Blog Posts tagged with "leadership"

I recently gave a commencement speech to University of Miami Class of 2011 and I thought some of you may be interested in what I had to say to the next generation.  Here's a copy of my remarks; I'd like to know what wisdom you would share with the new graduates. ~ADM Stavridis

“You Never Know”

President Donna E. Shalala, Provost Thomas LeBlanc, Trustees, Alumni, Faculty, Class of 2011, family, friends, friends of the University of Miami and this wonderfully energetic, dynamic and culturally rich community –

Good morning. Good morning especially to the Class of 2011.

It’s truly wonderful to be back in South Florida, and at the University of Miami– the top rated university in Florida and home of Sebastian the Ibis.   I truly feel at home here – I was born just up the road in West Palm Beach, and my wife is from “up north” -- as in north Florida -- born in Jacksonville.  Our daughter Julia is here with us today and is a proud graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy just across the highway.  We loved our three years here at SOUTHCOM.

Y para mis amigos que hablan Español, ¡Muy buenos días a todos y en especial a la clase del dos mil once!

De verdad, aquí, me siento como en familia.  ¡Gracias!

When I was asked to take the trip from Belgium – where I currently live – to speak at your commencement I was more than happy to come, and not just because of the beautiful weather and sunshine – some of you may not know this, but it rains 220 days a year in Belgium – but also to get some decent Cuban coffee.  I also hoped I could try out for the X-Factor, but I guess I am too late for that. . .

And, we have a lot of friends here, especially, my very good friend, President Shalala – who, by the way, was just nominated to the National Woman’s Hall of Fame for her ground breaking work as aneducator and public servant, with more than 25 years as an accomplished scholar, teacher and administrator.  Well deserved, Madame Prez!

Before proceeding, I want to thank all the families here today; especially the moms and the dads, as well as all the brothers, sisters, friends and other loved ones. To use a little sailor-speak, you have been the steady breeze filling the sails of these graduates, and I salute you for it. You deserve a big round of applause for the love and support you've given to make this day – and every day after it – possible.

President Shalala asked me to speak for about two hours? So I brought some Power Point slides too – can we project here?  Is that OK? Everyone comfortable?  In Europe it is said that the most dangerous thing in the world is a US military officer with power point slides.  I’ll spare you that approach…

Actually, I promise to keep this very brief, because I know you’d much rather be out at the “Tavern” or “Moe’s in the Grove"; or over in South Beach – and probably will be soon.

I graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis approximately 1.3 million years ago in 1976 … in real terms, thinking back on my own graduation day, my standing here today would have been like a 1942 graduate talking to my class … we all would have been amazed that someone that old could actually walk across the stage unassisted, so I am under no illusions as to how I must look to all of you. In case you are wondering, I was somewhat taller with a full head of hair when I graduated …

This may surprise you, but most commencement speeches are pretty boring.  They tend to feature tired platitudes and lots of forgettable admonitions, ranging from “believe in yourself” … to … “be a team player” … to… “get out there and change the world” … to “keep your Vitamin D level up.”  Not bad advice, but somehow to my mind not really helpful.

After thinking it over, I decided the best thing I can offer you today are a few observations on one deceptive and simple thought: 

How suddenly life can come at you.

For most of you, thus far in your lives, my guess is that things have gone pretty much according to a strategic plan – grow up, do well in school, come to a fine college like the University of Miami, graduate, and …

Now it gets interesting.  Get ready.  Buckle up.

From here on out … in a phrase … “

You never know.” 

In my experience, life after college has a somewhat random quality to it that you begin to appreciate more as you move along. So many things happen that do not seem to be part of the plan – any plan – whether yours, your parent’s, your husband’s or your wife’s, or your boss’s or even – the national plan, whatever that is. 

For me, after graduation, I had a strategic plan.  I was going to go to sea, be a Naval Officer, then get out and go to law school, make lots of money, and live in one place.

And it started out that way.   Early on, I served as an engineer officer on a Navy super aircraft carrier.  I was in charge of 100 sailors, working – and sweating – side by side, seven decks down, in the fire and engine rooms, where the temperatures routinely soared over the 130 degree mark.  I knew what a spanner wrench and a tap and die set were, and perhaps even used them at one time or another.  While it probably sounds a little weird to all of you, it made sense to me.  I was a sailor, at sea, with sailors, thinking vaguely about getting out and going to law school.  That was my strategic plan.

Then it all began to change and change rapidly.

Marriage and children, disruptive but lovely and wonderful.

The law school plan sort of melted away and a series of jobs at sea and ashore followed.

Operations officer on a guided missile cruiser . . . Captain of a destroyer . . .  Strategic planner in the Pentagon.

Then, through a computer error of some kind, I became an Admiral.

It started to really get odd then.

The sea became a memory, and the jobs focused on strategy and policy and unfolding events in distant countries, most far from the sea.

I never could have predicted the twists and turns that led me to my job today, focused on Afghanistan, Libya, Russia, the Balkans, missile defense, cyber, and piracy.  Well maybe piracy … but the rest of it? 

You never know.

So – you really never know where your future will take you. 

And I think this is especially true for all of you -- the Class of 2011, the Millennial Generation.

