you know, it was like,
00:04:50
Speaker
being on a high-speed train and then all of a sudden
Roper Solutions and Innovations in IoT for Agriculture
00:04:52
Speaker
the brakes just got applied. So SQT at least was great where you're back kind of doing a version of a workup, which every SEAL platoon goes through as they prepare for deployment, but this time you're training the next generation. And so similar blocks of training, land warfare, dive,
00:05:12
Speaker
close quarters, combat, all that stuff. So that was that was more kind of my speed. So it was a great time. So I was there for two years. And then then I went this good idea X. Oh, then I went to still team three. So yeah, solid. Yeah, man, that's cool. I like I can see where buds would be kind of a bit of a buzzkill. You know, I mean, you're just
00:05:40
Speaker
going hardcore and then very repetitive. But yeah, SQT is you got to run the gamut of all our skills. Exactly. Exactly.
00:05:50
Speaker
Yeah, it was good to give back to, you know, just because literally just coming off of that deployment. I mean, I, we got back in September, and then I checked in in October. There was no TLD back then, right? There's no kind of decompression. It was so, so it was definitely felt like a
00:06:10
Speaker
but it was good to give back. And then again, I finished my career as the director of training. So when I retired in 2019, it was kind of full circle, right? Where now I was the senior officer, you know, I was a commander at the time in 05 and overseeing all of that. So that was really kind of a great way to kind of finish it out. That's cool. So yeah, 2019. So it's pretty still decently fresh because three years, right?
00:06:38
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you're correct. It's fresh in terms of like when we do the math, but like how I feel I do feel
00:06:47
Speaker
Like, you know, it's been longer, right? And I think that's a good indicator that it was time for me to retire and get out, right? And that I had done everything that I wanted to do as a SEAL. Because, you know, even though it's only been three years removed, I do have to kind of like think about it like, wait, when did I actually retire? So I think that's, it's also a good indicator that I think that I'm doing something that I that I enjoy doing, you know, post career in
The Roper Tag: Cattle Tracking Technology
00:07:11
Speaker
the SEAL teams.
00:07:11
Speaker
Yeah. How, how was the, how was the transition for you? Yeah. So, I mean the transition absolutely was probably, was probably just like every.
00:07:21
Speaker
every person who transitions out of the military, right? And that is like, you gotta do some serious soul searching, right? Because, you know, serving my country as a Navy SEAL, right? That was something that I dreamed of as a kid. I was definitely that kid, right? That running around in the woods here in Texas, you know, playing, playing an army, playing all that, you know, playing, and was always really into the military.
00:07:48
Speaker
And so, you know, then later on, as I get older, it was, you know, the SEAL teams and then go into getting an NROTC scholarship to the University of Texas, you know, where now I'm on the officer track, still want, you know, want to be a SEAL officer. So it's always something I wanted to do. So, you know, it's kind of difficult to follow up that that dream career, you know, like,
00:08:10
Speaker
I got to do the job I always wanted to do. It was amazing for 20 years, working with amazing people like you, Mark, and all of our other teammates. Like many veterans, this transition out of active duty after 20 years of service is time for soul searching. I really wanted to make sure I could find a new meaningful path as a civilian.
00:08:36
Speaker
With that, I never let being a SEAL
Patch: Off-Grid Communication Device
00:08:40
Speaker
define me, so I had a lot of friends that I had still stayed in touch with and throughout my ones that I've grown up with and folks adjacently. The answer came over lunch in 2018 with a former colleague of mine. Her name is Maeve Garrigan and she was an engineer and a technology advisor
00:09:01
Speaker
to us. She worked at WarCon at the time, but she'd worked with some other elite military units. And so when I was the operations officer for Naval Special Warfare Group 1, which is overseeing all the West Coast SEAL team operations, her and I had worked on a project using backpackable drones for SEAL operations.
00:09:24
Speaker
So, you know, enjoyed working with her on that. So when she left, you know, we stayed in touch. And so, like I said, in 2018, we're having lunch and she's telling me this really interesting project that she's doing and that she had just received a $100,000 grant to develop a GPS ear tag for beef cattle, right? Which sounds crazy, right? But, you know,
00:09:49
Speaker
you and i know we've had no contract bad guys i will now i'm doing that with the cattle and so. You know natural conversations here towards you know what i was gonna do after retirement and we decided to go in the business together and that's cool and we started roper solutions in case any more company.
