The ongoing journey of transition: an interview with Arjun Grewal
Arjun Grewal was in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for two decades, spending 12 years of those years with the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). His service included deployment on numerous global operations and counter-terrorism missions, domestic Canadian operations, and work with international military and intelligence allies.
Following his retirement from the military, Arjun held multiple leadership roles with IBM in its Cloud and Business Analytics divisions. He then made another career transition, becoming CEO of Ventus Respiratory Technologies and once again bringing his decades of experience in the CAF and business analytics skills to develop innovative personal protection products, like a lightweight respirator that can serve as an alternative to gas masks for the military and first responders.
But if you ask Grewal what his transition from military to civilian life was like, he’d say that it’s still happening. “Transition has a destination and I don’t think I’m there yet, and that’s not unique to a Veteran’s transition,” he says.
He spoke to True Patriot Love about translating his skills from the CAF to IBM and beyond, how members of the forces can prepare for a post-CAF career, and what potential employers should know about recruiting Veterans.
What was your transition from military to civilian life like?
It’s still happening! Transition is going to be personal for every individual. For some it will be buying a hobby farm and watching the sunset every day, and that’s amazing. My jump was to another career.
When you move from one career to a completely different one, you’re always trying to find your feet as fast as you can. It’s been amazing because of the people that I’ve met, the new skills I’ve learned and also some of the skills that I’ve brought from the military to teach to my colleagues. It’s been a really welcome exchange of skills where I’ve learned some and have been able to impart others.
What skills have you brought from the CAF to your colleagues?
Most of the skills I’ve been lucky enough to impart and teach have been about running teams and how to leverage everybody’s skills. It has been eye-opening for me because of the differences between a hierarchical, mission-driven organization like the military and a flat and non-hierarchical organization like a start-up where it’s all hands on deck. Being able to move between those two realms has been really interesting.
Some of the skills Veterans bring are team-building, communication, executing on SOPs, being able to think tactically asymmetrically, as well having skills in planning strategically. All have been skills I’ve used a lot or have translated to be effective in business or in the civilian market.
What does “asymmetric” mean in this context?
Chaos. Asymmetric is a way to explain chaotic, unpredictable situations like counter-insurgency operations when we don’t have the full picture, we don’t have information, and time isn’t on our side. Those scenarios, which happen a bit more often when you’re in uniform, have their analogues in business. A chaotic situation is still chaotic.
Looking back, what advice would you give to your younger self about your post-military career?
Great question and I prefer thinking about advice, versus regrets! One would be “Slow down, take your time.” I served 19 years and there was a time in the 17th and 18th year when I thought, I’ve achieved what I want to achieve; the forces have gotten what they can out of me; it’s time to be with my family and focus on a new career.
I spent time with CANSOFCOM for most of my career, starting as a young adult. I went from putting in a 60-day release to starting at IBM at the end of 60 days. I didn’t take the time and the Second Career Assistance Network training that the CAF offers. My transition plan was getting started and getting good at the next thing as soon as possible.
It takes time to translate your skills, your language, your approach to a new org and it also takes time to learn a new org culture, its people, what makes them tick. I loved it. It was exciting but I was nervous: the term “imposter syndrome” comes to play here. Now looking back, I could have taken more time to decompress and prepare better for my jump into IBM.
What advice would you give someone today about preparing to leave the CAF?
When I was coming back from my first tour in Afghanistan 2004, we spent some time in a third location on the way home to Canada. We had meetings and assessments with psychologists and peers; we had a couple of dinners, and we let off some steam. It was a very helpful time. There’s a parallel for people planning to leave the forces.
Take a pause and organize yourself before you take that next bound in your career. Take time to speak to peers, and take time to reflect on your career. Know that that part of your life is over. You’re going to bring a lot forward but you’re also going to shed a lot. You’ll have new family dynamics, too. Take the time to go through what VAC offers for your transition. Set up your appointments. Perform the right hygiene on all your paperwork.
I’d recommend taking a SCAN [Second Career Assistance Network] seminar – it’s now called the Digital Transition Centre. About 15 years ago, there was a stigma about going to a SCAN seminar – you didn’t want your boss to see you go because that meant you were planning to leave. But that’s changed. It’s an important message for the CAF to give: “We will nurture you as a human and as a family unit and when you’re done serving, we have tools to help you transition out.”
Looking at it from the employer’s side, what are the benefits to hiring Veterans?
A lot of employers will imagine a Veteran is someone in uniform who’s from the combat arms. But there’s such a breadth of diverse skills and specialists that come out of the CAF like financial managers, controllers, psychologists, and engineers. There are coders, software developers, and intelligence analysts who are, in essence, data scientists.
The CAF trained them to be the best, and they got to work globally with partners, peers and allies to hone those skills to operate in a conflict zone or disaster recovery. The diversity of skills that you get from a Veteran is unmatched for hiring someone who’s going into their second career. My advice to employers is to shake their bias.
Where could an employer connect with Veteran candidates?
Engaging with Veteran organizations like Treble Vector, Blackstone, and the V-42 Foundation would be an entry point. We get together and have a common communication platform where we post jobs and care for each other and do buddy checks.
What do companies risk losing by not prioritizing Veteran recruitment and hiring?
Whether they’re 17 and signed up for the reserves or they’re 28 and coming out of university and want to pursue a second career, what they all have in common is an attribute of service, an attribute of adventure, and they’re interested in serving the greater good. You’ll lose that heart, that grit, and that commitment you could bring into your organization. But my caution is not to look at Veteran hiring as a charitable case. When you’re speaking to a Veteran and you want to hire them, it’s not “We’ll take you” it’s “We want you.”
In civilian job profiles you’ll see notes like “ex-IBMer” “ex-Googler” “ex-Space-X” – those experiences are held in high regard because of what they say about that individual. They made it through a very hard and stringent employment onboarding and interview system and then they flourished in that organization to the point where they stayed for years. A Veteran’s experience should be seen the same way.