Imagine transitioning from individual contributor at a company to managing an organization of 155 people. That’s quite the promotion. How would you approach that kind of change?

Before you get too anxious about what’s coming, Paul Nadeau, our guest this week in episode 344, has two pieces of advice: stay calm, and don’t panic.

Paul’s career began as a Radioman in the Navy where he focused on telecommunications, but he later pursued law enforcement. You’ll hear firsthand about the experiences that cemented this mantra of remaining calm in Paul’s mind and follow him through leadership training in the Navy. Listen in to hear how a specific mix of classroom instruction and practical experience forged a leadership philosophy that is widely applicable both in the military and in the corporate world.

Whether you are an individual contributor or a people leader today, you’ll learn how to identify the traits of natural leaders and understand some of the real challenges of stepping into a management role.

Original Recording Date: 08-28-2025

Topics – Meet Paul Nadeau, Birth of a Specialty, The Importance of Staying Calm, Leadership Training and Gaining Experience, Assessing Leadership Talent

2:28 – Meet Paul Nadeau

• Paul Nadeau is a Solutions Consultant at Palo Alto Networks.
• Paul’s early career began with joining the Navy, but his decision to join starts even earlier.
  • Paul grew up in the Texas Hill Country (areas around Fredericksburg and Kerrville) and attended a private school for most of his young life.
  • Though the academics were great at private school, Paul talked his father into letting him attend public school for his junior year of high school.
  • At the public high school, Paul started to get into trouble. At one point his father had a very frank conversation with him.
  • “You need to do something with your life.” – advice from Paul Nadeau’s father
  • Paul’s father was a Marine who served in World War II and was awarded a Purple Heart for his service. He suggested Paul consider joining the military. Paul’s father wanted him to have some type of trade to fall back on after military service.
  • While the Air Force did seem appealing, Paul ended up joining the Navy in 1988. After boot camp, Paul was sent to all kinds of schools before serving on the USS America in Norfolk, Virginia in 1989.
  • Paul was serving when Desert Storm broke out in 1990.
  • After serving in the Navy, Paul decided to go into law enforcement (something he had always wanted to do). Though his work in the Navy focused on telecommunications / satellite communications, Paul didn’t want to keep doing it after serving in the Navy. He chose to attend the police academy instead.
  • Though Paul enjoyed being a police officer, the pay did not support starting a family.
  • Paul re-enlisted in the Navy in 1995 to once again focus on telecommunications, trading some of the re-enlistment bonus money to use for school.
    • Paul says he did Cisco training, Novell training, Unix administration, and even Windows administration training. He and co-workers were pioneering running these systems across satellite links (from ship to shore).
  • When Paul went into the Navy, they were looking for people who had clean backgrounds. He was able to obtain a security clearance after joining.

7:07 – Birth of a Specialty

• How did Paul end up in telecommunications after joining the Navy?
  • At age 17 when he first enlisted in the Navy, Paul wanted to do something in the medical field. He was told no.
  • Paul’s second choice for occupation was to be a cop. At the time, you had

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    Published on 17 hours ago