1. What kind of leadership style are military recruits most likely to adopt? Why? Do you think this could ever become a problem?

2. How might planning in the military translate itself to planning in the business world?

It might seem like an odd match at first: military officers as business managers. But a number of firms, including retail giant Walmart, are discovering the benefits of military leadership as part of their management team. Recently Walmart faced a management problem: not enough junior managers in training. So Bill Simon, President and CEO of Walmart U.S. presented an idea: begin hiring junior military officers as management candidates. Simon, himself a 25-year veteran of the Navy and Naval Reserves thought the strategy made perfect sense. Walmart’s human resources department set out to implement the plan. “The thinking was that we could bring in world-class leadership talent that was already trained and ready to go,” explains Jennifer Seidner, a senior recruiting manager. “and then we could teach them retail, because we know that pretty well.”

Within a few months, Walmart realized it was mining a huge vein of golden talent. The retailer hired retired Army brigadier general Gary Profit to expand military recruiting throughout the business. Now, recruiting from the military is standard procedure. “It’s been a fairly dramatic change,” observes Jennifer Seidner. The benefit to veterans is also dramatic. For the first time since World War II, veterans returning from combat are welcomed by businesses who want to hire them.

One project manager for GE Oil & Gas is a former Army captain. He manages a team of 50 people as they build a structure—they are ahead of schedule and under budget. When asked what his role is on the project, the manager says without hesitation, “leader, absolutely. To get the pieces where they need to be at the right time takes someone out there motivating, directing, organizing. It takes a leader to do it.”

Bill Simon’s initial idea has caught and spread like wildfire throughout the business world. Firms such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, State Farm Insurance, AT&T, Bank of America, and Merck all now routinely hire veterans as managers. In fact, companies actually compete with each other to locate and tap the best of the talent. Noel Tichy, director of the Global Business Partnership at the University of Michigan observes, “There’s a big pool of these officers who have had the kind of under-fire judgment experience that makes them really valuable. Whoever has the best screening and development is going to get some great leaders.” Larry Siegel, senior vice president for the headhunting firm RecruitMilitary, agrees. “It’s sort of blood in the water,” he quips. “Companies really want these folks.”

Managers don’t necessarily arrive fully formed from the military. Often these job candidates lack certain technical skills such as budgeting. So, business schools have begun to attract these students—and MBA programs are happy to enroll them. In all, it’s a positive outcome for everyone. Many of tomorrow’s business leaders are already training—sometimes halfway around the world, in a tank or a tent.