Robert Mixon, Major General (US Army Retired), Author of "We're All In"

Welcome back to another interview on Unlocking Your World of Creativity. We had the pleasure and honor to sit down and speak with Major General Robert W. Mixon, Jr. 

In the US Army, General Mixon commanded the 7th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, Colorado. He has served in executive leadership positions in both for-profit and not-for-profit companies prior to starting his own leadership company, Level Five Associates, in 2014. 

He is also the co-author of a best-selling book on Amazon, “Cows in the Living Room: Developing an Effective Strategic Plan and Sustaining It” and the author of “We're All In: The Journey to a World-Class Culture”, which became a "Best New Release" on Amazon in 2017. 

In today’s episode: 

1. Major General Mixon breaks down his 6 key principles of success in leadership 
2. The value veterans bring to the workplace 
3. General Mixons company, Level Five Associates and how his time in military service developed the insights, discipline, and vision necessary to transform capable people into unsurpassed business leaders.

6 Principles of Success

1. Azimuth - A term learned in the military. It's your cardinal direction for the organization, for the team. You set the azimuth, which includes your mission intent. 
2. Listen - Becoming more effective listeners. 
3. Trust and Empower - Empowerment is the embodiment of trust. But if we don't nurture that aspect of our culture, then we'll end up with an environment of distrust, which is toxic. 
4. Do the Right Thing When No One is Looking - “As we say, at the Pentagon, that briefs well, but it's very difficult to do because we have to value the process over the outcome and do the right thing.”  
5. When in Charge Take Charge - It's not being loud and profane and directive. It's being calm in the chaos.
6. Balance the Personal and Professional - Taking your careers very seriously, your mission very seriously, but not taking ourselves that way. Promoting balance among each other. It's not all about time with work life. It's about having the values that you really believe in guide your actions, and that's where balance lives.

“The plan is a basis for change. And if we are not adaptive as leaders, as organizations, and we are rigid in our fixation on the plan, then I think our chances of success are very low.”

Value Veterans bring to the Workplace 

1. a sense of duty, a sense of doing what needs to be done.   
2. They're reliable.  They're gonna be used to getting the mission accomplished. Sometimes when it runs beyond five o'clock
3. They're going to be team players. They understand that there's no eye in team.

After General Mixon left military service, he continued to support and work for veterans with disabilities, mental health challenges, and has worked extensively in nonprofit work. 

Two organizations he is privileged to be a part of are: