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MBV and GLP Joint Seminar Draws Parallels Between Military and Business Strategies 

MBV and GLP Joint Seminar Draws Parallels Between Military and Business Strategies 

MBV graduate students and Marine Corp drill instructors taught communication, awareness, and service to GLP undergrads.

by: Sabrina Skacan
11.11.24
Sergeant Major John Miller chats with undergraduate students

A skilled communicator and instructor, Sergeant Major John Miller MBV ’25 chats with first-year students how military and business leadership strategies align.
[USC Photo / Grayson Adler]

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  • James E. Bogle

    James E. Bogle
    • Program Director, Masters of Business for Veterans
    • Advisor on Military and Veteran Initiatives to the Vice Provost for Academic Operations
    • Adjunct Professor of Management and Organization
  • Tyrone W. Callahan

    Tyrone W. Callahan
    • Assistant Chair for the Department of Finance and Business Economics
    • Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics
  • Julia Gardner Plotts

    Julia Gardner Plotts
    • Peter J. Fluor Family Chair in Teaching Excellence
    • Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics

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“You are all leaders. You just have to find it within yourself” was the closing affirmation Sergeant Major John Miller MBV ’25 gave to 80 first-year students after they completed a number of team-building exercises.

This is the sixth time that members from the Master of Business for Veterans (MBV) cohort have collaborated with undergraduates within the Global Leadership Program (GLP).

For three hours, the students worked in small groups as they maneuvered a leadership reactionary course — simple games and exercises requiring the students to listen, support, and engage each other to accomplish shared goals. Joining Miller as guides were three of his fellow MBV cohort members and a few drill instructors from his unit in San Diego.

Developing leaders happens to be Miller’s specialty. While studying for his master’s degree at USC, Miller remains on active duty at the United States Marine Corps Recruit Training Regiment and oversees the basic training school that develops 22,000 recruits into Marines each year. A skilled communicator and instructor with numerous overseas deployments under his belt, Miller was a natural choice to organize the annual MBV/GLP class showcasing how to transfer strategy skills from the military to business acumen and leadership roles.

“Among the attributes that MBV students bring to Marshall is leadership experience in an organization which puts more emphasis on leadership development than any other in the country,” said James Bogle, program director, Master of Business for Veterans. “To be able to share some of the lessons from their military careers with freshman honor students means a lot to MBV students. It is their chance to contribute in service back to Marshall.”

Tyrone Callahan, a professor of clinical finance and business economics and a faculty co-lead of GLP, regards the collaboration as a huge benefit for the undergraduates. By connecting and learning from their graduate colleagues, the first-year students can see a clear path toward their career aspirations.

“We always look for opportunities where the undergrads and grads could do more together. A lot of that hasn’t come to fruition, but there are many dimensions within the MBV/GLP connection that makes this successful every year it happens,” Callahan explained.

Callahan notes the first-years can draw out the right kind of lessons that apply in almost every setting.

“We’re trying to give these students different leadership models to try on and see what fits and what doesn’t fit,” Callahan continued. “The military is a uniquely challenging leadership context and very complementary to what we teach in terms of leadership frameworks.”

Flexibility isn’t only a skill for the students, but an aspect of the entire program. Over the years of co-leading GLP, Julia Plotts, professor of clinical finance and business economics, says the program’s structure has adjusted to meet the changing needs of the students from a corporate approach to engaging diverse interests.

You are all leaders. You just have to find it within yourself. 

— Sergeant Major John Miller MBV ’25

“We want to expose them to the essence of what being a leader means so they don’t feel like they have to conform one way or the other,” remarked Plotts. “They need to be able to adapt and figure out what works for them and what is needed for any situation they will find themselves in.”

Some of the students immediately took charge, while others were more reluctant. Some spoke up while others pitched in. Leadership forms in many ways, attests Miller.

“Sometimes the leader is the one that’s not in the leadership position,” encouraged Miller.

Through it all, the students learned the art of negotiation and communication, how to accept opposing perspectives, what to anticipate and when to react, and above all, to accept accountability and ownership of their actions.

“Leadership is like vegetable soup. Everybody has a different taste, and everybody likes something different in their vegetable soup,” said Miller. “And, to have a good team, we need to be able to change our recipe.”

  • GLP first-years take part in a relay checkers race

    Sergeant Raekwon Dilworth, a drill instructor from Miller's unit, leads undergraduate students through the relay checkers race.
    [USC Photo / Grayson Adler]

Trust and Communication

A relay checkers race required students to strategize as a team without seeing the board. Making moves individually, each had to then communicate to their teammates what they and their opponent did. With only a few seconds, their decision would affect the whole team.

At the end of the game, both sides were asked to view the final board. Sergeant Raekwon Dilworth, one of Miller’s drill instructors, imparted the real lesson.

“There’s going to be possibilities where you have zero time to make decisions,” Dilworth explained. “There’s going to be possibilities where you have a lot of time to make decisions, but you still have to make a decision for you and your employees, not just you.”

  • Sadys Corcino MBV'25

    Sadys Corcino MBV ’25 was one of many MBV cohort members who guided the GLP students through the leadership reactionary course of exercises. 
    [USC Photo / Grayson Adler]

Understanding Team Dynamics

Kim’s Game tests situational awareness as players memorize familiar and unfamiliar items on a table. Gunnery Sergeant Joshua Hall, another drill instructor, covered and uncovered the items multiple times asking the students to describe details of what they saw.

Sadys Corcino MBV ’25 explained the lesson draws valuable parallels to leadership, stressing the importance of recognizing changes in colleagues’ demeanor as crucial to addressing potential issues and creating an inclusive environment.

“If you don’t know the individuals that work for you, you can’t help them become part of the culture and work together to accomplish the objective, the mission of an organization,” Corcino said. “It’s critical to know the people you work with to understand what triggers them, what motivates them.”

  • Working in small groups, GLP students participated in simple games and exercises requiring them to listen, support, and engage each other to accomplish shared goals.[USC Photo / Grayson Adler]

    Working in small groups, GLP students participated in simple games and exercises requiring them to listen, support, and engage each other to accomplish shared goals.
    [USC Photo / Grayson Adler]

Lessons in Leadership

“In leadership, you have to adapt how we communicate with people to reach them,” commented Hakeem Kokumo, a student from Georgia. He was chatting with Miller who greeted Kokumo by name and asked his hometown. Asking meaningful questions beyond small talk fosters deeper connections. “When you’re in a business, people are coming from different places, different walks of life, and international backgrounds, too.”

“Being able to learn from individuals who know what it means to be a leader and go through the hardest of times has been amazing,” responded Didi Okafor when asked about her MBV/GLP experience. “Knowing what they know in their fields is applicable in other fields as well, I’m getting the strength they have even though I’m not a Marine or in the military. I can still apply the same rules and mentality to the work I’m doing in business.”

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