Brian Zickefoose
MEMBER NAME
Brian Zickefoose
USMA ‘02
COMPANY
VALIANT GROUP
INDUSTRIES
General Contracting
Brian Zickefoose, Founder CEO of Valiant Group
THE CHALLENGE
Like many Founder CEOs, Brian Zickefoose is a visionary full of big ideas. As Brian quickly learned, big ideas only go so far—to make them come to life, it takes the right decisions, the right timing, and, most importantly, the right team.
A West Point graduate (USMA ‘02), Brian served on active duty for seven years as a combat engineer, graduated from Airborne and Ranger School, and served as a platoon leader and executive officer with the Third Infantry Division.
When he joined the private sector as a commercial construction project manager, he found his next calling—and founded Valiant Group, which now serves Mid-Atlantic healthcare administrators, commercial developers, and utility/renewable asset owners with competitive and complete construction, project, and quality management services.
As part of his company’s growth, Brian realized he had the right idea—but the wrong team. And so he made the bold decision to start from scratch.
Keep reading to find out how Brian took Valiant Group from 1.6M to 16M in 48 months—all by making the right moves.
THE JOURNEY TO tHE 0.01%
According to Brian Zickefoose
MAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT.
I actually incorporated my company before I officially started it. I was like, “Hey, this is what I'm doing, even though I didn't really have a plan yet.” That was my way of being intentional while working full-time.
Once I got myself up and running, I understood that having a vision was one thing—building the plans, the team, and the framework was another. But it was more than just having a road map to follow—it was activating my visionary brain to reverse engineer—and fuel—its success.
This meant honing the “as if” mindset (a term I learned here at The Lions Pride). We're going to act as if we're already at our five-year target. “What does the company look like? What does it need? What positions do we need to hire? Who do we need to be as leaders?”
There’s no “fake it ‘til you make it”—there’s only making it and making it better.
The two tools that were crucial for this, both personally and professionally, were the One Page Personal Plan (the O3P) and the One Page Business Plan (OPBP). If I didn't have these, I don't know where my organization would be or who I would be as the man leading it.
These plans are the most critical pieces of work that I’ve done. They’ve helped everything afterward fall into place.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO START OVER.
The biggest thing I struggled with before The Lion's Pride, especially as a Founder, was relinquishing control. I really struggled with handing projects off. I learned what most business owners eventually do: it’s not always about an inability to delegate (that’s a false belief)—it’s about having a team you can trust.
Once I saw my vision mapped out, I knew in my heart that I needed a completely different team to help me get there—so I decided to rebuild it from scratch. It was a hard decision, but honestly, the only one. And it’s defined our success to date.
While you shouldn’t be afraid to start over, you do need to be intentional about it. Finding great people takes time, discipline, and diligence. And self-awareness. While I asked the candidates plenty of questions, I also asked myself a few: “Is this person in the top 10% of their field? Could I see them as a co-founder? Can I trust them to hold the reins?”
If I couldn’t say a resounding “Yes!” then it was a firm “No, thank you.” Because I not only trusted what I needed—I trusted the right candidate was out there. And trust me, they are.
The Job Scorecard became an essential candidate selection tool. It helped me identify and define responsibilities, non-negotiables, skillsets, performance metrics, development tracks, and more.
Once I could articulate these, I was able to single out the key criteria for an ideal candidate and tailor the interview questions (and answers!) to pull out the key talents, behavioral competencies, and cultural chemistry I knew that position needed.
We went through a lot of turnover and even more applicants in the process, but the result was worth it. I feel confident and energized when talking to a team I trust. For the first time, I’m surrounded by people who can do their job better than I can—and I couldn’t be happier about it. We are now an organization that plays to all of our strengths—and we’re better for working together.
More than that, I’ve learned to take humble satisfaction and fulfillment in seeing others succeed. I no longer wince at delegating. We’re all here doing exactly what we’re born to do.
GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD. AND YOUR OFFICE.
TLP quickly taught me that learning and doing it all by yourself is slow, stressful, and counter-productive. If you want to achieve great things, you’ve got to surround yourself with people who have already done it or are doing it better than you.
If you want more out of your business, life, and self, it will take more. More knowledge. More experience. More expertise. And the good news is you don’t have to take that all on personally. You can learn from others and save yourself the mistakes, grief, expense, and time.
Before The Lions Pride, I had no idea there was a group of like-minded business owners—let military veterans—who would be excited to talk about your business, help you grow, push you in the right direction, and let you return the favor. It’s a great community that holds you accountable to what you want to be, both personally and professionally. There’s nothing like it.
GET THE TOOLS BRIAN MENTIONS HERE
Brian (near center), at a recent Tactical Advance in Florida.
WHY I JOINED THE COHORT
When I was getting Valiant Group off the ground, I spent a lot of my time trying to grow myself. One of the key books I read was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, which points out the necessity of surrounding yourself with great people if you want to achieve great things.
Around that time, I had signed up for The Lions Pride newsletter. After reading one of the emails, I reached out to Bill to understand what TLP was all about. I wanted to do it, but I didn't have the cash flow to invest in myself. It wasn’t the right time—but it was the right idea.
I kept The Lions Pride on my to-do list, and as soon as I started getting some contracts, I reached out to Bill again and said, “I'm all in.” Bill fast-tracked me into the program, and I’ve been accelerating ever since. TLP helped me continue to expand my perspective and provide more value to my team, my company, and my family.
Watch Brian's talk about his accelerated journey with Bill Watkins below.
“If you want to achieve great things, you’ve got to surround yourself with great people—on your teams, in your professional circles, and in your personal life. Great people always have something to teach you—and, chances are, you always have something to learn.”
“The journey to the 0.01% is a path toward mastery of business, life, and self. Using the tools is one thing—but what’s more important are the decisions behind them—even when they’re hard. Brian’s road to success epitomizes this.”
