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| Curt Cronin now uses his 16 years of experience as a Navy SEAL to maximize human potential. |
Former U.S. Navy SEAL Curt Cronin was the keynote speaker for the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) Young Leaders luncheon at NSSGA’s Annual Convention and AGG1 Academy & Expo.
The luncheon was sponsored by Rock Products. “Today’s speaker is a real American superhero,” said Rock Products Editor Mark Kuhar, as he introduced the speaker to more than 250 people in attendance.
Cronin now uses his 16 years of experience as a Navy SEAL to maximize human potential and synthesize the strengths of a team to create unprecedented results. He is the CEO of Kaizen International, a company that as its mission seeks to “identify, create and manifest possibility.”
During more than a decade of combat operations to 18 countries throughout the Pacific and U.S. Central Command, Cronin led the nation’s premier SEAL assault force and maximized their effectiveness to handle any mission.
He deployed 13 times and spent more than four years overseas. In that time, he honed his talent as a catalyst for teamwork. Cronin transformed an offensive unit of Navy SEALs into a defensive presidential protection unit in the midst of combat, and single-handedly created the model for multi-disciplinary counter-terrorism operations out of a patchwork of organizations as part of an Embassy team in the Middle East.
These experiences have reinforced Cronin’s fundamental belief that the competitive edge for any organization in the information age is neither technology nor information; rather, it is the unparalleled power of an aligned team.
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| “The real mission now is for you to decide if you’re going to be the change you wish you see in your industry,” Cronin told the audience. |
Cronin showed a very powerful video illustrating what SEALs do and how they operate. He also discussed how his team failed on missions, and how that experience actually strengthened the team up the road.
He stressed how conversations lead to commitments, which then leads to actions, which in turn leads to results. “The lack of results can be traced directly back to conversations you are not having,” Cronin said.
In addition, he talked about impediments to success, like working with difficult people, having to act on vague orders, and being left to your own devices to figure out how to complete an assignment.
Cronin also directly addressed the people in the audience, and challenged them to be strong members of their family and transform their work environment for the better. “The real mission now is for you to decide if you’re going to be the change you wish you see in your industry,” he said.