The Wow Factor: Admiral Vern Clark : Retired Chief of Naval Operations of the United States Navy

Admiral Vern Clark : Retired Chief of Naval Operations of the United States Navy | The Power of Covenant Leadership

Jul 27, 2022

Admiral Vernon Eugene Clark is a retired admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of the United States Navy. He retired on July 22, 2005, making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behind Arleigh Burke. Admiral Clark has received numerous military decorations for his service, including four awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, three Navy Distinguished Medals, and three awards of the Legion of Merit. Since his retirement, he has been honored with the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives of North America, the Distinguished Sea Service Award from the Naval Order of the United States, and the Distinguished Service Medal of the Military Order of the World Wars.

Admiral Clark earned his undergraduate degree from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, and has an MBA from the University of Arkansas. He has since received Honorary Doctorate degrees from the University of Toledo, Old Dominion University, Northwest University, and Palm Beach Atlantic University.

This week on The Wow Factor podcast, I’m excited and honored to be joined by Admiral Vern Clark, who shares some of the lessons learned over his distinguished Naval career. He shares his commitment to covenant leadership, what that means, and how he strives to embody its principles in his own leadership. Admiral Vern also describes his top five priorities of manpower, current readiness, future-readiness, quality of service, and alignment when he became Chief of Naval Operations and what that meant practically for him and his teams

“I was raised in a home where we constantly heard about God's plan for our life - and that really framed my background in a very important way..” - Admiral Vern Clark

“There's no need for me to have a big program on covenant leadership. I need to just demonstrate it.” - Admiral Vern Clark

“Our actions are screaming so loud, they can't hear a word we say, so if we're not living it and walking it, it doesn't matter what all the words are.” - Admiral Vern Clark

This Week on The Wow Factor:

Admiral Vern’s experience of growing up the son of a Pastor in the central section of the USA
His early experiences of leadership, including on a kids baseball team
The experience of gaining an MBA at the University of Arkansas against the backdrop of the Vietnam war
How he came to find his life’s path as a Commissioned Officer in the US Navy and why he was convinced he would be staying in for only three years only
What convinced Admiral Vern to rejoin the Navy and the career that followed
Why he believes that leadership is a two-way relationship
Resources that Admiral Vern has used in his commitment to being a lifelong learner
The questions that the term ‘heart of covenant’ bring up
How Admiral Vern’s strong faith has helped him in his role as a leader

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Any questions for Admiral Clark can be sent to brad@thewowfactorpodcast.com

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