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683 turns · 23 minAll right.
He's, um, he's still on Europe time, mate. That's why [laughs]
He's still jet lagged.
Have to give [laughs] him a little bit in the next one.
[laughs]
Hey, guys. How are you? Uh, we're here today, uh, to review and debrief pod number... I- I was blanking, nine.
M- yes, nine.
Yes, pod, [laughs] pod number nine-
Yes
... with James Jensen. Um, awesome chat.
Oh, yeah.
Awesome guy.
Yeah.
Um...
Scary stories.
Yeah. Once again, like-
[laughs]
... super, super different perspective, right? Like, so James is, um, the second of what will be four veterans that we're having on season-
Yeah
... one. But he's got a different story, like, like in comparison of a lot of other people. Like, um, uh, was training as an officer-
Yeah
... and decided, you know, i- I don't know if it comes out in the, the actual story itself. Like-
Yeah, it does
... he had the choice between commissioning, so that's effectively becoming an officer-
Yeah
... right after all that work, and he was gonna go to 5/7, which is a unit was deploying to Iraq, right?
Okay.
So he's also gonna get that opportunity.
Yeah.
But then chose, you know, the, the other alternative is to go and be a soldier at 1 RAR, like, and restart, which takes like... You don't see that very often, someone going from being-
Yeah
... an officer.
Was it like a week before?
It was lit- he was literally done.
Yeah.
He was done everything. So the ne- the... My understanding is all he needed to do is be- effectively doing his commissioning ceremony.
Yeah.
It's like a passing out parade.
Yeah.
Like, he'd done everything. So, uh, for me, that says so much about him as a person.
Yeah.
Like, he... If you look at what he talks about and his personality, he's so 100% focused in, on what he stands for.
Yeah. Yeah. You can tell by the way he talks as well.
Oh, my G-
Yeah
... he's just so precise and adamant. Everything-
Yeah
... every question that he has, he thinks about, right?
Yeah.
And he's so precise. But I just think, like, for me, there's a lot to be said about, um, you know, his decision-making about, you know, in effect resigning his commission. He wasn't commissioned, but let's just say-
Yeah
... he was as an officer, to restart as a soldier-
Yeah
... because he wanted to be on the front line.
Yeah.
Right? And he wanted to serve as an infantry soldier.
Yeah.
It's pretty, it's pretty amazing stuff, and his experiences, obviously we'll, we'll talk through that as well, um, during the debrief. But yeah, just super interesting guy. Um, super knowledgeable. His leadership stuff I think is amazing, that I took from that as well.
Yeah.
Like, his, you know, his take on leadership is, is, is a really clear, honest, and I think genuine way of looking at leadership. And I think we'll probably get to in a little bit, is that one of the key points when I was thinking about the podcast is that for leaders to be a good leader, often you have to be led by someone who's not.
Yep. Yeah.
Which sucks, right?
Yeah.
Like, you have to know what it's like for someone to, you know, maybe not treat you the way that you deserved, or gaslight you to other people-
Yeah
... or not show up in a way that, you know, is the way you need to be. And imagine in a combat zone-
Yeah
... right? When you c- you
Episode notes
Blake and the team sit down to discuss the conversation with James Jensen, their takeaways, key learns, as well as heading down a few philosophical rabbit holes. In the chat the team talk through why James chose the front line over an officer's path despite graduating from ADFA, what 14 years as an SAS Patrol Commander taught him about leadership under real pressure, and how accountability looks different when lives are on the line. They also unpack his transition from soldier to consultant, and why he believes the principles that build elite military teams translate directly into building high-performing businesses.