52 | Hire for Character, Train for Skill | What Organizations Can Learn from Special Operations Forces

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Today's episode is a LIVE recording of The Data Binge podcast, hosted on LinkedIn, featuring Mike Sarraille, and George Randle. the co-authors of "The Talent War: How Special Operations and Great Organizations Win on Talent". The Talent War is available for pre-order, and scheduled to be made available anywhere you can buy books, on November 10th, 2020, in line with the United States Marine Corps Birthday, hallmarking the same day in 1775, when the Continental Marines were established.

Mike Sarraille is a retired US Navy SEAL office, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, and the CEO and Co-Founder of EF Overwatch, an executive Search Firm and Talent Advisory, specializing in the recruiting, training and placement of U.S special operations forces veterans with organizations seeking top talent, co-founded with Jocko Willink. Mike served 15 years as an officer in the SEAL Teams, and 5 years in the US Marine Corps as an enlisted Recon Marine and Scout-Sniper. Mike served in SEAL Team 3 Task Unit Bruiser, alongside “Extreme Ownership” authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, where he led major combat operations that played a pivotal role in the Battle of Ramadi in 2006. Mike assumed duties as the primary leadership instructor for all officers graduating from the SEAL training pipeline, and was then selected for assignment to the Joint Special Operations Command where he completed multiple combat deployments. Mike is a recipient of the Silver Star, six Bronze Stars, two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, and a Purple Heart.

George Randle combines 20+ years of Fortune 100 and Fortune 1000 global Human Resources and Talent Acquisition Executive experience enabling individuals, teams and organizations achieve consistent and impactful outcomes. George is Hogan (HPI, HDS and MVPI) Leadership Assessment Certified, and began his professional life by enlisting in the US Army Reserve, where he got his commission as an Active Duty Army Officer through ROTC. George’s career assignments included the US Army Berlin Brigade, US CENTCOM and III Corps with deployments to Africa, Central America and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Over the course of his active duty time he was privileged to serve in key leadership assignments – twice as a Platoon Leader, as the Executive Officer for the largest company in Berlin and finally 2 years as a Company Commander at Ft. Hood, Texas. In George's transition to the corporate world, he created the first Junior Military Officer Hiring Program for a Top-5 consulting firm, and went on to create one of the largest and most successful Veteran Hiring Programs for a Global Fortune 50 firm. In both instances, these programs resulted in the employer being ranked as a Top 100 Military Friendly Employer. For the last 20 years, concurrently with his roles as a Talent Acquisition Executive, George has trained and coached 1000’s of Veterans on interviewing and career search skills. Today, George is the VP and Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Forcepoint, an industry-leading cyber security firm.

***Items we discuss in the episode***

[11:20] The driving forces in George and Mike’s lives that prompted them to write their book, “The Talent War”

[16:27] The current state rigidity in hiring processes,  and the importance of talent

[18:03] The “talent” mindset”, vs the growth mindset – what organization must have to be successful

[23:32] The Chief Human Resources Office role, the values, principles, and trats of leaders that should step into this role in any organization

[31:48] The interview process

[42:04] Culture and likeability as critical factors vs non-factors, for candidate selection

[52:57] Talent retention and hiring for technical talent – maintaining the philosophy of hiring for character and training for skill, in highly technical roles

[01:11:30] What is next for George and Mike after the release of “The Talent War