The ability to motivate people is one of the primary skills needed to be an effective leader in the military and in business. That's why many retired officers pursue a second career in corporate America. However, are the techniques used to motivate people in military life applicable to civilian life?

Some officers who make the transition from the military to business believe they have to change their motivational methods. They believe officers motivate based on orders or rank.

"That's crazy -- no effective leader motivates based on fear," says Gen. Charles Krulak, USMC-Ret., who now leads 5,000 employees as the CEO of MBNA Europe Bank Limited, which is part of MBNA Corp., the world's largest independent credit card lender. Krulak, who retired as commandant in 1999, has been CEO of MBNA Europe since February 2001.

"The biggest mistake retiring officers can make is to somehow think they have to change their leadership style," says Krulak. "People are people, and they all want to be treated the way people are treated in the military."

Krulak says the military way of motivating is welcomed in the business world.

"You use the same tried and true techniques," he explains. "Treat people with respect and dignity. Let people know you value their performance. You give them a challenge. You give them a goal to shoot for. You hold them accountable for reaching that goal. You praise them in public. You correct them in private."

Military principles such as these can be used to motivate people in the civilian sector. However, former servicemembers do face other challenges, such as being stereotyped.

"The normal view of somebody in the military is some kind of Cro-Magnon man that beats you with a club if you don't listen," Krulak says.

People often were surprised to see Krulak on the floor encouraging employees and taking an active interest in what they were doing. However, after people saw he was genuine, their surprise gave way, and they began acting as his troops did.

Krulak also advices recent private sector transitioners to not go into corporate America thinking they know everything. This can result in a loss of credibility, hinder their your chances of being an effective motivator.

"Don't pretend you're something you're not," warns Krulak. "Just as a Pfc. [private first class] can spot a phony in a minute, so can a civilian in the business world."

Brig. Gen. Thomas Draude, USMC-Ret., also believes motivating people in the business world is similar to motivating people in the military.

"There are more similarities than there are differences," he says.

In fact, there are so many similarities, Draude notes, that the toughest job he had was figuring out what to wear to work every day because he no longer had to wear a uniform.

Draude started his second career in business after retiring from the military on Jan. 1, 1993. Initially, he served as senior vice president and general manager for the southeast region of USAA, a Fortune 500 financial services company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Draude recently left that position and currently is chairperson of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Fla.

He acknowledges the business world has some differences. In the military, for example, people cannot quit and must show up. Despite these differences, it is possible to motivate and bring out the best in people by using a series of ideas or values that appeal to them.

For example, in the military, there is camaraderie in the unit, an environment that is conducive to enabling people to do their best, and there are leaders who are concerned about their people. These ideas are applicable to the business world, stresses Draude. In corporate America, making the transition to motivating people in the business world does have a major challenge, he adds.

"The leader can ... still establish that [military] environment as much as possible," says Draude. "The challenge is the confidence you must have as a leader that these things [learned in the military] work."

However, Draude, cautions former officers not to engage in "target fixation" that sees them focus on the bottom line so hard that they forget other things critical to success, such as creating a work environment that gets people "looking forward to Monday morning." A key to creating this type of work environment is to understand what motivates people.

"People in the military and people in industry are all motivated by success," says Lt. Col. Chris Rooney USMC-Ret., who did two tours of Vietnam as an infantry officer and now heads the entire retail sales team as the president of AT&T Sales.

"Marines don't blindly follow orders."

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