Matt Eversmann

Strategic Shock: Leadership Lessons for Business from Black Hawk Down

The business world, regardless of industry, is filled with uncertainty, chaos and the unexpected. Welcome to the “Urban Battlefield.” Strip away the drama of gun fights and the frustration of Murphy’s Law the lessons learned from battle during Black Hawk Down or Iraq are directly applicable to leaders at all levels of business. There is no business plan to help leaders avoid ‘Strategic Shock’, but this story of elite teams with high standards, solid leadership, followership and teamwork will get the conversation started.

Matt will walk the audience through his experiences as a young leader (manager) thrust into a “must win” situation in the harshest times. With Matt’s post military experiences as a leader in the corporate world (healthcare, non-profit and technology) he literally can “talk the talk and walk the walk” about what really translates from the battlefields versus what just sounds good. Matt explains why his theories and lessons positively affect individuals and institutions. What they hear on Friday they can apply on Monday. His talk resonates particularly with the audiences who have to execute, who have to lead and manage, and who ultimately have to answer for their delivery of goods and services. This is a war story like no other.

Key takeaways:

• High standards (excellence) doesn’t cost a penny but takes commitment from leaders.
• Every member of every team is responsible and accountable for something; leaders must ensure they know what that something is.
• Strategic decisions immediately affect execution; managers are the ones who make everything happen.
• There are incalculable consequences caused by events out of anyone’s control, teams must

FUSION Leadership: How to be an Elite Leader and Manager

How can you be elite if you were never in the military? If you don’t have the entire might of the US Congress supporting you and your authority isn’t backed by the Constitution how can you expect every member of your team to “be like an operator”? The truth is that you can’t. None of us can. But you don’t have to have served to be a great leader. Most of us must manage small teams and that is the secret to FUSION leadership. Matt spent almost half of his career as a leader with the elite Army Rangers and about the same in the conventional forces so he knows both sides well. He knows about high standards, accountability, and responsibility. A leadership award winner at almost every professional school he attended, Matt devised a system of leadership where we all can influence our teams and get the same results as elite Army Rangers.