Focus on Values

Focus on Values

Dan Hurst, founder
StrataG
Knoxville, Tenn.

“I had the easiest job in the Navy,” says Hurst, who joined the military in order to pay for college. He served as an instructor at its Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Fla., for four years. After leaving in 1989, he transitioned easily into a career in environmental engineering. Now, he manages 130 employees for his $8 million environmental consulting company. “The best training I got was the rigorous commitment to perfection and performance, which gave me a good baseline as an entrepreneur,” he says.

Words of Wisdom: Remember your core values
“The military reinforced my core values of integrity, service, and quality, which is the core of any company. Understand the high standard that you can set for an organization and achieve.”