Each month, “Anschuetz on Leadership” episodes look at unique ways for business to approach leadership. Christian Anschuetz is an adventurer, entrepreneur, and United States Marine Corps Captain (not on active duty). He’s been the CIO of one of the world’s largest advertising firms, CDO of a global safety and supply-chain company, and founded a nonprofit to help connect military veterans with business leaders for mutually beneficial outcomes. Today, Christian shares an update on Task Force Tribute, the initiative he helped to spearhead to honor the lives and stories of members of the Armed Forces and their families.
Episode 14 | Task Force Tribute Update: the Power of Stories
The Big Themes:
- The Task Force Tribute journey: In September, the group arrived in Washington, D.C., having traveled 8,500 miles in 23 days, with dozens of stops to connect with veterans and family members, including many Gold Star families.
- TFT is collecting stories for a virtual memorial: Next up for the group is to help create an unprecedented, high-tech virtual memorial composed of the hundreds of stories shared by military members and their families. To contribute a story, please visit the TFT website.
- The impact of sharing stories: Christian says that a common thread emerged in many of his conversations during the journey, which is the deep need among these service members and their families to talk about their experiences and their loved ones.
- Addressing mental health challenges as a community: The VA and other government agencies are not doing enough to support the mental health needs of members of the military, and Christian says that there’s a great need for everyone around servicemen and women to step up themselves to help.
The Big Quotes:
- “This model that we’re in in our country, where our media, you know, ‘you have to enrage to engage,’ right? And it’s driven by business models. It’s driven by self interest. But that doesn’t mean that it’s driven by reality. And, folks, it’s incumbent upon all of us to not get lazy and be cynical because cynicism is lazy. If you think something isn’t right, productively, proactively, and constructively try and fix it.”
- “If you do know a military member, actually, please don’t thank them for their service—actually say, ‘hey, you know, if you ever ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. And if you think I don’t understand, you’re probably right. But I’m willing to try. I’m willing to try.’ And that, folks, could save a life. And it could save a life of an American that really risked their all for us.”
Stream the audio version of this episode:
More about Task Force Tribute:
Learn the backstory, make a donation, and get involved via their website. You can also get to know the non-profit group behind TFT, Project RELO.
