Navy SEAL Veteran Nick Norris of Protekt: Five Life and Leadership Lessons I Learned In The Military

Lead by Example — If I’m not willing to do the things I’m telling people to do, then I shouldn’t be giving them those tasks. Leadership begins with personal action.

As a part of our series about “Life and Leadership Lessons Learned In The Military”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Norris of Protekt.

Nick Norris (@nick_norris1981) is the CEO and Co-Founder at Protekt. Nick began his career in the military as a graduate of both the United States Naval Academy and Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL (BUD/S) Class 247. Upon completion of SEAL training in 2004, Nick assumed progressively higher positions of leadership within Naval Special Warfare. His deployed roles included combat advisor to Iraqi and Afghan military units, Cross Functional Team Leader, and Ground Force Commander during combat operation in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nick was behind much of the product development and has developed a passion for bio-hacking. When he is not at work, you can find him climbing, hiking, camping or hunting. He also sits on the Board of Directors at the non-profit V.E.T.S. (Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions), which is committed to ending the veteran suicide epidemic by helping veterans heal from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I grew up in South Chicago in a working-class family. Growing up, I was never the best athlete, so I put my focus on working hard to achieve my goals. I decided to wrestle in high school because it was something that required a tremendous level of self-discipline and resolve to succeed and allowed me a greater sense of control. The simplicity of personal accountability being directly correlated with the result truly captured my attention. This mindset pushed me towards the military and attending SEAL training. From that point forward, my path after high school was focused on attending and completing SEAL training.

And what are you doing today? Can you share a story that exemplifies the unique work that you are doing?

I am the CEO and Co-Founder of Protekt, which was founded to share specific tools that I found personally helpful in my own mental health and wellness journey post-military. The tools that were most impactful to both mental and physical health were proper hydration and high-quality sleep. Ultimately, these two critical items became the foundation of our new company in an effort to share a simple approach, utilizing basic tools, to help others find their way back to a state of overall wellness. The result was the creation of simple supplements to give people the tools to help them readily replicate the success that I had achieved in my mental health and wellness journey post-military.

I’m also a huge advocate of mental health and strive to inspire people to embrace vulnerability. As part of my commitment to helping others, I serve as a board member of a non-profit organization, Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, which is focused on ending the veteran suicide epidemic via resources, research, and advocacy related to psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Can you tell us a bit about your military background?

I graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was selected to attend Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL training. I went to BUD/S in 2003 and graduated with class 247. I then served at a West Coast SEAL Team for the rest of my military career on active duty. During my service in the SEAL Teams, I deployed in support of combat operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Surprisingly, a majority of my experience was daylight combat in support of overarching counter-insurgency doctrine. Upon return to the United States, I ran SEAL Qualification Training from 2010 through 2013 and decided to transition to civilian life in 2013.

Can you share the most interesting story that you experienced during your military career? What “take away” did you learn from that story?

The stories that come to mind are the times that I failed. I think about where I didn’t perform optimally and experienced some difficult lessons learned due to my failure. Examples span a wide range of areas including decisions made on the battlefield to communication up the chain of command. There were several instances during my deployable time where I learned deeply from my mistakes, and thankfully my mistakes weren’t grave. Those times where I stumbled are the ones that I continue to remember to this day. They taught me lessons in humility, integrity, and accountability that have galvanized the way I conduct myself both professionally and personally. Humility is the most important quality that I’ve garnered from my military service It’s important to learn how to own our mistakes, and then make the necessary corrections to never let it happen again.

We are interested in fleshing out what a hero is. Did you experience or hear about a story of heroism, during your military experience? Can you share that story with us? Feel free to be as elaborate as you’d like.

There are countless stories of heroism, a lot of which people know, of men giving up their lives in combat. During my first deployment, Mike Monsoor was killed on a rooftop. He jumped on an enemy grenade to save the lives of several of my teammates. This type of selfless action is the epitome of heroism.

I also had the honor and privilege of working and deploying in combat with both Army and Marine Core infantry units. These individuals displayed immense levels of courage daily while conducting near-continuous daylight combat operations during deployments which often lasted months longer than those that I made. They were engaged by enemy fire constantly and lived under the threat of imminent death. People normally don’t hear about heroism unless it makes the news as a major award, but I was privileged to serve alongside countless heroes whose daily actions in combat were noteworthy, to say the least.

Based on that story, how would you define what a “hero” is? Can you explain?

A hero is someone that is humble and selfless. They think of others first. Heroes are empathetic and put themselves in someone else’s shoes. They feel what someone else is feeling and then decide to put their lives second to someone else’s. Heroism comes in varying degrees, but in military service, it’s people willing to pay the ultimate price to protect others.

