After more than 22 years at Aflac, the 11th grade feels like another lifetime. But that’s when I decided to join the United States Marines. That “first job” eventually found me in foreign land, a bit scared but ready to do my duty during Operation Desert Storm. But the most important lesson I carry from these formative years might be the one I learned before I ever left boot camp at Parris Island.

The leadership philosophy I follow today centers on people, then process, then performance. I call it The Formula. But there’s something deeper behind it: Authentic leadership means recognizing and meeting the moment. Sometimes the job needs a disciplined executive. Sometimes it just needs a caring human. Most times it’s a combination of both.

When you’re a Marine recruit, you take a turn pulling what they call “fire watch”: overnight guard duty in the squad bay while everyone else sleeps. You’re not armed; you’re just aware . . . and responsible. It’s a test of your discipline to stay alert even when you know nothing will happen. Until it does. One night when I had the duty, the thing I became aware of, and suddenly responsible for, was a squad mate who was trying to take his own life.

I knew I had to wake up my DI, my drill instructor. If you’ve ever been a kid who had to wake up a grumpy parent in the middle of the night to tell them you wrecked the car, multiply that apprehension by at least 10.

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