Basic Training For Business Types
Mar. 15, 2007— -- The transition from Captain of Industry to Private Pyle is easier than you think.
The most domineering boss has a way of melting in the presence of the drill instructor's flush cheeks. And the royal waistline loses some of its cache when draped in mesh gym shorts
"Yeah, we break down their egos real quick," said Senior Drill Instructor Matt Terlop.
Terlop is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent, and the lead drill instructor at CEO Boot Camp.
Located in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, "boot camp" is more like a corporate retreat with a rusty edge, a place for the boss and his underlings to crawl in the mud together.
"CEOs have to pull together [with their employees]," Terlop said, "because when they're in the boot camp platoon, they have no rank, they're just average individuals in the structure."
When the "troops" hit the field, Terlop is the boss, and like any good drill instructor, he's not shy about the fact.
Discipline and self-reliance are the cornerstones of the 6-8 week courses, which come with the promise of a bolstered espirit de corps, a drop in work-wide cholesterol levels, and most importantly, t-shirts.
The perks are lavish but they come with a price. And not just in sweat and tears -- the courses cost an average of $150 per person in addition to location fees (Boot Camp will relocate to a high school football field near you if necessary). Those dollars can add up in a corporate office that counts a couple hundred employees.
The drill instructor is not impressed. To him, this kind of training is priceless.
