My guest today is Brig. General (retired) Pete Palmer. He served for 32 years in the Army in various infantry assignments, both stateside and abroad. His joint and coalition experience include four tours in NATO as well as Kosovo and Iraq. During the latter part of his career Pete was assigned to serve as the Director of Accelerated Capabilities Development, where he helped champion the Army’s push into improving the relationship between the soldier and technology. He most recently served as the Director of General Dynamics's EDGE innovation Network, which develops and nurtures emerging technology.
Pete has served as somewhat of a mentor to me. He is truly world-class in connecting people with an idea or team so that they will succeed. He has also worked with nearly every major government organization that is researching human performance. In our conversation we talk about mapping the human mind, the top ways to increase a soldiers performance, being able to "smell" the battlefield, leadership lessons learned, and more.
Below are the topics we talk about, in order with timestamps:
- Background (min. 02:30)
- Why we don't focus on the brain of the warfighter (min. 06:00)
- Cognitive shoe size (min. 09:00)
- How close are we to mapping the mind (min. 14:00)
- Should we train people up or have them do a different job (min. 18:30)
- Once we have a map of the mind, how do we assign jobs (min. 22:00)
- Biggest ways to increase a soldiers performance (min. 25:30)
- Playing the "bad guy" and running new commanders through the paces (min. 30:30)
- Being able to "smell" the battlefield (min. 34:00)
- Training EVERY senior leader that fought in the last gulf war (min. 36:30)
- Leadership lessons learned (min. 38:30).
- Deciding between firing someone and training them up (min. 41:00)
- Giving people feedback (min. 43:15)
- Projects working on now (min. 50:00)
Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode!
I've also started a monthly newsletter where I send out a few useful or insightful things that have helped me over the last month. You can sign up by clicking here or going to:
https://www.professionalsplaybook.com/newsletter
Instagram-- @justinfighterpilot
Facebook--@justinfighterpilot
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.