Meet Blayne Smith

Nice to Meet You

Our experience in life really influences our perspective and how we tend to make sense of the world. To understand where a person stands, it is really helpful to understand where they come from. So, here’s a little background on me.

I was raised in Florida by a couple of great midwestern parents. My upbringing steeped me in some very useful ideals like, ‘take pride in your work’, ‘finish what you start’, and ‘live within your means’.  Whatever my childhood may have lacked in expansiveness or ambition, it more than made up for with love, safety, and unwavering support. As a result, I think most people would describe me as reliable, strategic, thoughtful, or maybe even prudent. I’m good with all of that, but have worked hard over the past several years to also cultivate the ability to be more bold and open.  

At 18, I went off to West Point with the goal of taking on a big challenge and setting myself up for a solid future. Graduating in June of 2001, I’d planned to complete my mandatory five years of active duty service, go find a ‘real job’, and get on with my life. It didn’t really work out that way. The next ten years were a blur, with some notable highlights including: marrying my college sweetheart, 9/11, Iraq, having a boy, becoming a Green Beret, Afghanistan, having another boy, leaving the Army, working in corporate America, and divorce. Some of it is captured brilliantly in this blog post that tells my personal story of combat, loss, the struggle to come home, and the ultimate path back to a good life. It is both heartbreaking and hopeful, and I think you’ll absolutely find it worth a few minutes of your time.

I began a new chapter of life in 2012 when I left my corporate job and accepted the role of Executive Director at Team Red, White, and Blue. Over the next five years, my days and weeks were filled with the thrill of growing a movement and the joy of serving my fellow veterans and their families.

Professionally, it is probably what I’m most proud of and will always be a huge part of my life. Personally, this period in my life was full of new and exciting (sometimes scary) experiences. Most importantly, I met and fell in love with Jeni - my amazing wife, partner, and mother of sweet Penelope.

Leaving Team RWB in 2017 was difficult, but it was only for an incredible opportunity to join my friend Jason, and an amazing business at GORUCK. While my tenure as President of the company was relatively short - which you can read all about in this piece I wrote about our family’s need to return home to Tampa - I remain involved as an advisor and continue to believe deeply in the ‘rucking revolution’.

In 2018, I started a small consulting practice providing strategy, leader development, and coaching services to organizations that are seeking to make a social impact. It’s been an awesome experience so far and I have loved working with so many impressive and interesting teams and leaders. Through the process, I have discovered that my true calling is to contribute to meaningful missions and invest in the people around me. My work allows me to do that everyday and I feel very fortunate to have found it. Joining forces with my brother, Brandon has only reinforced and expanded my desire to share my hard-earned perspective and grow servant leaders. If you or your organization are wrestling with a period of growth or change, we’d be very happy to lend a hand.

An Origin Story

So no kidding, there we were, sipping some seriously strong coffee at a Tampa bodega after 48 hours of whiteboards, big ideas, and practical thoughts. 

We have to do this.

It was 10 years after we first met in Orlando at a national sales meeting - fish out of water in our suits and ties. We’d figured out how to sell and win and lead in this new environment, but we could sense in each other that we were built for something different. Still, we embraced the shock of dealing with angry clients, constant rejection, and the long, lonely miles to learn how to be businessmen. 

We had marched hard miles before.

In 1997 we both entered the US Army, Blayne through West Point and Brandon through Ft. Benning’s Sand Hill. Over the next 12 years, we endured brutal training, honed our craft, led soldiers, and deployed to combat. A lot. Brandon as a Ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment and Blayne as a Green Beret in the 3rd Special Forces Group. We experienced the full range and depth of the human experience - love, anger, brotherhood, fear, exhilaration, guilt, fulfillment, and profound loss. We achieved some great victories, saw some astonishing things, and survived harrowing moments that will forever be etched in our memories. 

We exited service around the same time, both hoping to turn the page and live ‘normal’ lives. We took corporate jobs and were doing our best to adapt and make a living while quietly struggling through the adversity of post-service reintegration. On the home front, we were trying to hold families together that had been ravaged by war, separation, and loss. We made so many mistakes, but we kept marching.

In 2012, Blayne left corporate America to become the first Executive Director of Team RWB. In the Spring of 2014, Brandon took his obligatory 60% pay cut to join the fast-growing veteran serving nonprofit and a hungry, talented team. Those days were tight, but our mission was solid and our crew was committed. Looking back, we recall with a smile those moments of scarcity, huddled around our financials with Laken and JJ, uncertain if we would make payroll. We didn’t break down, though, we broke through - together. Almost 4 years and $20M later, the organization was on a rocket ship and veterans were getting the care and the community they deserved.  

Back then, we had a couple of shared agreements that made all the difference: 

1) We can’t ask for permission. We have to do what we know is right - what we know will work, even if the rest of the world doesn’t see it yet.

2) We bet on our team and we walk in faith. If we believe in each other and in our mission, we’ll figure it out. 

In the fall of 2019, we found ourselves on a quick phone call that turned into a two-hour conversation about life and leadership and how we should go about making this world just a little bit better. That led to another phone call, then a video chat, then some shared books and articles, then a slew of Google docs, then a two-day whiteboard marathon that ended at that Tampa bodega...with a deep, unshakable belief.

We have to do this.

The truth is, we spent months literally trying to talk ourselves out of starting a leadership development firm. It’s a crowded industry, full of well-known personalities and systems. Does the world really need one more voice amongst all of the noise? As much as we tried to convince ourselves otherwise, the answer was a resounding “YES”.

So, why now? Because we live in an increasingly complex world with complex problems, and those problems are ultimately leadership problems. Whether you are trying to solve hunger, healthcare, climate change, or a financial crisis, you cannot do it without real leadership - applied leadership. More than ever, the world needs authentic, servant leaders who are willing and capable of being who they are, putting their mission at the center, and thriving in adversity. 

So why us? Because after decades of leading teams and businesses in uncertain and austere environments, we feel that we have something truly valuable to offer. Our successes and failures have left us with some hard-earned leadership wisdom - and our aim is to help you apply it. To make sense of how it relates to your team and your mission. To be guides, on the path with you as you navigate your next leadership challenge. 

Leadership is hard, especially if you care. But it doesn’t have to be lonely. We are here to support you and your team through the highs and lows of striving together. If you want your organization to function with more ownership, candor, creativity, and resilience we would be very happy to go on that journey with you.  

Here’s to the road ahead! 

Brandon and Blayne