Alumni Profiles - Foundations of Leadership & Leadership Development Program (LDP)

Former SEAL David Brott becomes a formidable force in the corporate world

David Brott is justly proud of his service as a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs, the tough, elite military force whose teamwork and leadership are legendary. But as an executive in the civilian world, including today as senior advisor of business development with Yahoo! Digital Home, he knows that other skills and behaviors are also important for success.

Brott had just finished a tour as a SEAL when he joined Ravisent Technologies, a software company in Pennsylvania. "I was still pretty young relative to my position as director of business development," he said. "I was a hyper kid - enthusiastic, excited and very demanding. I drove people pretty hard."

The company was ramping up to go public, and the CEO decided to send Brott to CCL's Leadership Development Program. That was in 1999. "He wanted me to have a little bit more grounding and some interaction with people outside the company who also were executives in their industries," he said. "I think he was trying to get me to understand better how to work well within a team environment outside the military."

LDP reminded Brott of the team-building experiences he went through as a SEAL, "in that everybody has a different role and everybody has a different personality, and you have to learn a level of respect for individuals, no matter what their backgrounds, in order for the team to complete its mission."

The program's emphasis on self-awareness, expressed through extensive assessment and feedback, was welcomed by Brott. "I received good critiques of my accomplishments and listened to what I needed to work on. Interpersonal communication was a big thing for me because I was trained to be pretty hard-nosed and straightforward versus being more thoughtful and considerate.

"It was a really insightful experience because I was able to reach within myself and understand that consideration for people at multiple levels is really important. CCL taught me not to be too defensive and to increase my self-confidence through openness."

Brott left Ravisent after it went public and afterward gained experience working with several startup technology companies. He was brought aboard Interactual Technologies as vice president, which he attributed in large part to the changes in leadership behaviors that had occurred following his CCL experience.

"They saw a David Brott who was a little more open. My role included motivating people, and I learned that I could do that without being too controlling. It was the insightful stuff that I learned at CCL that allowed me to maintain focus but invite people to come out of their shells and be part of a motivational experience."

In 2005, Brott joined Meedio, a leading developer of software for home entertainment and automation, as its CEO. A year later, he leveraged the Houston company's sale to Yahoo and moved with his team to the large Internet company.

"What's nice about my position is that people rely on me to tell them what I know about the industry," he said. "This area I'm working in is a startup, so it's comforting to know that I can help fulfill the startup and growth of that through my experiences."

When anyone asks him about his CCL experience, Brott said he responds that "if you really take what you learn about yourself seriously and think deeply about what's going on, it will help you in a multitude of ways. It will change your life. It's about letting others be winners, too, and empowering people."

He recently reflected on the person he was pre-LDP and who he has become since then. "Before, I was real brash, typical alpha male. When I hit that program, my interpersonal communication skills were probably out the window. I think that, as a result of CCL, I opened up and learned that - hey - you don't have to be so rigid and unemotional. That really helped me work through challenges at work and in my personal life. CCL may not have been the end-all for me, but it definitely was one catapult that took me to another level."

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