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Kelly Perdew is a successful entrepreneur who served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the US Army after graduating from West Point. He also completed Airborne and Ranger training. After getting out of the Army, Kelly earned his JD and his MBA at UCLA. Since then he's started or been a part of the teams that have started six different companies. Most recently, Kelly won the second season of the "The Apprentice" and spent a year working with Donald Trump as an Executive Vice President in the Trump Organization. During that year, Kelly started a company with Donald Trump called Trump Direct Media (www.trumpexclusives.com) which launches its first product in March 2006.
Kelly is a partner in Angel-Led Venture Partners, a venture capital fund raising $50 million to co-invest with the top angel groups in the country in early-stage companies.
Kelly is a published author, "TAKE COMMAND: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump," accomplished businessman, and frequently speaks to corporations and other organizations on many topics including leadership, entrepreneurship and the military in business.
Kelly is hosting a show on The Military Channel called "GI Factory," where he will take the viewers into the factories that make the vehicles, weapons and other equipment our troops use in the field. The world premiere is March 24 at 8pm.
Share your leadership stories with Kelly at www.kellyperdewforums.com
Kelly's blog on leadership, technology, networking and entrepreneurship: http://takecommand.zaadz.com/
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By Kelly Perdew, author, Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump"
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When Donald Trump said that to me on live television in front of more than 15 million viewers, it was pretty exhilarating. I've been living in a whirlwind for over a year now and very thankful for all the opportunities I've been afforded because of "The Apprentice."
One curious thing that occurred in the aftermath of my victory was that I was asked the same question over and over again, "Do I think that my military background helped me win 'The Apprentice?'" Everyone asked me that question - friends, colleagues and especially the press. Initially, I answered simply and said yes, the discipline, attention to detail and familiarity of operating under stressful conditions were critical to my win. But the more I was asked, the more irritated I became. Doesn't everyone know that the military trains you to be a leader? To problem-solve? To lead groups of diverse individuals to overcome any obstacle and achieve a common objective? Apparently they don't know it! So, I decided to write a book that would highlight the leadership principles I learned in the military that have helped me succeed in business and in life. The book is called, "TAKE COMMAND: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump." And I don't ask the reader to believe only me; I spent considerable time with six business luminaries that have military backgrounds, and they shared their insights on how the military has helped them in business and in life.
You've probably heard of several of these people but may not remember who they were prior military:
- Bill Coleman, USAFA, Founding CEO of BEA Systems
- Pete Dawkins, USMA, Vice Chair of Citigroup's Private Bank
- Marsha "Marty" Evans, USN, Former CEO of the Red Cross
- Jim Kimsey, USMA, Founding CEO of AOL
- Ross Perot, USNA, Founder of EDS and presidential candidate in 1992 and 1996
- Roger Staubach, USNA, Founder Staubach Co.
Each of these individuals has excelled in both the business world and their military careers. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to meet and get to know them. I, like each of them, attribute much of my success in business and in life to my military background.
A little about my background - I went to the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation. I selected Military Intelligence as my branch and went through the Officer Basic Course at Ft. Huachuca, Ariz. I then volunteered for and completed Ranger Training and reported to my first duty station with the 7th ID (Light) at Ft. Ord, Calif. I served as an assistant S-2 for 2nd Brigade, and then I moved to the Military Intelligence Battalion where I was a counter intelligence platoon leader and finally, I served as the XO for a company in the Military Intelligence Battalion. The 7th ID (Light) was a rapid deployment force so one of the three brigades was on two-hour alert during Desert Storm I; although we never deployed. After three years of active duty and some heavy soul-searching, I decided to avail myself to the voluntary early retirement program that was enacted during Bill Clinton's administration.
I then pursued and received a JD and an MBA at UCLA. My thirst for entrepreneurship began and I've started and been involved with starting six companies since then. Some of them have been successful, and some of them haven't. But in each instance I learned a great deal and was always thankful for the leadership training I received in the military. Some of those companies are still doing business today and here are their websites:
- Angel-Led Venture Partners (www.angel-led.com) The website is available Jan. 16 - Two partners and I are raising a $50 million venture capital fund to co-invest with the top angel groups in the country in early-stage ventures.
- Trump Direct Media (www.trumpexclusives.com) - The largest direct marketing channel for premium brands. I started this company with Donald Trump and we're launching in March 2006.
- MotorPride LLC (www.motorpride.com) - The portal for car, truck and motorcycle enthusiasts. This was the first company I founded where the original business model was my own idea.
- CoreObjects Software, Inc. (www.coreobjects.com) - A high-end software product development outsourcing partner. I was working as the President of this organization when I won "The Apprentice."
- Eteamz, Inc. (www.eteamz.com) - The world's largest amateur sports portal serving over 2.5 million teams. I was the President of this company when we sold it to Active.com.
Over the next 10 weeks, I'll highlight each of the 10 leadership principles that I describe in my book and talk about real-life examples of how I've put them to use. I wrote the book to educate corporate America on the leadership principles that are instilled in veterans, as well as let transitioning military servicemen and women know they've "got the skills to pay the bills" in the civilian sector. I'm also donating a percentage of the proceeds to the USO.
I'm looking forward to your feedback and to hearing your stories and examples of leadership both in the military and out.
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© 2006 Kelly Perdew. All opinions expressed
in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those
of Military.com.
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