Innovators and forward thinkers - I salute you! (my intro post)

Hello Steemit community!

My name is Kristopher J Floyd and I am thrilled to be a part of steemit! As a captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserve infantry, and the founder and CEO of an early-stage blockchain-based fitness-oriented social network called TeamMate, I find myself in the unique position to apply high-level infantry tactics to the bleeding edge of tech innovation. And no, by infantry tactics I do not mean machine gunning my competition. What I mean is the philosophy of infantry tactics, which can be boiled down to this phrase - survive and thrive in ever-evolving, hyper-competitive, ambiguous situations.

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I am interested in exploring this philosophy and its application to a fast-moving tech industry with you, the steemit community. Steemit is an exciting example of the new kinds of models and opportunities that tech innovation has produced. I am fascinated with how effective this platform has been in building an economic ecosystem based on quality content. But as interested in the nuts and bolts of this platform as I am, I am more-so interested in interacting with the community of early-adopters that have rallied behind it; you are the people who continue to embrace change and innovation, and the higher standards of quality that are the ultimate outputs of evolution.

I am most interested in discussing the following:

• blockchain and tangle technology
• tactical philosophy
• futurism and innovation
• leadership and organizational psychology
• artificial intelligence
• augmented and virtual reality
• applied systems theory

BACKGROUND:

I have worn many hats in this life. I often feel like I am Dr. Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap (watched when I was a kid - great show), bouncing around spacetime filling different roles in different lives. I have been a rebellious teenager, a landscaper, a construction worker, a poet, a door-to-door salesman, a journalist, a martial artist, a state bureaucrat, a Marine officer, and most recently, a tech startup founder. I’ve been homeless and I’ve lived in bourgie neighborhoods in the most expensive city in America. I’ve answered phones at a desk for 40 hours per week and I’ve fast-roped out of V-22 Ospreys. My life is a study of often-unconventional, usually diametrically opposed situations.

This rapidly changing lifestyle had me confused about one thing for a very long time - what is the point of life, and how should one go about the business of living? I finally got my answer deep in the woods of Quantico, Virginia, during a hellacious series of schools at the world’s premier leadership academy. The United States Marine Corps Infantry Officer program introduced me to the work of Colonel John R. Boyd, who articulated the goal of life in a way that is both esoteric and practical: “to survive and thrive on your own terms, whatever they may be; to prevail”.

This revelation soothed me and gave me focus and clarity, but I think that it is extremely valuable on the macro-level as well. An infantry platoon’s constant, macro-level mission could always be articulated as “survive, thrive, prevail”. The same is true for a business. The same is true for a nation. The same is true for a species.

The tech industry excites me because it is has an isomorphic relationship with the battlefield. Both environments are chaotic, rapidly changing, ambiguous, fluid, uncertain, etc. There is determined and intelligent competition that is driven to disrupt and ultimate eradicate you. There is struggle, adaptation, and reward for prevailing. Sounds a bit like life, doesn’t it? To me, the tech industry and the battlefield are both spectacular expressions of everyday life. By pursuing excellence in these domains, and doing so in a manner that is consistent with both human morality and the “survive, thrive, prevail” mantra, I have found a way to find meaning and endless excitement in life. My quantum leaps have led me to the San Francisco Bay Area, at the helm of a burgeoning tech company with limitless potential, surrounded by brilliant colleagues and motivated friends. I am finally right where I am supposed to be.

DISCLOSURE / INVOLVEMENT:

As the founder and CEO of TeamMate, it is difficult for me to talk about myself or the tech industry without referencing my own project. I am the majority shareholder in TeamMate INC, which is building a mobile application that allows users to discover, share, discuss, and explore all aspects of their athletic journeys, while using artificial intelligence to promote fitness collaboration. This mobile application will support the TeamMate Protocol (an ERC-223 token that will be replaced later with a native chain) on The TeamMate Network. We call this the TeamMate Blockchain Solution, and it aims to integrate the health, fitness and wellness industries into a unified blockchain ecosystem, which will make business truly efficient, transparent, and reliable. Data in this ecosystem will be owned and monetized by users, and data transfers will be quick, painless and secure.

I was encouraged to join steemit by Rick Lemberg (@knifethrower) who is a close friend, mentor, and a primary advisor to TeamMate INC.