Left and Right of the Boom coming Summer 2024
"What should happen before the crisis (Left)? How do we lead during the crisis? What do we do after the crisis (Right)? What might it look like to avoid the crisis altogether?" Colonel Rob Campbell
March 8th, 2009 was a beautiful day. The weather was warm, the sun abundant, and the winds calm – an eerie resemblance of September 11th, 2001. On this day I was in Afghanistan as an Army Lieutenant Colonel in command of a squadron (400 people) of paratroopers serving during the surge of forces under Operation Enduring Freedom. Two days later, on the front end of a 12-month combat deployment, I would assume command of a task force numbering over 700 people who would fight together in the rugged mountains along the Pakistan border – an area scarred deeply by decades of war. I was anxious, hungry to lead, to take the fight to the enemy, and to make a difference in the year ahead. That peaceful morning would turn dark and chaotic. A soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device or IED. My soldier. Private First Class Patrick A. Devoe II. In an instant, my unit was thrust into crisis. Were we ready? Was I ready? This crisis would demand an answer to those questions. It would demand the best of my leadership.
Crisis is coming. It is not a matter of if. It is a matter of when. This being the case, it is mandatory that leaders and their organizations be ready. I’m here to help. I served over 27 years in the crisis-rich U.S. Army – half of those years in a time of war. In spring of 2020, having drafted an outline for my third book on leadership, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Businesses, indeed, the world came to a halt. I thought to myself, “I know a thing or two about moments like this.” I shelved the leadership outline (coming later) and shifted to my experience with crisis.
“We need to get left and right of the boom,” I thought, and the idea for book number three was born. This book, the third in the Bentmouth Press Battlefield to Boardroom Series, would take longer and be more difficult to write. Leslie and I moved from the coast to the mountains. I bought an existing small business in Johnson City, Tennessee and started another one. Along with this, I thrust myself into the greater Eastern Tennessee community championing veteran and military spouse issues – all worthy ventures which demanded my time and energy. Moreover, to write the book I had to return to those dark days as a battlefield commander. It was hard but I knew there could be a greater good – that Devoe’s life and legacy could live on in the pages of the book and through the lessons he taught me and so many others on my team.
In “Left and Right of The Boom, The Art of Leadership Before, During, and After Crisis,” I’ll take you to the battlefield. I’ll tell stories – real and fictitious to illustrate my points and amplify the lessons you need to learn. While it is centered on the crisis brought about by Devoe’s death, I share several years of private, small business ownership. I’ll help you form and foster a crisis-ready foundation for your team. I’ll share the “5 Cs of Crisis Leadership.” I’ll introduce the Crisis Reaction Team (CRT) and the TOC (the Tactical Operations Center). I’ll present concepts and communication techniques brought forward from my military and business experience, but I’ll do so in the spirit of the small business and the individual leader who may or may not have depth in his or her team. I’ll share all this and so much more.
This book is needed. I knew it then in 2020 and I know it now. Join me here where I’ll share updates and announcements about the book’s pre-order and release date. Share this blog with others you know who need to level up their leadership and ready their team because the ‘Boom’ is coming. It’s time we get left and right of it.
Colonel Rob Campbell
May 13th, 2024
Rob Campbell