What the Military Taught Me About Leading Modern Teams | Will Ferguson

Описание: What can a war zone teach you about leading a modern marketing team?

In this episode of Lead Human, Tim Spengler and Jack Myers talk with Will Ferguson – a U.S. military veteran, marketing leader, and Ethics Commissioner for the town of Fairfield, Connecticut – about how service, values, and accountability translate from Afghanistan to the boardroom.

Will shares what the military taught him about building teams inside huge systems, why he went back for his MBA a decade after undergrad, and how he thinks about talent and education in today’s tech-driven world. He talks about working alongside Afghan partners, seeing their courage up close, and what “leaving no one behind” really means when you come home.

They also dig into:

How the military continues to create value for society and for veterans’ careers

What “purpose-driven values” look like inside data- and AI-obsessed companies

How he approaches ethics in local government and in business decisions

Why the name “Razorfish” is a surprisingly good metaphor for modern leadership

If you care about leadership, service, or keeping your values intact in a world of dashboards and algorithms, this conversation is a grounded, human perspective you’ll want to hear.

Lead Human is hosted by Jack Myers & Tim Spengler, in association with Acast, and produced by Wondir Studios (Desta Wondirad).

00:00 Local TV, politics & the Super Bowl cold open
02:22 Sinclair, Kid Rock and the power of local stations
07:34 “Greetings, humans” – Lead Human show intro
08:06 Meet Will Ferguson – veteran, marketer, ethics commissioner
09:39 Grounding question: who are you as a human?
12:12 Military background & lessons from serving in uniform
14:38 Why Will went back for his MBA ten years later
16:42 Building modern teams – what he looks for today
21:30 Working with Afghan partners & the human side of war
23:42 How the military gives back value to society and culture
28:23 Purpose-driven values in a data & AI-driven business world
31:10 Ethics, public service & the Fairfield ethics commission
34:42 What a “razorfish” actually is – and why the name matters
37:25 Final thoughts on leading with values in complex systems
38:05 Outro – subscribe and join the Lead Human movement