Especially for anyone who has to deal with leading people as a major part of their job. This should be a book you read, reread, and always have at hand for when you have to make a difficult decision when dealing with people.
The book is filled with strategies as well as specific tactical examples that will make it easy to implement.
Much of the advice will be counterintuitive to what people think it means to “be a boss” or leader. Also, has great stories. for Jocko’s experiences that illustrate his insights and advice.
This is a MUST read for anyone who wants to become a better leader.
Flow: 5/5
Actionability: 5/5
Mindset: 5/5
Some of My Highlights:
“…not all leaders are good leaders, and the SEAL Teams are no exception.”
“…even the best leaders can only truly invest their time and knowledge in a handful of their people.”
“The goal of leadership seems simple: to get people to do what they need to do to support the mission and the team.”
“…what makes leadership so hard is dealing with people, and people are crazy. And the craziest person a leader has to deal with is themselves.”
“No one here cares that you made it thought BUD/S. We all did. It doesn’t mean anything here. You have to prove yourselves to earn your trident.”
“You learn how to be cold, wet, tired, and miserable and not to complain about any of it.”
“There was another thing Delta Charlie did that made an impression on me: he took out the trash.”
“I learned that day that even though I had to be ready to lead, I also had to know when to follow – and that to be a good leader, I had to be a good follower.”
“But what they all needed to do was to take initiative; they needed to make things happen. They needed to understand the broad direction from the boss, and then they needed to act. What they needed was Decentralized Command.”
“Extreme Ownership is a mind-set of not making excuses and not blaming anyone or anything else when problems occur.”
“The Dichotomy of Leadership describes opposing forces that are pulling leaders in contradictory directions at the same time.”
“This list of dichotomies goes on indefinitely, and the answer is always that a leader must maintain balance.”
“Leadership requires relationships; good relationships with people above you, below you, and beside you in the chain of command are critical for a strong team.”
“One of the simplest ways is obvious, but it often gets overlooked – that is performance. Your boss expects you to complete certain tasks. So complete them. Do them on time, on budget, and with as little drama as possible. Get the mission done.”
“Solid relationships up and down the chain of command are the basis of all good leadership.”
“But those successes will be short lived. As you trash relationships, burn bridges, and leave scorched earth in your wake, you will soon look up and realize you are done. You have destroyed everything for short-term gain. You have nothing left.”
“The more a person reads, the better they can contextualize things in the world.”
“Being articulate is one. The better a person can communicate their ideas in a simple, clear manner, the more effective leader they will be. And some people are born more naturally articulate than others.”
“The answer is simple: a good leader builds a great team that counterbalances their weaknesses.”
“Because there is one type of person who can never become a good leader: a person who lacks humility.”