Life on the Good Foot
In this episode on The Lion40 Podcast, I talk to BJ Ganem, who was raised in Savannah Georgia within a close-knit Lebanese family that has owned and operated a local store since 1939. After a year at Georgia Southern, BJ joined the Marine Corps and served until he sustained combat injuries suffered in Iraq. After struggling upon his return, he used his experiences growing up and skills from the Marines to continue his leadership journey. He built Sierra Delta in 2017 with the goal of helping veterans while also rescuing dogs. BJ has run marathons, climbed mountains, been painted by President GW Bush, been a guest on Letterman, Drew Barrymore, and so much more.
“And 2001 then September Eleventh happened, and pretty much everything changed. You know, So we were activated and sent to Iraq, and in Iraq 2004 on Thanksgiving night I was hit by my thirteenth IED.”
In addition to this quote, here are some points of conversation that resonated with me most deeply.
Even positive acts can be self-destructive.
After the loss, surgeries, recovery, and struggles from losing his leg, BJ talks about doing all the “positive” things to take control of his life again. Going back to school, and working multiple jobs, are yes a good thing but also can be destructive in their own right if you are trying to fill your time so much so that you’re trying to avoid the messy feelings and other things you don’t want to look at.
I feel like there are a lot of people who are trying to fill their time so much so that they're trying to avoid the things about themselves that they don’t want to look at. So they keep filling their time with work, TV, and social media, and I think we all do this in some way or another. But really looking at these aspects is what makes us able to digest those feelings and be able to move forward.
2. It’s hard to get through to someone when they are defensive.
I thought it was interesting how people would assume that being in the military meant there was yelling and BJ responded that he rarely did so. If you're trying to convince someone of something or motivate them to do something it’s very likely it won’t be accomplished through yelling. As humans, we don’t generally respond well to that kind of negative reinforcement Talking to a person in this way often leaves them feeling defensive and unable to constructively take in any information you're about to give them. Get them brought into a vision or get them to understand things from your perspective so that you can get work accomplished together.
I talk with a lot of people in my practice who are upset at work. They're unhappy because they have a co-worker they just can't get along with them. However, no matter where you go, there are difficult people everywhere so you are better off honing your leadership skills or trying to find a way to get through them so they can really hear you, instead of running away from one person. Trying to find common ground
3. Don’t wait until someone is drowning to help them, help your whole team.
As a dog lover, I enjoyed hearing BJ discuss founding the Sierra Delta program. Sierra Delta is a wellness nonprofit network dedicated to empowering military Veterans through tailored support, dog training grants, resources, community opportunities, and ways to be of Service to others.
BJ wanted to create a program that would benefit all veterans. Many programs help veterans once they are in deep struggles but Sierra Delta aims to help everyone in hopes of helping veterans transition and get help before they feel worse or fall deeper into mental health issues. To not just apply for service dogs to encourage adopting and building a bond with dogs, training that dog, being able to help a larger group of people, and making it more accessible.
Supporting a team shouldn’t just be once someone feels they are underwater. A real leader cares for their team and makes it a priority to find ways to better help their people. Seeing a need and looking for innovative ways to solve those problems for the entirety of the team not just a few and solve a real problem that benefits everyone.
4. Communication and building relationships are key
There are so many different scenarios that we speak different languages. BJ talks about building relationships with dogs and how we learn to build communication with them even though we are different species and don’t communicate the same way. This also relates to individuals in the military who can live so differently than their own family members it’s almost like they speak a different language. Besides cases where individuals don’t speak the same actual verbal dialect, we communicate with each other in so many ways besides how we speak and write. We are all different so being able to have strong communication skills is key to having good relationships and goes beyond how well you can speak and write.
Communication is the ability to share ideas, thoughts, and feelings with others in a clear, accurate, timely, and persuasive manner. Communication involves both verbal (spoken) and non-verbal (body language) methods. Listen carefully – If you want people to listen carefully to what you're saying, then you need to be a good listener too. Make sure that when someone else is speaking, you give them their full attention and don't interrupt them until they have finished what they have to say.
BJ says if you want people to like your product they have to like you. Sales isn’t just sales it’s building relationships that last. You need to be able to interact with people in a way that builds trust, confidence, and rapport that’s all a part of communication and some of that is how someone naturally is but a lot of people also need to be trained in those skills.
5. Don’t be afraid to fail, what’s the worst that can happen?
It's easy to get caught up in the fear of failure: What if I quit my job to pursue my passion and it doesn't work out? What if I try something and it fails? We all make mistakes. What if you don't try? Then you'll never know.
That's why it's so important not to be afraid of failing — even if you do fail, there's no shame in trying something new. In fact, failing is a great way to learn and grow as a leader and a person.
You can't just sit back and wait for other people to make all the decisions for you because that's not going to get anything done. You have to take charge and make decisions on your own without being afraid of making mistakes or making changes.
More About BJ Ganem
BJ Ganem was raised in Savannah Ga within a close-knit Lebanese family that has owned and operated a store since 1939. BJ graduated from Benedictine High School in 1995 attended 1 year at GA Southern and then joined the Marine Corps. BJ served from 1996 - 2005 with his career ending due to combat injuries suffered in Iraq. BJ worked at Kraft Foods as a district manager, served as a Veterans Service Officer, worked for TheFund.Org, and then started Sierra Delta in 2017.
BJ has run marathons, climbed mountains, been painted by President GW Bush, been a guest on Letterman, Drew Barrymore, and so much more. BJ is a husband to Sarah. A father to Dylan, Mackenzie, Knox, and Rhodes as well as a pet parent to Loki and Sonora. BJ is grateful for everything in his life, a life he is living on the Good Foot!
Sierra Delta is a wellness nonprofit network dedicated to empowering military Veterans through tailored support, dog training grants, resources, community opportunities, and ways to be of Service to others. All military veterans can join Sierra Delta for free with ID.me verification. All civilians can join Sierra Delta for a minimum monthly donation of $17.76 or a minimum annual donation of $200.
Follow BJ Ganem
Sierra Delta Website
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Sierra Delta Twitter
Author Information
Natasha Ganem, PhD, serves as principal consultant and organizational psychologist at Lion Leadership, an executive education firm dedicated to helping company owners design world-class leadership teams. To learn more about Lion Leadership coaching services, management training, and off-site retreat facilitation, contact us at info@lionleadership.com.
Lion Leadership – an executive education company.
We coach and train leadership teams and mid-level managers so that people don’t quit because of bad bosses. Whether you need 1-on-1 coaching for yourself, a custom leadership academy for your company, off-site retreats for your teams, or just a few hours of morale building, we are here to get your organization ready for what’s next. Natasha Ganem, Ph.D., is the founder and principal consultant.