We recently connected with J.L. Hancock and have shared our conversation below.

Hi J.L. , thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I spent over twenty years in the military, fought in over 100 combat operations with some of the most elite warriors in the US military, but having to face cancer forced me to confront a question I refused to ask: was it all worth it?

In 2018 I was the head of Innovation for the US SEAL Teams and arguably working in my dream job developing robotic drones and artificial intelligence. I felt unstoppable. That all changed when I found a strange purple growth on my back. It wasn’t long before I was on an operating table, a large mass of flesh surgically removed, and fear of what may or may not come next hovering above me like a cloud.

The work with Special Operations, the drones, the tech, suddenly none of it mattered. The only thing I could think of was whether I would leave enough of myself behind for my daughters to understand me.

It was at that moment the compulsion to write overpowered me. But what would I write? And did I have the courage to let anyone read it ? As a member of the military, the majority of my work was hidden by a wall of classification and sensitive operations. I also came from a community of tough guys. And not your run of the mill, I-lift-a-lot-of-weight tough guys. I worked with Navy SEALs. Though I myself am a Cryptologist, I was very much embedded in this community of testosterone. I had trained myself to hide vulnerable parts of my personality. Mask my feelings. Hide my talent away in fear of criticism.

My decision to write fiction, publish, and share that work with my friends, family, and brethren in arms was arguably one of the scariest thing I have ever had to do. But, if I were to grow through my trials, I needed to let go. After all, my daughters needed something to understand me. And that makes any trial worth it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is J.L. Hancock. I am the former Senior Enlisted Advisor of the Future Concepts and Innovation Directorate at Naval Special Warfare. That’s a long way of saying I was in charge of technology innovation for the SEAL Teams. I managed a small team of scrappy warfighters who loved to geek out on future technology. We would personally build robotic systems and software alongside tech startups, national laboratories, and academic institutions. Several of those small companies are now tech unicorns, building some of the most advance AI robotic systems on the world with valuations well over $2 billion.

I retired from the military in 2022 and work as an innovation consultant and author helping small businesses and government organizations navigate the emerging and disruptive technology markets to create positive impact for first responders and civilians alike. I specialize in autonomous robotics, telecommunications, and augmented/virtual reality to name a few. I also help companies identify government resource sponsors to financially support research and development.

I also write fiction based on my experience in the military and my time overseas. I published my first book, The Hawk Enigma, in June, 2022.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was a kid, my brother was assaulted. My grandparents didn’t want the same thing to happen to me so they put me in martial arts. I was a shy kid with big ears. I went to some rough schools. But my time in the martial arts taught me discipline is liberating. More importantly, I had a martial arts instructor who used to say that in order to succeed you needed to learn to be an egotist and not be egotistical. These were confusing words for a twelve year old but they’ve become my philosophy for life. Every day we are all fighters stepping into a ring. As fighters, we have reputations as well as egos. There is nothing wrong with having an ego. What’s wrong, is not knowing why you have an ego to begin with.

An ego is not just an expression of your self-confidence and self-worth, it is the way by which those around you recognize YOUR value and YOUR worth. Your ego and your reputation are intertwined. An egotist, therefore, is someone who understands that reputation proceeds them. A lack of reputation means you are an unknown, a wildcard. When an unknown fighter steps into the ring they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. At that moment, the new fighter controls their ego and their destiny as well.

An egotist is always holding something back, always preparing for the next move. They never allow their opponent to see the whole picture.

To be egotistical, by contrast, is to allow your reputation to exceed your skill. The egotistical person is forever chasing the expectations of others and this makes them vulnerable. They become arrogant, frustrated, anxious. They suffer imposter syndrome.

To combat this and remain an egotist, you must always focus on two things: humility and grit. You must never assume you are the strongest, fastest, or smartest person in the room. But you must never stop working to become that person.

It was this philosophy that led me, a cryptologist, to my position as head of innovation for the SEAL Teams and continues to drive me forward in all my endeavors.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I spent the better part of twenty years hiding my identity. As a result, social media is still a struggle for me. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t built a strong reputation in the right circles.

When I started out in the defense eco-system, I focused on the needs and agendas of resources sponsors: organizations that fund research and acquisition. In the commercial market, this is the equivalent of understanding your investors, the market itself, and, most importantly, timing. I was always open to collaborating with others for the betterment of a collective intrinsic goal. As a military service member, my focus as a technologist was to mitigate risk to my brothers and sisters in arms as well as civilians. I needed to learn how to be aggressive and mitigate risk at the same time.

This willingness to set my personal needs aside and share the accomplishments of my tasks with others is the foundation of my current professional relationships. I learned early on that forcing your way to the front of the line is a great way to find yourself alone. And in a community where sponsorship, collaboration and support is critical for success, you never want to find yourself without someone watching your back.  

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jlhancock.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjlhancock/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorJLHancock
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-h-284a041a1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorJLHancock