The FourBlock Podcast

This week we welcome former U.S. Army officer Dr. Jason Dempsey. Jason served for over twenty years in the Army as an infantry officer, deploying twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq. He last served as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that capacity he oversaw the Chairman's strategic priority of  Keeping Faith with the Military Community  and led the development...

When most people are asked to describe themselves, they typically respond with what they do for a living – but that doesn't necessarily define the core of who you are as a person, or give you the strength you need to press forward in times of adversity. This week, FourBlock Founder Mike Abrams asks, how would you define yourself? Mike talks about how you can find your core identity from which to l...

This week's guest is retired Army First Sergeant Patrick Abrams. Patrick was drafted and served in Vietnam in 1971 and then deployed again in 2003 to Iraq as a 55-year old infantry platoon sergeant with the New York National Guard. He was severely injured when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive devise detonated at a checkpoint that he was supervising. While recovering at Walter Reed Hospital, do...

Are today's service members narcissistic snowflakes or the next greatest generation? In this week's episode, FourBlock Founder Mike Abrams , NYT bestselling author Lindsey Pollak , and entrepreneur Rick Miners discuss a new study published in the journal Psychology and Aging that suggests baby boomers are actually more sensitive than millennials.  The study, described as the largest on narcissism...

This week, FourBlock Founder Mike Abrams discusses a speech delivered by William Deresiewicz at West Point called Solitude and Leadership. For the past ten years, all FourBlock students read and reflect on this speech to help them think critically about their lives, careers, and transition. The link to the full speech can be found here . A link to the video of William Deresiewicz describing the sp...

This week, FourBlock Founder Mike Abrams discusses a critical lesson in Anton Myer's classic war novel "Once an Eagle" about what is described in the book as the occupational disease of the soldier. Mike talks about how veterans can learn from this lesson in order to successfully transition into a new career.   ABOUT US Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transiti...

This week, FourBlock Founder Mike Abrams discusses the number one thing that veterans need to focus on when starting a new internship or full-time position. ABOUT US Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century milita...

Success teaches you nothing. This week we welcome Wells Fargo managing director Chris Pink. Chris heads Asset-Backed Finance and Securitization within the Corporate and Investment Bank, which encompasses nearly 400 clients and a risk portfolio of approximately $130 billion. Chris also Co-Chairs the Corporate and Investment Bank's Diversity and Inclusion Council. In this episode, Chris discusses hi...

Duty-Honor-Country. This week, we welcome Citigroup Managing Director and retired Army Colonel John Tien. John is a first-generation American who felt a duty and obligation to serve the country that provided so much for his family. He ended up serving for 24 years, which included three combat tours to Iraq and three tours in the White House serving Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. John discuss...

This week's guest is Joshua Hartley, former Marine Captain, Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran, and now Veteran's Advocacy Lead at PwC. Josh discusses the traumatic brain injury that he sustained in Afghanistan, the battle to get the care that he needed, the challenges he faced during his military-to-civilian transition living with TBI, and how he ended up at a supportive company where he is able to...

This week, FourBlock founder Mike Abrams shares the incredible story of Sergeant Walt Ehlers and the ways we can lead by his example. Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century military service defined by peace-keep...

How do you find strength in your transition? This week, FourBlock founder Mike Abrams shares his thoughts on the power of helping others and serving your community. Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century militar...

This week, FourBlock founder Mike Abrams discusses the best piece of advice that he was given during his military-to-civilian transition. Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century military service defined by peace-...

This week's guest is Susan Rietano Davey. Susan is the co-founder and owner of Prepare To Launch LLC, a learning company that guides women through challenging work-life transitions. She began her career on the executive track at the Xerox corporation, where she moved rapidly up the ranks earning top performance honors along the way, recognizing the need for more and better flexible work options af...

This week's guest is Dr. Lisa Stern. Dr.  Lisa   Stern has three decades of workforce and career development experience, including extensive experience executing successful veteran employment programs. Her passions lie in providing veterans with the critical self-advocacy skills they need to be successful and thrive in the civilian workforce and training employers on military cultural competency. ...

Mike Liguori is an Iraq War veteran, published author, and founder of Live Your Truth Media , a content marketing firm that focuses on powerful storytelling and audience building.  His book, The Sandbox Stories of Human Spirit and War chronicled his two combat tours in Iraq and coming home from the war. His writing and thoughts have been featured in the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, and his pers...

This week's guest is Gerry Byrne. Gerry is the vice-chairman of PMC, guiding business initiatives across PMC's entire portfolio of media brands. Gerry's decades of accomplishments as a media executive, entrepreneur, and community leader are highlighted by his longtime run as the publisher of Variety Magazine, where he dramatically transformed that business into a powerful diversified global media...

On this Veterans Day episode of the FourBlock Podcast, Mike and Lindsey discuss whether or not veterans should be thanked for their service, how to overcome the awkwardness of networking and the best ways to build relationships with people. ABOUT US Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Kr...

This week we have Darren Sumter. For over 20 years. Darren has worked as a management consultant and a business development strategist specializing in providing companies with business to business software solutions to drive innovation and improve profitability. Currently, Darren works as a Global Accounts Manager at LinkedIn where he manages responsibilities for several strategic customers in Nor...

This week we have Dr. Amanda Spray. Dr. Spray is the Director of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at NYU Langone . She's also the Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU Langone Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Spray completed her doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare system on the Manhattan campus. She founded the training program within NYU Lango...

This week's guest is Rick Miners. Rick is an entrepreneur, writer, coach, and expert on transition and retirement life planning. Rick was the co-founder and president of FlexCorp systems, a business process outsourcing company. Shortly after Inc. Magazine named FlexCorp as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States, he unexpectedly sold the company and quickly realize...

Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century military service defined by peace-keeping, humanitarian aid, and full combat. But what happens next? Veterans are often unprepared to return home and begin new careers. We...

Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century military service defined by peace-keeping, humanitarian aid, and full combat. But what happens next? Veterans are often unprepared to return home and begin new careers. We...

  Julia Taylor Kennedy is the Executive Vice President at the Center for Talent Innovation ( @TalentInnovate ), driving cutting edge research on the issues impacting today's professional workforce.  She led the sponsor dividend research and coauthored  Mission Critical: Unlocking the Value of Veterans in the Workforce (Center for Talent Innovation) with FourBlock founder Michael Abrams. Julia has...

    In this episode, co-hosts Mike Abrams and Lindsey Pollak discuss the similarities shared between veterans and civilians making significant career changes.   ABOUT US Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century mi...