Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at the Air Force Academy. I gave the same talk to four different classes of management majors – each 50 minutes in length. While you’re tired at the end of it – it was really fun to reconnect with the professors – many were just getting their USAF career going when I was a cadet. The fact that some are now retired military and are continuing on as civilian professors means I’m getting old.
Every time I go and present I come back feeling pretty pumped up – the folks in the department of management do a great job making you feel special (even though your just one of dozens of speakers throughout the year – it’s good to be king for a day).
The royal treatment was great but interacting with the cadets was the highlight of my visit. They were attentive, engaged, genuinely interested in business, had creative ideas, asked thoughtful questions and basically made me feel special knowing that I once sat in those same chairs. I believe the caliber of the students has gone up markedly since my time at the zoo, and cadets today are much more focused on what’s next after the Air Force. Several cadets have emailed me with business ideas and surprisingly they’re all good. These business plans weren’t just simple ideas taken from someone else – like opening an ice cream store in a new location (which isn’t a bad idea just a simple one) – these ideas are all derived from personal experiences and have been thoroughly researched and developed (some even had prototype products).
Ben Casnocha accompanied me on my visit Monday. I should have given him time to present; his message would’ve really resonated with the cadets. Ben has accomplished the impossible in their eyes, he founded a business while he was a high school student and has turned it into successful software company managed by a group of professionals. Ben now is enjoying the fruits of his entrepreneurship, traveling the world, writing a book and getting to meet all kinds of new people as he takes one year off before he starts college. Every would be cadet entrepreneur would love to figure out how to start a company while having a full time job. Starting a company when that is all you have to do is hard – but doing it while you’re doing something else is simply unimaginable. It was great getting to spend time with Ben and to see the Academy through his eyes – I hope our paths cross again.
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