Military to MBA Career – Practice One & Done on Transition

This is post #3 in an ongoing series of articles on career transition for military officers & NCOs.

Last time out, I posted about doing one transition one at a time and not combining multiple transitions. Having one transition flow naturally into the another will allow you to prioritize, focus and get through it.

I would add to this, to do one transition (or even step in a transition) and then be done. That’s right. Practice one and done. You don’t want to repeat steps. Nor do want to repeat transitions.

The goal with steps in a transition is to show enough forward progress in order to get a first down. The goal with the overall transition is to keep the drive alive and score points.

Repeating steps is backward digression. By sucking time and creating delays these “do overs” and “holdups” penalize you. Repeats cause you to lose momentum and excitement which takes an additional toll. And, as we all know, too many of these types of digressions can be physically draining and emotionally depleting.

Successful transition has a process component and flow to it. Part A of the process is more step-by-step you can control. I will map out specific steps to successful transition in a future post. Part B of the process involves other people, decisions and circumstances outside of your control.

You can mostly control Part A of the transition process. As you go through defined steps, we will cover later, please consider putting both of my initial suggestions into practice: 1) to do one transition at a time; 2) to do one transition, finish it and then be done. Or, move onto the next overall transition and keep your forward progress.

Next time out, I will cover Part B of the transition process. Those parts of transition which involve other people, decisions and circumstances outside of your control.