00:10:08
Speaker
We do business as Roper, and so we've got a smart ranch IoT Internet of Things with sensors for that use case. But then, because of both of our backgrounds, we knew that there were some other use cases.
00:10:27
Speaker
Because what we've developed is already really small, light, low power, rugged. And so the idea came to reskin the same technology as a wearable patch. So patches looks just like a patch, like an American flag patch.
00:10:45
Speaker
And it's something that folks can wear on their person or on their gear. And what it does is it provides a ad hoc mesh network where other patches in the network can communicate. It links to the user's smartphone or connects via Bluetooth and that's just for the interface and they can interpret what the patches are doing. But now you can share your position location, so GPS location.
00:11:11
Speaker
You can send text messages as well as activity monitoring and it's all encrypted. It's all wrapped in Type 1 256-bit encryption. That's cool. There's no need for any kind of...
00:11:26
Speaker
cell tower, radio, it's all just internal within that local system of patches. Is that correct? Yeah, correct. Yeah. So it's completely off grid. So no cell service, Wi-Fi or satellite. Yeah, definitely. Like we were chatting before and a lot of applications to that beyond, yeah, the beef cattle, which is cool, especially just even, you know, people who are hiking in the wilderness and with a group of people so they can stay connected and especially hunting. Yeah, I look at that because often we go and
00:11:56
Speaker
different areas and then you can at least communicate. That's pretty cool. So did you ever see, how did she get into the beef cattle thing? Was she like trying to figure this idea out or did she just kind of like happen into it? Yeah, yeah. No, that's a great question because, you know, her background
00:12:17
Speaker
is she grew up in Oregon and lived on a farm before going to college. And so she grew up in a very rural area. They had all kinds of animals to include beef cattle. So she had that kind of background growing up as a kid. And similarly, I'm from Texas, grew up in Texas.
Patch Device Specifications and Applications
00:12:36
Speaker
I had family members that had beef cattle, a grandfather by marriage who had beef cattle out in Waco, Texas, but it was mainly for like the ag exemption. And then, you know, my cousin, believe it or not, in South Florida, actually had ransomed cattle for a little bit just as, you know, little side gig. He's a firefighter. So, you know, he's got a schedule that allowed him to do that. But I was always on the peripheral, but at least growing up from Texas, you know, you see that stuff and put in fences and, you know, all those things. So it's kind of like,
00:13:05
Speaker
you know got to do the greatest job i wanted to do now i get to go back and do something that as a kid you think about being a cowboy right uh and uh and so on um so yeah so she had that background and then what she did is when she left uh government service she sold all her stuff
00:13:21
Speaker
It literally went on a sabbatical camping out in the national forest there in New Mexico. And just like she had done when we were working on that project with the packable drones, she stood up a working group. She started getting the edge to design again and just ended up meeting the former and now current, and then former at the time, or at the time was the Tech, the Cattle Raisers Association president in that New Mexico area. And then, you know,
00:13:51
Speaker
the outgoing and incoming and they got a whole bunch of cattlemen together and she set up a working group with them and just started doing what she would do with us, with operators like, hey, what are your pain points? What problems are you having? And so, yeah.
00:14:07
Speaker
Basically, it boiled down to they didn't know where their cows were, right? Where's the beef? And so they had significant losses due to theft, predation, and disease. And so they asked her, can you develop something that can help mitigate that? And she's like, I've developed weirder and stranger things. I'm pretty sure I can help out with that. And then, boom, the grant came in. And then the first prototype of our ROPR tag, the
00:14:33
Speaker
the wearable GPS tag was built. When was that built, that first house? 2018. And then it's gotten smaller and smaller, right? So now it's the size of a normal ear button that you see on beef cattle. So it's been really, really awesome. And that product line, we're going to be launching that here, US only.
00:15:01
Speaker
At the end of this year, around December timeframe, we'll start doing the pre-orders for that. And so yeah, I'm on that in the US only. So the neat thing too, a lot of folks kind of look at us and say, really, is that we're entirely made in the US. So all of our design and built is all done here in the US. So all of our board fabrication, all that stuff. Yeah. So that's a core principle dollars. We're not going to, that's just who we are, right?
