Allies on a Tour of Duty

"Part of the reason Silicon Valley companies are so successful is that they're a recombination of people who have worked in multiple companies...today your best people are not going to be lifers." -- Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and entrepreneur Ben Casnocha, co-authors ofThe Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age.

"There are plenty of talented people who didn't go to school." Charles Phillips, CEO of New York-based software maker Infor and former Marine.

• LinkedIn acknowledgment that employees won't stay with the company forever starts before they even join and is not perceived as a negative.
• Need of employee to believe in what employer of choice does in the world.
• Mission which resonates not only with customers but with employees.
• Military veterans are a source of talent for internship programs and recruitment.

"The workforce of today is very different from the workforce of a decade ago." Zahir Ladhani, VP of IBM's Smarter Workforce. (Excerpt from article Where the Talent Isby Michal Lev-Ram, Fortune, Vol 170, Number 4, September 22, 2014).

Technology, Silicon Valley, Google and Facebook have certainly brought these issues to the fore as the nature of work and companies change with a new generation entering the workforce. However, let's not lose historical sight of businesses with admirable social and humanitarian platforms. We have legendary heroes and ordinary individuals who sought employment and careers based on values and mission. Values and mission which at the time flew in the face of conventional wisdom, and brought hardship. Readers are invited to identify companies and persons which come to mind.

May I offer the US military and persons who served as an example and precursor to "Allies on a Tour of Duty", especially during the era of the "All-Volunteer Force"?

The services recruit young men and women, many right out of high school. Recruitment appeals to personal values, motivation, and commitment to a mission. Immediate investment is made in extensive (and often intensive) training. Each service component, with different missions, recognizes many recruits will not stay forever and only a few will be "lifers". Even as a "lifer", a career service person will train and develop continuously, rotating through multiple "companies" and assignments every 2-3 years. They are the best people!

Would you agree military veterans are the original "Allies on a Tour of Duty"?