Nuggets for Nuggets: The Tactical Suck
Later in my career, one of the pieces of advice I gave almost every new pilot I had an opportunity to work with was something I called The Tactical Suck.
Maybe I should have come up with a better name.
But it made people laugh, and more importantly, I think they remembered it.
The Tactical Suck is the deliberate decision to be reliably competent at every duty while investing your greatest effort in the work where you can create extraordinary value.
Or, said another way:
Have the courage to stop chasing excellence in every category so you can become extraordinary in the ones that matter most to you.
That idea shaped my career more than almost anything else.
As a Coast Guard aviator, your job is never just flying.
Every pilot also manages collateral duties. Supply. Facilities. Budgets. Public affairs. Scheduling. Awards. Evaluations. Investigations. Event planning. The list is nearly endless.
Like most organizations, there is always more work than people.
And there is another reality that almost everyone eventually discovers:
The work you become known for is usually the work you keep getting.
New officers would often receive a “special project” from the Executive Officer shortly after reporting aboard. Sometimes it was organizing a ceremony. Sometimes it was conducting an investigation. Sometimes it was planning a VIP visit.
My advice was always the same.
Do the job.
Do it well.
Be dependable.
Meet every deadline.
Earn a reputation for being someone people could trust.
But don’t spend every ounce of discretionary effort becoming the world’s greatest administrative project officer if that isn’t where you believe you can make your greatest contribution.
Instead, once you’ve established yourself as dependable, go find opportunities that align with the work you hope to spend your career doing.
For me, that meant anything to do with helicopter operations.
Volunteer to provide ground training.
Increase fusion with the other first responders you partner with.
Seek ways to create valuable flight training opportunities.
Continually improve unit standardization.
Find ways to solve operational challenges.
Then, absolutely crush those initiatives.
Over time, leaders naturally began bringing me more aviation work and fewer administrative projects—not because the administrative work wasn’t important, but because the organization benefited more from allowing me to specialize where I created the most value.
Organizations need exceptional administrators just as much as they need exceptional operators. If administration is where your strengths and interests lie, reverse everything I just said. Become indispensable there.
The same principle applies to almost every profession.
The best organizations don’t try to make everyone identical.
They help people become exceptional where their talents, interests, and passions overlap.
There is, however, one enormous caveat.
None of this is permission to neglect the fundamentals.
Every aviator must first master the aircraft before specializing in tactics.
Likewise, every professional should become highly competent at the administrative “blocking and tackling” of the profession.
Learn how to write evaluations.
Learn awards.
Learn investigations.
Learn funding.
Learn the systems your organization depends on.
Become efficient enough that these responsibilities no longer consume unnecessary mental energy.
Competence creates freedom.
The more efficiently you handle the fundamentals, the more time and energy you have for the work where you can make your greatest contribution.
The Tactical Suck was never about doing poor work.
It was never about avoiding responsibility.
It was about being intentional.
Be dependable in everything.
Become proficient in the fundamentals.
Then, purposefully direct your greatest effort toward the work where your unique gifts can create the most value for others.
Your career will be shaped less by the work you’re assigned and more by the work you deliberately choose to master.