COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Project Manager Terrestrial Sensors, Program Executive Office Intelligence, Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S)
TITLE: Assistant product manager
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 12
YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 6
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Advanced in life cycle logistics, Advanced in project management
EDUCATION: MBA from the College of William and Mary; B.S. in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University
AWARDS: Meritorious Civilian Service Medal; Civilian Service Commendation Medal Commander’s Award for Civilian Service

Joseph Kornhoff

by Cheryl Marino

The best way to avoid failure? Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from each and grow from the experience. According to Joseph Kornhoff, lessons learned from the past will produce successful outcomes when applied to current and future situations. This, he said, is the greatest lesson he’s learned in his 12-year career as both an active-duty Soldier and Army civilian.

“Throughout my career I have learned to embrace failure,” Kornhoff said. “As leaders, we oftentimes get scared to make the wrong decision or learn from our mistakes. A lesson I learned very early in my career is that failure is short lived when you learn from your mistakes. Using this mantra, I have tried to instill this attitude in my current position. I continue to challenge my team to find opportunities for success, and oftentimes these paths become clearer after setbacks and challenges.”

Kornhoff is the assistant product manager for Product Lead, Biometrics Collection Capability, under the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S). The Army has a number of acquisition programs that it uses to acquire new technologies and equipment to keep its forces up to date with the latest capabilities in order to respond quickly to changes in the battlefield. In his role, Kornhoff is responsible for five fielded systems, including the Biometrics Automated Toolset ‒ Army, a handheld device that collects, processes and refers biometric identity information during force protection screenings. The other four are quick-reaction capabilities: Near Real Time Identity Operations; Gatekeeper on the Move ‒ Biometrics; Voice Identity Biometrics Exploitation Services; and Video Identity Collection and Exploitation. These programs provide the Army with the ability to collect, process and exploit biometric information that can be used to identify individuals, track their movements and detect threats. Biometrics is a rapidly developing field, and the Army is investing in these programs to ensure that we have the latest technologies available.

After honorably leaving active duty in 2014, Kornhoff was hired as a senior life cycle manager for the project management office for DOD Biometrics, which now falls under Project Manager Terrestrial Sensors. “I was hired due to my experience in Afghanistan using biometric equipment during my deployments. I was mentored by multiple senior staff members of the organization to apply for the government life cycle logistics manager position, which I was awarded in October 2016,” he said. “As a former Army officer, the continued ability to serve is appealing. However, the continued development is what keeps my focus and motivation.”

With core expertise in life cycle logistics, Kornhoff was selected for multiple developmental assignments in operations and project management that have allowed him to gain his DAWIA Advanced certification in project management. During his developmental assignment as the Department of the Army system coordinator for DOD Biometrics and Project Manager Terrestrial Sensors, Kornhoff was given the opportunity to brief a program he knew little about just six months earlier to the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees during the Army program budget briefs. “This was a challenge I will always remember as a milestone in my career—being able to brief cost, schedule and performance at the congressional level was exciting and motivating,” he said. “I was originally assigned as a six-month developmental but, I was learning so much and enjoying the new challenges I was experiencing, I extended an additional six months. This assignment was a great experience and an opportunity I would highly recommend.”

Another opportunity Kornhoff said he would recommend is the Inspiring and Developing Excellence in the Acquisition Leaders (IDEAL) program, which he graduated from last year. In three weeks, he said, the program focused on emotional intelligence, conflict and strategic management—to help develop leadership skills to benefit the future senior civilian leaders in the Army Acquisition Workforce. “An added benefit to this cohort is the ability to network and hear lessons learned from junior leaders outside of my organization,” he said. “This allows me to provide new ideas to my teams to tackle tomorrow’s problems.”

Kornhoff said the network and relationships with acquisition professionals and colleagues you are able to build by attending one of these courses is amazing. “As a leader, I am constantly looking for educational and developmental opportunities that can not only bolster my resume but also provide me with the needed skills and experience to advance,” he said. “Also, these programs bring acquisition workforce personnel from all over the globe to one classroom and are great opportunities to network and share lessons learned with your colleagues.”

Kornhoff said the IDEAL program provided him with “a rolodex of resources, lessons learned and feedback” from a vast array of professionals from different career fields within the acquisition workforce. “I now have the ability to call or email a classmate that perhaps has already tackled the problem or issue I am experiencing or planning for.”

He said the topics discussed throughout the course are valuable tools for supervisors, team leaders and even working group leaders. “Learning to utilize your communication skills and emotional intelligence to influence others and exact an outcome that benefits all and the mission is a vital tool for any leader’s toolkit.”

Kornhoff said the most common observation made about him by those outside of work, where he is involved with operations at a local golf club in Northern Virginia, are his interpersonal engagement skills. Throughout the process of completing his MBA at the College of William and Mary, he said he’s had to engage with many different types of people through a variety of group assignments. “As one would expect, my classmates have diverse backgrounds, and because the program was mostly online, these students came from different areas of the country,” he said. “I’ve engaged with my classmates and built meaningful relationships with many of them even though we have diverse backgrounds. I’ve used my interpersonal skills to develop professional relationships and find ways to connect with others.”

Though his years of career experience are numerous, Kornhoff said he still considers himself part of the “junior” acquisition workforce. “With this attitude I can continue to motivate myself to learn and develop daily. The advice I offer to colleagues is to never turn down an opportunity to learn, develop and expand your knowledge,” he said. There will be mistakes along the way, but no better way to live, and learn, so mistakes aren’t repeated. “I have been mentored by some great leaders that were willing to allow me to explore education and developmental opportunities. After each rotation I have come back to positions of greater responsibility and leadership. Each of these positions has been a stepping block that expanded my ability to reach my own personal career development goals, while also supporting the warfighter.”