Trump, Trade Wars, VUCA: Military Veterans Are In High Demand As Company Executives

-Analysis-

PARIS — We are not at war. But U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a trade war, without precedent from within nearly a century. The war is one in which all tariffs are permitted, contrary to the system put in place since the end of World War II, which had generated a fantastic boom in international trade.

For the tens of thousands of French companies that export, this is a formidable challenge. If they want to succeed in this unknown world, they’re going to have to seek out skills that they don’t have — and that the military has. So hire a general!

Outplacement unit

Companies have long been recruiting military personnel. Every year in France, more than 100 generals enter the “second section” (meaning they retire but remain mobilized), and many of them are still restless.

The army has its own outplacement unit, MIRVOG (Mission of Return to Civilian Life for Generals). There’s no longer any need to go “to the market in the county town, where apparently there were generals for sale,” as the French vocal quartet Les Frères Jacques sang in a delightfully old-fashioned Francis Blanche lyric from the 1950s.

Many large companies have a high-ranking officer who acts as defense advisor to the CEO. In recent years, several generals have become heads of security companies. But in the new world we’re entering, former high-ranking military personnel will be able to bring their talents to bear in a much broader register, in corporate strategy and organization.

Today’s retiring generals have been nurtured on the principles of a “VUCA” world, an acronym introduced in American military schools nearly 40 years ago — a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

Assessing sovereignty

The term became widely used in the 2000s, following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. At the time, terrorism was the cause of this major unpredictability and difficulty in taking action. The threat was mainly geopolitical. Today, it’s the president of the world’s leading power who’s in charge. And he has chosen the economic arena. Businesses have no choice but to adapt.

That’s not the only reason to listen more to the military in business. They are also experts in logistics. When a battalion goes into battle, it has to have all the weapons, ammunition and protection it needs on hand. As soon as one part is missing, the risk of defeat grows.

Companies have much to learn from the military’s responsiveness.

With very different styles, Napoleon and De Gaulle were logistical maniacs. In the Trumpian world, where borders are likely to open and close erratically, companies have much to learn from the military’s responsiveness. The internet was originally created at the request of the U.S. military, to circulate information even when one or more relays fail.

The art of negotiation

The military also has real know-how in two other areas that are set to become critical. The first is the assessment of sovereignty, not only political but also industrial. A missile contains hundreds of components, many of them imported. How can we remain sovereign in their manufacture? The top brass have been asking themselves this question for a long time. So they can help manufacturers to think about it, which is going to become increasingly crucial.

The second area is the art of negotiation. In all major arms sales contracts, military personnel take part in negotiations that closely combine concerns for national independence with the private interests of industrialists, where companies move forward hand in hand with the State. This is typically the kind of work France is going to have to do more and more often, both with the Trump administration and with the Chinese authorities.

Alas, not every company can afford a high-ranking officer, whose salary demands on the market have risen notably in recent years. Expect generals to cost even more today, as military expertise will be one of the keys to success in the business world because of Trump.