217: U.S. Army General Jefforey Smith - Deputy Commander at Fort Bragg

Summary: In Episode #217 Ari and Nick interview [General Jefforey Smith](http://www.bragg.army.mil/leaders/Pages/DCG.aspx). General Smith is Deputy Commander at Fort Bragg - one of the USA’s most significant military bases and home to 90,000 people. Listen in as General Smith breaks down what’s involved in managing a military base, long-term strategic planning, and how to communicate a sense of purpose. Time Stamped Show Notes: - 11:27 – Welcoming General Smith to the show - 12:01 – General Smith’s 32-year military career - 12:31 – Being a general at Fort Bragg is similar to being the mayor of a small city - 13:34 – What does a typical day look like? - 14:07 – Around 80-90,000 people live and work in Fort Bragg - 14:52 – General Smith spends around 30% of time on strategic planning and infrastructure - 15:55 – Right now General Smith is focusing on planning a deployment - 16:30 – Decisions include healthcare, infrastructure management, traffic, and capital investment in addition to military duties - 18:30 – Mostly employ a civilian workforce rather than military engineers - 19:15 – Fort Bragg is like army’s 911 - they can deploy almost anywhere within 18 hours - 21:14 – The garrison command and staff remain on the base even if other units are deployed - 22:00 – Ari: “How do you manage your projects and communicate with everyone?” - 22:31 – You must have principles that you live and work by. - 23:00 – “Activity, nutrition, and sleep are the triad that allow you to maintain performance in a consistent and enduring way.” - 23:55 – “Sleep is generally the weakest link for most people” - 24:30 – Running an organization starts with vision: the leader has to have a vision, and a reason for existing, that they can communicate to the people in their organization - 25:50 – If you have a strong _why_, the _how_ and _what_ become less challenging - 26:45 – Individuals within a company can have an entrepreneurial spirit - even if they aren’t running a startup - 27:50 – What processes is General Smith using to organize and plan strategy? - 28:30 – “We use the same strategic management software as any private company” - 29:29– _Top 3 Tips to be More Effective:_ - Focus on the most important things - Have some kind of routine that helps you be in control of your life - Have a balanced life. Make sure you have a way to recharge. Key Points: - Being a general on a military base is like managing a small city: there’s a lot of strategic planning and management as well as military duties - Have principles that you live and work by. When you know _why_ you’re doing something, and can communicate that vision, you’ll be effective. - Maintain routines - exercise, sleep, and good nutrition - that keep you in control of your health and your life - Focus on getting the most important things done - Cultivate an entrepreneurial attitude, even if you work within an organization Resources Mentioned: - [Dropbox: Project Infinite](https://blogs.dropbox.com/business/2016/04/announcing-project-infinite/?ref=producthunt) - View and edit everything from your computer without syncing it - [Exist](https://exist.io/) - Aggregate data from all your health tracking devices - [Microsoft Flow](https://flow.microsoft.com/) - Create automations between various services - [Lead Dyno](http://www.leaddyno.com/) - Manage affiliate programmes Sponsored By: [EarthClassMail](https://www.earthclassmail.com/) – Earth Class Mail helps you move your snail mail to the cloud. Visit [www.LessDoing.com/postal](http://www.lessdoing.com/postal) to get signed up now! Text DOLESS to 33733 to sign up for the Less Doing Newsletter Credits - Original Music provided by [Felix Bird](http://2014.felixbird.com/) - Audio Production by [Chris Mottram](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/christopher-mottram/96/b12/708) - Show Notes provided by [Mallard Creatives](http://www.mallardcreatives.com/Testimonials) ------- [Get the