Commando Code - Smile to change - Expecting the unexpected
2nd post in Commando Code, the first post is here: https://tinyurl.com/CommandoCulture1
August 2006, around 0200, the 2nd Lebanon war, somewhere deep behind enemy lines in Lebanon. I was part of a small team, and we were on hold, waiting for an approval to proceed with our mission. We were in a little valley near a small dirt road, with mountains rising on both sides and few not so tall Cedar trees. Not an ideal place to wait in. Fighting took place all around, and the mountains around were an ideal place for an enemy ambush. We secured our position as much as we could and waited. Time was running short, we needed to keep going as we had a mission to complete. In any combat unit, completing the mission is one of the most important things, if not The most important. The success of the entire battle depends on each and every one completing their mission as planned. (Completing the mission at all cost is another cultural value I will write about in another post).
All of a sudden I hear brief hissing sounds, “hessss, kessss”. 2-3 seconds later, before there is even time to react, something hits a small dirt hill on the other side of the road, maybe 30 meters from where we were waiting. A tall pillar of dirt and dust shot up 10 meters into the air. We dropped to the ground a few seconds too late.
Luckily it did not explode.
It was a Sagger, a Soviet wire guided anti-tank missile that was used first in Vietnam and later in the Yom Kippur war. Had it explode it may have been harder to sit and write this story. My uncle, David, was a tank commander in the Yom Kippur war (1973). He and his team were killed by a Sagger missile in the Sinai desert, on the 2nd day of the war (Oct. 7, 73).
The sound of the side engine nozzles that guide the Sagger is typical, hearing it close above your head is not fun. But it happens. You always have to be ready, and expect the unexpected.
Actually, the entire military service is full of unexpected events, requests, drills, missions, tasks etc. such unexpected “surprises” are the standard, not the exception. After some time in service you get used to “Expect the unexpected”, in some cases you even like it. There were times where a week with nothing “unexpected” happening would look exceptional and strange.
I was 23 when I started my first company, CoreTech, which developed a life saving cardiological device. It was shortly after finishing my service in the early 90s. Entrepreneur was not a commonly used word back then, at least not in Israel, and there were hardly any VCs in Israel. Also, I knew nothing about companies, startups or medical devices so there were many surprises, all the time, typically more than once a day. I made every mistake in the book (and invented some new mistakes on my own). Eventually we sold the company, which, all considered, was also a surprise. Being used to surprises and to unexpected changes, events, and issues proved very helpful, and made dealing with the issues much easier.
Being ready for these unexpected curve balls coming left and right, and actually enjoying it, is a great asset for any founder. As anyone who started a company knows, there are endless twists and turns, the road is almost never smooth nor simple. Training your team to “smile to changes” and keep high spirit even when things change completely from one day to the next is key.
I would like to thank Micol Debash for the editing. As always, any remaining typos or errors are completely my fault.
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