War metaphors in business are overused, but some battlefield lessons really do apply to the corporate boardroom.

By Jeff Bussgang, contributor

There has been a surge in interest with the world of the Navy SEALs since the Osama bin Laden action, and I confess to being caught up in it myself.  One of my portfolio company CEOs, Will Tumulty of Ready Financial, is a former SEAL (1990-1995). Will was kind enough to introduce me to a SEAL classmate of his, Brendan Rogers (SEAL 1990-2000), who joined me and 20 NYC CEOs/founders from the tech scene last night to talk about the SEALs -- the training, the planning and the operations behind their combat operations -- as well as drawing out some relevant lessons for entrepreneurs. Brendan went on to HBS and McKinsey after the SEALs and then co-founded his own hedge fund, so he had an interesting, multi-faceted perspective.

The discussion was wide-ranging and entertaining. The five key lessons Brendan highlighted were as follows:

1. What's hard is good.  SEALs go through an intensive 6 month training program called Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S). The program is designed to test a candidate's physical and mental limits. Traditionally, by the time of SEAL graduation, the attrition rate is as high as 70%.  SEALs quickly learn that the punishment and pain of training hardens their minds and bodies and adapt to embrace the tough environs. Brendan pointed out that start-up executives who go through hard times should learn to relish them, recognizing that the hard times will toughen the team and train them properly for "battle."