ETF Architect

Messing up a defense mission from a suicide bombing in Iraq didn’t feel too good at the time. But I learned something crucial to operating an #ETF white label business. Twenty years ago, I was a Platoon Commander in the Marine Corps, stationed outside of Fallujah, Iraq. We were on a mission where two suicide bombs went off simultaneously. One car bomb destroyed a bridge, with cracked concrete beams dangerously hanging over cars passing below. For safety reasons, we decided to blow up the damaged bridge, under the assumption that it would disintegrate in pieces. Turns out it was a gift from the Japanese government, reinforced to the highest standards imaginable. After the C4 detonated, the overpass fell in one single piece, landing like a giant Hershey’s chocolate bar across the highway. Imagine a giant concrete wall, 8 foot tall by 100-foot wide, blocking traffic in both directions on the I-95 of Iraq. And then the real problems started:  traffic was blocked in both directions, sniper threats increased, and the bad guys starting robbing innocent people in their vehicles. On top of it all, they were shooting mortars at us (thankfully with terrible aim). And there I was, the Platoon Commander, in charge of 40 marines, the one responsible for messing up the mission and blocking the road. The battalion commander came up to me, and behind me is this huge Hershey’s chocolate bar wreaking havoc. I said, “Sir, everything you see behind me is my fault. I can resign now or we can go fix it.” He said, “That’s the right answer,” and turned around and walked away. I owned it, point blank. We then proceeded to destroy the hulking concrete with hundreds of pounds of C4. Simultaneously we rebuilt the nearby police station, which was also bombed, overnight. We wanted to ensure Al Qaeda in Iraq woke up to a sparkling new checkpoint, untouched (despite their efforts). Fall on the sword. People want solutions and action, not excuses. Even if you have valid reasons why something was out of your control, playing the blame game or the victim doesn’t get the mission accomplished. The buck has to stop with somebody, and if you are a leader or a manager, that somebody is you. I was prepared for my military career to be over, and yet, my Battalion Commander chose action over blame. It’s painful to fall on the sword in the short term, but you won’t go wrong long term by owning it.