Stan Scott

Stan Scott Bio
I grew up in a poor family one generation removed from subsistence farming. Mom’s parents moved to Little Rock from Benton, Arkansas so my Grandfather could take a job with the Missouri-Pacific railroad during the Great Depression. Dad left Mississippi to join the Air Force and met Mom while stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base. He took her to an Elvis Presley concert on their first date. Mom had graduated from Central High School right before President Eisenhower sent the National Guard to enforce desegregation orders.
These hard-working folks grew chickens, cotton, watermelons, and whatever else they could scratch out of the ground. They did not own the land and built no wealth. The men hunted for protein and I learned to shoot a rifle and clean a catfish before I entered my teens.
Mom loved to read and became the first in the family to attend college – as a single mom with three sons. I spent much of my youth in libraries while she earned a doctorate in three years and became an educator. After high school I ended up at William and Mary where I worked my way through about a semester a year until I ran out of money. So I enlisted in the US Army as an Armor crewman – tanker – to learn self-discipline and earn money to continue my studies. I learned to fight a tank in combat – and eventually became a tank commander and tank platoon sergeant. Still the best job I ever had.
During my time in the military I trained and mentored young people from all walks of life. Kids from patriotic families who wanted to serve their country before returning to the farm or the mine. Men and women from poor backgrounds like mine who wanted to give their young children a better life. Brilliant young people who wanted more education but could not write the check.
I retired after 20 years, and thanks to the GI Bill I managed to complete degrees in political science, policy analysis, and international relations. This education helped me put together a second professional career as a defense and strategic services consultant in both public and private sector contexts. This work brought me into contact with employers of all kinds – government agencies, law firms and professional partnerships, maintenance shops, farmers and miners.
Today I work with organizations to identify and address management, leadership, efficiency, and training or workforce problems. Many people who start businesses around expertise in their field and love for their work need help with the details. They make the best pizza in town but struggle with hiring and training staff or applying resources most efficiently. They know how to fix an engine but not how to market a business. In the Army and later professional life I learned how to teach individuals to maximize talent and skill, build and train effective teams, apply resources efficiently, and make things work. I still do that to this day.