00:15:25
Speaker
That's good. That's important. And it's also, I mean, you know, we see what's going on with supply chains and stuff. And, you know, it's good for the business, but it's also good keeping jobs and local and keeping our economy kind of healthy. You know, absolutely. Yeah, that's awesome. I like, I like when people are good at that, you know, keeping stateside because it's so, it's so easy to send stuff overseas and leverage the cheaper
00:15:55
Speaker
Um, stuff, but there's a, there's a greater cost, you know, that I think it's cool that you're thinking about that and doing it, you know, living that way, very admirable and it, uh, shows a lot of character. So I think that a lot.
00:16:10
Speaker
Thanks, Mark. All of our employees, all of everything. So it's exciting. But yeah, the tag was developed 2018, 2019, and then the first patch prototypes were built in 2021 for a SOCOM Special Operations Technology demonstration event that we got invited to.
00:16:34
Speaker
Patch design has now been
Kickstarter Campaign and Manufacturing Commitment
00:16:35
Speaker
refined to what we have right now, which is what we're launching our pre-sales. They're actually ongoing right now. We started a Kickstarter campaign. How long is that going to be going on, that Kickstarter?
00:16:51
Speaker
At Kickstarter, we've got till April 22nd. So just under two weeks, about two weeks left. So yeah, it's patchconnects.com is our website. So www.patchconnectsplodal.com. And on there is the link that takes you straight to the Kickstarter campaign.
00:17:13
Speaker
Or if folks are already familiar with Kickstarter, if you just Google patch or not Google, type in patch as far as the name of the campaign, it'll pop up. But yeah, we wanted to get these pre-sales going. Like I said, we've got a product. We're ready to sell it and get in the hands of folks that need it. And it was during that event
00:17:37
Speaker
you know, that special operations technology demonstration event that we learned kind of what you're talking about. A lot of the operators that were coming by that they do the assessments, because it's not just us that's there, it's multiple companies that are showing off their their latest technology. And you know, you get immediate feedback from, you know, your customer, right, which is these these operators, right. And every single one of them was like, I would love to take this out hunting.
00:18:00
Speaker
or, hey, can I use this? So we were getting all of these questions about use cases outside of the military. And that's when we realized, OK, we're on to something here. And so let's start these commercial civilian sales now, because we've got a lot of interest. So Kickstarter was our
00:18:23
Speaker
The decision behind that was because it already has the e-commerce stuff baked into it, so we don't have to build that entire website just yet. There's also some initial advertising since Kickstarter folks do go there to shop the latest technology before it hits the mainstream.
00:18:40
Speaker
And
Testing and Market Readiness of Patch
00:18:41
Speaker
how, as far as the company, how big or small are you, how long is your operation? Do you have investors kind of supporting or are you just really just grasping? Yeah, we're just between the grants and friends and family.
00:18:59
Speaker
I guess those are our investors, some friends that we've met along the way, which have been very helpful. But with the grants and some other prizes that we've won, I mean, despite COVID hitting, I think it's helpful when both founders are in their middle 40s. So we know how to be cash conscious and spend appropriately. And so yeah, so now we're at the point with these sales and
00:19:31
Speaker
for both launches to kind of look for strategic partnerships. Mainly, that's what we're looking for on the beef cattle side or the smart ranch side. And then with Patch, we've already got that out there. Yeah, no, it's exciting to see that.
00:19:51
Speaker
the beef cattle campaign is going to be focusing right now on the patch and that's going to be basically the first to market. Yeah, it's kind of like a flagship product if you will for right now because it's already, you know, we've already got it in its commercial package, right? Like it's ready. It's been tested, you know, all that. So it's exciting.
00:20:16
Speaker
So what was the testing process like? Did you have people going out in different conditions or how would that go?
00:20:25
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the first one, you know, because we reskinned the technology was the pallet study that we had done with the beef cattle. So the cows were wearing it, right? Because it's the same, you know, it's the same board that our custom board, which is our secret sauce, right. And that same board is what we then reskin for use in this enclosure, right, the flag enclosure. So and, you know, beef cattle are pretty hard on stuff. So that was a good first initial
00:20:51
Speaker
And then, yeah, it was myself and Maeve wearing the device and, you know, texting to each other. But yeah, and the patch is completely waterproof, right? You had to make sure it was that way, being a seal, right? Yeah, for sure. You just got to be able to go for a swim. Exactly. So, yeah, so the first, I guess, you know, technically the first folks were the beef cows that were wearing it and then after that was myself and Maeve.
00:21:18
Speaker
Nice. And just hiking out here in Central Texas, the terrain changes quickly, right? It can be really hilly, right? And then really flat.
