WHAT’S NEXT Transition to Civilian Life By Eve Nasby & Kristin Hennessy
Unleashing Your True Potential: Veterans Embracing Entrepreneurship in 2024 Are You Kidding Me?! Humility comes before honor….and before a $500k salary right out of the military. Naval Academy Graduate Alan Lerchbacher is a Professor at University of San Diego and Cal State San Marcos and teaches the Capstone Course for the Master's of Global Leadership. He tells a woeful tale of how, 40 years ago, his attitude lost a $500,000 year salary right out of transitioning from the Navy. Through a few serendipitous encounters with retired military leaders and business owners, Alan found himself in the interview of a lifetime. After decades invested in the Navy he had seen and done it all and was ready to transition out on a new adventure. He was not sure anything could top the mission focused success he had in his decorated Navy Diving career but being the CEO of a company might come close. Walking into the interview, because of his high recommendations, he had theJim job. The interview Gruny was a mere formality. Unfortunately, he spent the entire interview trying to convince the Chairman of the Board that he’d be a better candidate for the same role in another state because he just did not want to live in the Midwest. After his interview the man who referred him to the company called him enraged and through his fourletter explicative asked what he thought he was doing? Alan flatly responded that he thought he’d be a better fit in another city. When his friend asked him how much he thought that the position he just interviewed for was paying. Alan, who was making $72,000 per year in all honesty said, “I don’t know.” “$500,000 a year, plus bonuses!!” was the loud response. There was no going back. He blew it. 34 WWW.SanDiegoVeteransMagazine.com / February 2024
Photo by: Jamie Howren Photography