consultant, professor, and mental health advocate, Dillon embodies the idea that reinvention is not just possible at any age—it’s essential.
His story isn’t one of sudden transformation or dramatic upheaval, but rather a lifelong openness to opportunity, a commitment to service, and a healthy dose of humor along the way. THE ROAD BACK HOME When Paul Dillon returned from Vietnam in 1971, he found not a hero’s welcome, but hostility.
“When we came back in ’71, there was nothing. I mean, we were despised, we were hated,” he recalls.
The job market was no better. Despite holding a master’s degree and having served as a commissioned officer, his only option was to move back in with his parents in the Chicago suburbs. “I was ROTC, got commissioned after I got my bachelor’s degree, got a delay to get my master’s degree, then went into the service after that. So I was a commissioned officer, a first lieutenant—and with a master’s degree, I couldn’t get a job.” That experience—the struggle to be recognized for the value veterans bring to civilian life—became the foundation for his lifelong work. “I didn’t intend to do all this,” he admits. “It was an event that happened. But I became interested in explaining to companies and organizations the value that military service brings to anyone in a company or nonprofit organization.” Veterans, he argues, aren’t just great employees—they’re natural leaders. “Nobody is going to sacrifice themselves for your Silver Star,” he says. “Corporate America— they’re not going to do it if they’re not convinced you’re going to take care of them while you’re accomplishing the mission.” It’s a philosophy that modern companies call servant leadership. “If you take care of your employees and your customers, profits will come,” he says. “My God, the Army’s been teaching servant leadership for over 250 years, you know.”
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