00:21:28
Speaker
So we were able to demonstrate a point-to-point range of a mile and a half. Was that like line of sight? Yeah, so it creates a ad hoc mesh network. And so we'll address hops in kind of phase two, kind of like when we were talking about the Apple products, right? We're not going to change the charging plug, but we'll be adding. It'll get better each patch, right?
00:21:58
Speaker
Yeah, but right now it's a line of sight, a mile and a half, so three kilometer range. And that was in some rugged terrain too. So the terrain does dictate that, but like I said, we were able to get that in some pretty rugged areas out here. So we're happy about that. So it's definitely...
00:22:20
Speaker
the technology has its use cases. As long as folks understand what it can do and what it doesn't do, then it's just another piece of kit that seamlessly integrates into your gear. It weighs less than three ounces. As you know, when you're out there in the backcountry,
00:22:42
Speaker
you don't want to be loaded down with all kinds of gear. You want to be as light as possible.
Repurposing Military Skills in Civilian Life
00:22:46
Speaker
So, you know, it's another thing that you just slap on that doesn't really add anything. And it's something that, you know, would be very valuable tech tool in your kit. Yeah, it's good that uses the, everyone's got a little phone on them, usually wherever they're at. So, they can just use that, tap into that feature, which is pretty
00:23:05
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. It keeps the cost down too, then trying to make a whole separate unit. And the clutter, you know, it's like people have so much gear that's just like going overboard as far as like things doing similar stuff and this is kind of super surgical. Yeah, no, you nailed it. Yeah, that's our goal, right? Kind of, you know.
00:23:32
Speaker
be elegant solutions, right? So instead of, you know, just like you said, just cobbling things together. Yeah. So like it's good. What I've noticed as far as veterans getting out, obviously you had like, you felt really good with your time in and got ready to move on, but it's cool that you just stepped right into something that was basically, I mean,
00:23:56
Speaker
repurpose in some of your skills, you know, into a whole new area in the sector that is, you know, it's using those skills, but you're not doing the same thing that you are doing, which I notice is kind of like an issue because people either get back into a pattern or they're just missing work so much that what we used to do that it kind of has a sense of like purposelessness. So it's pretty awesome that like,
00:24:25
Speaker
that was able to happen for you and your partner there. Do you miss anything being out or do you feel like how do you feel about that? Yeah, yeah, no. I mean, I guess back to your thing. Yeah, it was neat to jump into something and you know, building patch has been a ton of work, right? But tremendous learning experience and
00:24:45
Speaker
you know, just like, you know, when you're in the teams, you know, when you see something broke, you want to fix it. So, you know, we've been looking at a lot of products, you know, there's a lot of products, and you know, you see a lot of hype, but not a lot of substance. So, you know, I'm proud, you know, that we're treating something purposeful, innovative. And that to me, you know, really, you know, he's got to really improve people's lives. And so to me, like,
00:25:11
Speaker
I'm filling that part. So I'm answering, you know, when you ask, like, what do you miss? So that part gets filled, right? That sense of service, right? Doing something, providing a real piece of technology that is actually, you know, actually works, right? That substance. And so that sense of service is there, you know, both on the patch and on the smart range side. And so, you know, what
00:25:35
Speaker
I was afraid I'd start missing was being around a bunch of, you know, high, you know, motivated individuals, right? Like in the city, those are the best, right? And, you know, you went like, you know, Casey point, right? You and I haven't, we haven't connected in a, in a years, right? But it's, you pick up right where you left off, right? This is your teammate, right? Um, and so I was admittedly a little nervous that I'd be missing that. Um, but,
00:25:59
Speaker
because I went in, I mean, I went to one of the good friend, right? Who I respect immensely. And so with her connections, my connections, you know, that's who we've brought on board to be employees in our company. And so now we are surrounded by these highly motivated individuals, right? None of them. I mean, I'm the only seal, right? But I still have,
00:26:22
Speaker
this amazing team um that's that's you know really passionate about what we're doing so i'm very lucky that um that the one thing that i was a little nervous about you know actually i was able to achieve that which is surrounding myself with great people right good americans and just good people so i'm very grateful for that but again i think it's key
00:26:45
Speaker
So go
Leadership Principles and Team Dynamics
00:26:46
Speaker
back when you are, when I was going through my transition, I just really focused that soul searching on like, what are my non-negotiables, right? And so by being true to that, I think I'm lucky that I've landed where I have. Yeah, for sure. And it sounds like it's
00:27:04
Speaker
It's not just a company, but it's a community, like you're saying, of people who are going in the same way. If I shared our company handbook with you, I think you would really like it. We spent just as much time on that as we have on designing some of our sensors.
00:27:23
Speaker
Yeah, we really want it because you can't afford to get that wrong when you hire somebody, right? You can't afford to get that wrong because there's studies and books you can read about how much hiring the wrong person ends up costing you, right? So that's kind of another skill that you and I, a lot of special operators have, especially in fields obviously as our background is you know how to read people and you know how to
00:27:49
Speaker
like, talk to them, right? When you're interrogating a bad guy, right? It's the same thing as having a conversation or an interview, right? With a potential employee. So, building that rapport with them and really going layers deep, not just like, hey, do you know how to use Microsoft, right? More of like, hey, tell me about a time that you didn't achieve a goal that you wanted, right? And then how did you handle that? And what did you do next, right? So, asking, you know, questions like that. And so,
00:28:17
Speaker
You know, we've been very deliberate in, you know, folks that we've hired because we want to make sure they meet our core values. And so it's been great, right? When you put that effort in, you're going to get good results. Yeah, it's important and it's a level of compassion and caring for the other person and yourself and the community that's being built or company or whatever. And yeah, I feel like
00:28:43
Speaker
it's been a bit lost in society. And because we come from where we come from, we're just used to operating with at a high level with a small group of people and everyone's got to be switched on. So we naturally are like encouraging that and filtering that filtering, filtering that out. So we have like, what I call, I like to call it like hearted because everyone's got their own version of, you know, creativity or craziness or quirks or something. But if we're on the same direction page,
00:29:10
Speaker
that's what makes a strong community. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Like, you know, just give the guys intent, right? Don't tell them how to do it. Just like, Hey, we need to go from here to here. And then that way you can make that creativity, you know, you can harness that, right? So, because there's multiple paths to go from here to here, right? So, um, so yeah, that's, you're absolutely right. Like we've taken that with me into this and,
00:29:36
Speaker
And again, the good thing too is my co-founder, right? Who's our CEO, Maeve. I mean, she came from that background too, even though she didn't wear the uniform, right? She still was, you know, she served, right? She was, you know, GS employee, you know? Yeah. So, um, but yeah, it's been, it's been really good. And you know, like you said, that shared heartedness, I say shared consciousness, like just getting everybody to, to like understand kind of where we're going, but then they've got the freedom to,
00:30:06
Speaker
Innovate on their own right get creative because it's so much easier. It's so much easier to pull somebody back if they like okay, you're getting a little you know, you know, it's so much easier to do that than it is to push them right sure so So yeah, we've The pushing it leads to like the whole kind of micromanagement structure which makes a very fragile Organization or team because it's all dependent on the person who's pushing the effort you only got a good point. Yeah, and then you're not doing
00:30:35
Speaker
you be in your highest utility and no one else, everyone else is pulling back. So it's like, it's like a shrinking energy. It's like expansion. You got to go, go grab someone who's like ran 10 miles and like, yo, a little bit. We're trying to keep up with you.
00:30:52
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And then you want the whole team to kind of be involved because you don't want it just to be a few folks, you know, then those go-to people like, you know, they get burned out, right? If they're always the go-to. So you got to make sure you elevate everybody's kind of baseline kind of skill set so that just like they taught us in the teams, right? If somebody goes down, you know, the next person can pick it up, right? They might not be
00:31:20
Speaker
the best because they haven't been looking at that problem the whole time, but they're definitely not going to fail. It might not look the same, but it doesn't mean it's wrong. Yeah. And that gets them like my philosophy on leadership basically is that a good actual leader is inspiring everyone to be a leader themselves. So it's more like a representative. And then you look at an organization or as
00:31:48
Speaker
leadership quality where it's like the dictator type of style or something. It just creates not a good environment that eventually breaks down and I was curious on your thoughts like when you look at a team, how much weight do you give? How much weight do you put on like having a really good leader or a really good team? You know what I mean? A really good group.
