As you transition, you will face many differences in the civilian business world. Differences may include a mission focus, sense of urgency, attention to detail, drive and camaraderie that are not as great as what you may have been used to in the military. On the "up side," this can provide a lot of opportunity to get involved and help change and improve a company in many different areas, especially if you choose to work within a small to medium-sized company.

Getting involved in someone else's "sand box," however, can be tricky. Any effort to make improvements or changes in areas other than your own can be perceived negatively. Yes, it can be like navigating a mine field. Your motivation can't be personal in any change efforts that you pursue. Building trust and demonstrating your commitment to the team as a whole is very important.

One of the tougher challenges you will face is in the area of communication. In the military, you have used terms and acronyms like COB, HQ, ARTEP, ARTY, AVUM, PZ, LZ, C2, NBC, COIN, head shed, the old man, etc. Use these terms in civilian industry and you'll get the deer-in-the-headlights look or it may possibly alienate you from your team. This is a foreign language, essentially, and you must retrain yourself to speak the language of business.

Your new language will have terms like lean, continuous improvement, bottom line, cost of quality, production schedule, master parts list, bill of material, etc... Knowing and understanding these words or terms will help you integrate more quickly. One of the best ways to learn this new language is through APICS. Use the free information on the web site, order the APICS dictionary or get involved in your local chapter.

Believe it or not, though, the phonetic alphabet still comes in handy when trying to spell out some things over the phone!

Work smarter, not harder. Good luck in your new endeavor!

Outlaw 6 out.