On March 19, 2016, Michael Penney took the stage at TEDxRaleigh with a talk titled “What’s your IED? How to add value in explosive situations.” The TEDx Talks channel published the recording on June 1, 2016. It runs about 12 minutes.
What the talk covered
The title takes the signature threat of the wars he fought in, the improvised explosive device, and turns it into a question for the audience. The official description sets up the idea:
There are moments of sheer devastation that have an explosively sobering effect on the human soul.
TEDxRaleigh talk description
The talk is about those moments: the hazards everyone meets on the way through life, and what happens to your values when you are in the middle of one. The description says these times of “hopeless despair” are when your values get tested. It says the talk is meant to help people deal with those moments and get through them. The second half of the title gives the answer he steers toward: look for how to add value, even when things are blowing up around you.
Who was on stage
The TEDx description introduced Michael as a Marine Corps combat veteran, former infantryman and combat arms instructor. It lists his deployments:
- Ramadi, Iraq (2005–2006 and 2007)
- Kajaki and Sangin, Afghanistan (2011)
As an instructor he trained Marines in combat marksmanship, precision weapon systems and foreign and threat weapons.
After leaving the Corps in 2012, the description says, he found “new ways to serve the country he loves” as an inventor, entrepreneur, author and public speaker. It called him the founder and co-host of Cigars and Sea Stories, “a podcast devoted to sharing sea stories with veterans who are adding VALUE to the world.” It also said he spent most of his time at Bunker Labs RDU, working with fellow veterans.
Why it mattered then
TEDx puts a speaker in front of a general audience, not a veterans crowd. This talk took a combat experience most of the room had never lived through and made it useful to them. Everybody has an IED moment. The talk was about what you do in it.
It also capped a busy few weeks. Before the event he did two video conversations with fellow presenter Doug Stewart and podcast interviews with SuccessVets and the Military Entrepreneur Show.
Looking back
“Add value” became a theme that kept coming back. In November 2016 the Veteran Resource Podcast titled its episode with him “Provide Value.” “TEDxRaleigh speaker” has been part of his introduction ever since, from the 5 Paragraph Business Plan to his speaking work today.
This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.
Work with Michael
Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.