00:32:14
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, I think you can't have a good team if you have a bad leader, right? So, you know, the leader has to be, has to be good, right? Now that doesn't mean they have to have all the answers though, right? Like as a leader, I always mean, I know in our time, we were together in that platoon, that element, you know, was, you know, it was pretty new stuff. And there were so many times
00:32:41
Speaker
I would say, yeah, we can do that when our CEO or somebody would say, hey, can you guys do this? Absolutely. And then have to come back to the platoon space and be like, hey, fellas, I just agreed to this, this, this, and I have no idea how to do it. And then, all right, let's huddle up. Let's figure this out. And so that leader, a good leader, somebody's like, they don't even have the answer. They need to reach out to their team.
00:33:03
Speaker
Like, okay, here's the problem. I just committed this to do. Let's figure this out. And then as you're getting that input from your team, okay, then what the leader then does though is pick the one that, okay, hey, this is the best option. And then at that point, that's when they stand alone, right? They make the decision, right? And then now the team like, okay, the decision has been made by, you know,
00:33:29
Speaker
person in charge. Okay, we're all on board now, right? We've got our chance to kind of like, say our piece, okay, this is made, and we move out. And that's where the leader kind of stands alone. Meaning if something bad happens, right? They, they own it, right? Yeah, like a good leader should is definitely like stands on the stands before the man or whoever as far as responsibility goes, right? He's not trying to hide. He's like, Yo, I fully own this. But also, they're coming at the team with
00:33:56
Speaker
respect and humility. It's like, hey, I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to put my neck on the line and I got faith in us as a team to get stuff done.
00:34:10
Speaker
corporations and a lot of things could learn a lot because this kind of idol of leaders throughout society is very much like, oh, it's all on the person and the team kind of gets, you know, skirted off to the wayside. And you can see like the, when a team doesn't have respect for its leader for sure, or itself, or vice versa, I mean, it can only go so far. And then, you know, whether it's in the
00:34:40
Speaker
in the military, you get some obvious problems there. And if it's in the civilian world and a corporation, then you know, you have assets that are potentially looking to go somewhere else as opposed to like really being on board and like, Hey, I'm in a good place. I love these people. And why would I want to even, you know,
00:35:00
Speaker
I mean, that purpose, right? I mean, that's powerful, right? I think that's more powerful than, you know, throwing money at somebody, you know? Because, you know, in the, in the, in the military, right? It's intrinsic leadership, right? Like, I can't give you a bonus, right? When we were in that, I keep like, Hey, you did such a great job. Here you go. Right? Yeah. You know, but what you get, what, you know, the currency that you're getting is like, the team's like, Hey, Mark, that was awesome. Right? Great job. You know? And, you know, and so, yeah, I mean, that leader, right? I mean,
00:35:29
Speaker
You don't make decisions by yourself. You don't stand alone and make decisions, right? That's not what a good leader does. A good leader gets that team together. They kind of dirt dive, kind of come up with a plan. And then the decision is made by the leader. Then he stands alone, right? He or she, right? Then they own that, right? Like, hey, this is the plan. This is what we're going to do. But it's not the other way around. They don't stand alone and make a decision.
00:35:54
Speaker
But yeah, so I think that's the powerful part is when you can build in that purpose, that's what keeps your team moving at that high level. And as you and I both know, I mean,
00:36:13
Speaker
your main, your main, at least, you know, the main driving thing is you just don't want to let your teammates down, right? It's less like, I want to get the big win and I want to be the one that came up with the plan. It's more of like, I don't want to let anyone down. I don't want to be the weak link. I don't want, you know? And so, and that's what drives everybody to like, you know, stay at that high level. Yeah, it's a good perspective to take. And it's a very aware way of existing and, you know, having
Company Culture and Community Values
00:36:43
Speaker
Again, it's compassionate leadership even though people don't necessarily take a look at a seal or something and be like, oh, they're just very compassionate beings.
00:36:58
Speaker
there's we actually we actually care about each other you know I mean oh yeah yeah and you can see it too you see it like my example like I remember as a platoon commander you know you know if you've got if you know if the guys respect you and you know you know like again they're not
00:37:14
Speaker
They know that you're not going to have all the answers, right? Even though you're the platoon commander, right? But they also know that, okay, you're the one in charge. So when you have that respect, I mean, these amazing things get done. And, you know, I remember when I kind of, a big thing for me, I remember at land warfare doing immediate action drills, right?
00:37:34
Speaker
maneuvering in the terrain and simulating, taking contact from the enemy. And as an officer, my gun is the 16 of you, right? If I start running out of ammo, then something's wrong, right? I shouldn't be.