Does a person need to be facing a life-and-death situation to do something heroic or to be called a hero?

Personally, I think that the term heroism should be reserved for dire situations of life and death. It doesn’t mean that other less extreme scenarios don’t produce tremendous acts of selfless behavior, but I would label that behavior as courageous. There are people every day that choose to sacrifice selflessly out of love for someone else and embody courage, humility, and altruism. Life might not be at stake, but such behavior borders on heroic.

Based on your military experience, can you share with our readers 5 Leadership or Life Lessons that you learned from your experience”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Simplicity — We tend to overcomplicate things. The simpler we can make it the higher the odds of success.

Humility — There is always someone better than you. Strive to always desire improvement and you will find no end to your potential to grow.

Accountability — Own your actions completely, and don’t look for someone to blame except yourself.

Transparency — Never be the senior person with a secret. Open, honest, communication is the best way to run any organization. It fosters collaboration which strengthens the entire team.

Lead by Example — If I’m not willing to do the things I’m telling people to do, then I shouldn’t be giving them those tasks. Leadership begins with personal action.

Do you think your experience in the military helped prepare you for business? Can you explain?

The military taught me how to lead with humility. I was surrounded by extremely high performers in all aspects of life. To lead effectively, I needed to be a humble yet confident professional. The ability to balance humility and confidence has been a core takeaway from my time in service. It has helped me balance life on the outside much better, including running a business.

It’s also very important to be a good listener. In 2010, I was pulled from Iraq to join a new team in Afghanistan. When I arrived, I spent the first several weeks listening to every person that was a part of that element to understand how we could accomplish our goals. I needed to understand the dynamics within the team to best lead that team and listening was the only way to accomplish that task. The power of listening is a highly overlooked and undervalued quality, both in the military and in business.

As you know, some people are scarred for life by their experience in the military. Did you struggle after your deployment was over? What have you done to adjust and thrive in civilian life that others may want to emulate?

Over the past few years, I’ve learned to prioritize the things that bring me joy. When giving advice to people transitioning out of the military, I emphasize looking for something that fosters a joyful life. Usually, it’s not the job, it’s the people, that become the critical part of the evaluation. It’s important to find satisfaction in the relationships we have with the people at work given that we will spend a large portion of our lives with them.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Overall, the whole inception of Protekt was to give people tangible tools to help galvanize fundamental routines that promote total wellness. As Protekt grows, the goal is to use the brand as a platform to tell our stories to help inspire people to find joy and happiness in their daily lives. As a person who focused on the physical for the first half of my life, I realized I had completely ignored my mind and spirit. Protekt is a platform to help people find that added dimension.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

Treat your team like people, not like jobs or taskmasters. Take the time to get to know people. In the SEAL teams, I knew my team well, both on a personal and professional level. I was friends with all of them and got to know their families, kids, and hobbies. Taking the time to get to know and understand people is a core driver of success in any organization.

What advice would you give to other leaders about the best way to manage a large team?

The best way to manage a large team is not to think about it as managing a large team but think about it as managing one individual at a time. At the same time, it’s important to empower people. Give them the power to make decisions and be leaders, this is the only way to manage a large team. It’s the reason that special operations in the military is so successful. We empower everyone in the organization to lead.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My dad instilled all the values that I hold dear. My work ethic, my love of people, my humility, and my desire to connect with others, all lead back to my dad. He was the pivotal force in my life that drove all the characteristics I’ve highlighted in this interview.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’ve done plenty of interviews like this to share education and resources about mental health and overall wellbeing. I’ve been willing to share my story in a vulnerable way to help people that are struggling with mental health issues. Mental health struggles touch everyone at some point in their lives. It’s been so stigmatized that the ability for me to destigmatize on large platforms has inspired a lot of people to come forward to seek help. We need people to embrace connection and vulnerability to truly impact the mental health epidemic facing this world.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

The movement would be inspiring people to share and connect with depth. All too often we connect on a surface level. We need to encourage people to go a little deeper to share the things they might need help with, because being vulnerable brings us closer together.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Love everyone and tell the truth.” This was the advice given to Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), by his guru Neem Karoli Baba. It perfectly encompasses how I try to lead my life today.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

I want to have lunch with the person I’m planning to have lunch with that day. I always give everyone I connect with the same amount of time because true connections are important to me. I don’t aspire to have lunch with someone just because they’re well known. The amount of time and energy I pour into an interaction is based on the amount of vulnerability that surfaces.

Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was truly uplifting.