Redstone Arsenal, AL--Eric Sholes is a busy guy. He's the lead, the manager if you will, for a team of 50 doing computer simulation and modeling for the Missile Defense Agency. The lab is at the Army Aviation And Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC). Eric Sholes is good enough at what he does to be named a finalist for the Wiseman Group's Multiplier of the Year Award in the Government category. "They're looking for people who amplify others, or elevate others around them. Try to make the team they work with better," said Eric.
A good analogy for what a multiplier does is to think of a star athlete like the NBA's Lebron James. When Lebron is on the court everyone acknowledges that he makes the other four players better. Think of Eric Sholes as Lebron. "I had a professor a long time ago who convinced me...every single person I come across has more potential than they will realize, but with support, that there's more there," said Eric.
Using another sports analogy, college football. Eric believes what he does with his team is something like what a college football does with young players. "Our mentality is where you are today and what you can contribute to this team in three years is going to have to be considerably different. Just like a freshman coming in, becoming a junior a starter. So you see the incremental gains exactly the same way," said Eric.
Eric's AMRDEC team does important work, supporting missile defense for the Missile Defense Agency. His job and the job of the people he leads is to help MDA protect the nation. That's part of what he likes best about possibly winning this award. "I think for AMRDEC to be recognized as a place that fosters this kind of leadership and mentorship, to have already put people in a position to succeed...I think that was a win," said Eric Sholes.
For Eric to actually win the award will require colleagues and friends to vote for him as best of the three finalists, go to the Multiplier of the Year website, https://moy.multipliersbooks.com/