00:37:50
Speaker
So, you know, you got to come off the line and kind of like look where the out is, right? And I remember this, you know, because I'm facing, you know, backwards, right? Well, you guys are all engaging. So, you know, I'm backwards. So my left is your right, right? So I see the out right to my left, right? I turn back around and I'm yelling, you know, peel left, peel left.
00:38:18
Speaker
And I, right when I tell my son of, I, you know, but I see the first guy get up on the left and he goes right. Cause he knew where the out was too. And I see all my guys going right. Right. So we get back, you know, huddle up. I'm like, Hey guys, sorry. I screwed that one up. Like, sir, don't worry about it. We knew what you're talking about. We knew which way you wanted to go.
00:38:38
Speaker
Yeah. And I was like, and then maybe later in that day or another platoon, I don't want, anyways, literally the same thing happened and the guys went.
00:38:50
Speaker
left, right? And that platoon commander and they're like, you said lesser, you know? And so then he's getting reamed out by the training cadre for like, you know, not knowing the difference between his left and his right and blah, blah, blah. But, uh, but yeah, for me, it was, you know, that was, that's kind of a, an example that I use where you can be that compassionate leader and you know, just show folks that you care about them. Um, you can do some, you know, some amazing things happen, right? Yeah.
00:39:20
Speaker
Well, I appreciate the chat and everything you're doing, man. Is there anything else you want to chit chat about? Yeah, no. I guess, really, I just hope that my story inspires other transitioning service members, showing them how they can continue this culture of service and live their values.
Conclusion and Guardian Grange Promotion
00:39:40
Speaker
You don't have to sideline any of that once you take off the uniform.
00:39:46
Speaker
Service never ends. Not at all. We're all citizens. You can't take that uniform off, right? That uniform does not come off. Yeah, we're all humans at the end of the day too. Whatever problems come up, we've got to deal with them at essentially the human level.
00:40:03
Speaker
You know, absolutely. That's even better. Yeah. We're all humans. So you can't, yeah. So, so yeah, hopefully, you know, with our conversation, folks take that away. And then, you know, if they want, you know, they can learn more about me and patch, you know, on our website, the patch connects.com. Um, and if there's any, you know, then Alan there has our, our email address that they have, there's any inquiries. Yeah. We'll put links to the, to it too. And, uh,
00:40:30
Speaker
the notes or whatever it is or the podcast or whatnot so people will be able to find it. And again, for that website at patchpatch. Yep. Connects all together.
00:40:47
Speaker
Awesome, brother. I appreciate this. And we'll have to follow up with another one as things progress. And yeah, I hope so. You got April 22nd, if anyone wants to get one of those patches or whatever, look into them because they're doing that Kickstarter. Right. So that would help them out. Yeah, I appreciate it.
00:41:05
Speaker
Yeah. And we have other options. There's a tats and t-shirts that we have made in the U S believe or not. Right. So yeah. Um, yeah. And then, uh, and then they could just donate even if, you know, just cause they like what we're doing. Right. So thanks Mark. I appreciate that man. Awesome brother. Thanks.
00:41:24
Speaker
All right. Thanks for listening friends. Hope you liked that podcast. And once again, go check out Dana's work with patch at patchconnects.com. And I also wanted to give a shout out to our sponsors, Dr. Bronner for continuing to support.
00:41:42
Speaker
this podcast and the work we're doing at Guardian Grange we had recently kicked off about a month ago our Escondido Micro Grange project which is like a little miniature micro version of what we're doing on a big scale so get a little
00:42:04
Speaker
Farm going on there. Well garden I should say in a healing space and bringing people together to Kick off the first phase of that which is a lot of property cleanup. I got some content on our YouTube channel again Find it at Guardian Grange where we chat about that project and what we're doing and this past weekend
00:42:25
Speaker
had a little partnership with Veterans Walk and Talk where they brought out a whole crew of about 40 people and helped clean that property up. It was really cool to cool to see so we're just getting the work done and I'll continue to do more of these podcasts and if you want to follow along find us on social media at Guardian Grange. Our website is guardiangrange.org and that's where you can find
00:42:54
Speaker
ways to support, donate, volunteer. We are a 501c3 registered nonprofit organization. So donations are tax deductible if you feel like supporting in that manner. And other than that, feel free to share our content. Hit me up with any messages, mark at guardiangrange.org. And I'll see you in the next one. Take care, friends.
00:43:24
Speaker
you