You are digital natives – while some of you may vaguely remember life before the take off – the explosion really – of mass technology, you’ve lived most of your lives in a highly connected world, dominated by communications and media technologies, the web, Y2K, Google, Youtube, Wikipedia, instant messaging, text messaging, MP3, iPOD, iPhone, blackberry, 3G, 4G, the cloud, iPad, on and on.   The information Age . . . It is the sea in which you swim throughout your life.

You were born at a pivotal moment – in history, in technology, and in so many other fields.  In your 22 years, you’ve lived more change, more transcendental moments, greater and faster technological evolution than most other generations before you.     And you’ve lived and experienced this change at an increasing rate of speed.  Life has already come at you – and fast – though you probably have not even realized it.

So here you are – the Class of 2011 – at graduation . . . Now what?

Here’s a thought:  This explosion of technology in every aspect of our lives over 22 years was the Age of Information.  Was.  Past tense.  

What is coming is an age of fusion in which Biology and Technology and Engineering and Information and much more will all essentially fuse and accelerate.

In the next 20 years you will live through tremendous changes and you – all of you graduating today – will be key to how our society maneuvers through the fusion, revolutionary explosions and changes.

One visionary futurist, Ray Kurzweill, has predicted a profound and disruptive transformation in human capability through technology, where our intelligence will become increasingly non-biological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today.  He called this the era of Singularity in a book entitled “The Singularity is Near.”  Some would argue that this era is upon us already.

Such transformations will go beyond the incredible evolution you’ve already lived.  They will touch every aspect of our lives – our societies and cultures; economy, business and finance; leisure and entertainment; health, quality of life, and life expectancy; . . . . how we exist in the world.  And all of this will change during your lifetimes.  

Science and technology will evolve from today’s early explorations of Artificial Intelligence, synthetic biology, face recognition, robotics, airborne networks – much of which we are exploring or even using already in the Department of Defense and in the private sectors – to shape shifting materials; to molecular and nano machines; to fully sensory internet; to concepts we can only imagine today.  The fusion of information, technology and the biological will be dominant in everything.  Will machines out-think you in a decade?  Perhaps, but …

You never know.

Profoundly connected to this will be changes in Healthcare and Medicine, which will be increasingly important as populations age and new challenges arise.  We will evolve from an uncertain healthcare environment and increasing global obesity; to broader definitions of health and consumer e-health; to Bio simulations and robotic surgery; to DNA repair.  How long will you live?  A very long time, I’d guess; but …

You never know.

Information and telecoms technology will of course continue to explode, fuse, and accelerate processes and information availability.  Very soon we will see 3-D teleconferences, holographic storage, wireless recharges, quantum computing and fully immersive gaming –we will live what others imagined when they created Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Terminator, The Matrix, A.I., and I, Robot.  In fact, you may ALREADY be living in the Matrix, and you just don’t know it yet.  I doubt it; but …

You never know.

This is not science fiction – this is the direction of current trends that will continue to unfold between now and 2050, and probably sooner.

What does that mean for you?

The concept of a “Life Strategy,” such as that your grandparents knew, or I expected when I graduated from Annapolis before you were born, is irrelevant.

Your life will be tactical, not strategically defined.

You will experience a series of lifelong learning events to keep you relevant and literate and interested in the world in which you live.   Those of you entering the workforce today are likely to experience ten to fourteen major “career” – and I put “career” in quotations – changes in your professional life.  You will need to constantly acquire new knowledge throughout your professional life.  

In an increasingly weightless economy where ideas and information are principal commodities, innovation in collaborative communities will matter deeply. 

In this environment the concept of Partnering – something I’ve worked particularly hard on as a member of the Department of Defense – will be necessary regardless of the field to address the many challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.    Some have called this the development of Megacommunities –  partnerships between governments, civil society, the private sector, and international institutions.  

All of this means you live will live increasingly complicated and increasingly fascinating lives, especially compared to those of us at my advanced age.

May I put in a small plug for something from the past that still matters?

It is service.

Related to partnering and the concept of megacommunities, more and more success in any field will also be tied to service.  Private companies will be required to do more than provide goods and services to the public; they will need to serve the public good.  Find time for some form of service, because as Wikipedia teaches us, the greatest knowledge comes from not one of us alone, but all of us thinking together. 

I believe that your “profession” – again in quotation marks -- will likely not be strictly some form of engineering or business in a classic sense – it will likely be a combination of many competencies and always changing.

Your success in your career will depend on how well you integrate ideas, innovate, partner and collaborate, and serve into all you do.

A last thought. 

Finding your life balance is essential.  In the end, it will be your family and friends that give it what meaning it will have. 

As for me?  I was lucky to marry my childhood sweetheart, Laura, who is in every way my lifelong partner.  Together, we've raised two daughters -- Christina and Julia -- who continue to take my breath away and who, as your peers, are beginning their own unpredictable journey.

Who could have guessed at the joy these women have brought into my life?  I wish you the same in your life partners. 

Who will they be? 

You never know.

If you remember anything from this small talk, it should be three things:

First, life comes at you fast, starting today, in a world that will fuse biology, technology, engineering, information and many other disciplines in ways we can only dimly comprehend today – it will be challenging and exciting and amazing;

Second, as you launch on the gorgeous trajectories of your lives, it will be the tactics of your life that will ultimately define its quality and its output, not a strategic plan – which means flexibility and life-long learning will be prime directives

Third and finally, in simplest terms, recognize that …

You never know.

Congratulations on all you have done and on all you will do …

As we say in the Navy, Godspeed and open water to you, class of 2011.