Book Notes from 'Extreme Ownership' By Jocko Willink & Lief Babin
- Believe
- Questioning the Mission
- When we know the man
covering our 'six'(backside) is someone who has been through the same
training, has the same gear, and speaks the same language - someone we
trust
- In the SEAL Teams - the bond
of our brotherhood is our strongest weapon.
- I knew my actions and
mind-set carried great weight among my troops
- These were my orders - and
for me to lead I had to believe - so I kept my doubts to myself and asked
the simple question - why?
- That led to another question
- what was winning?
- They did have to understand
why they were doing it so that they could believe in the mission.
- The most important question
had to be answered: Why?
- If I expressed doubt or
openly questioned the wisdom of this plan in front of the troops, their
derision towards the mission would increase exponentially.
- They would never believe in
it - as a result, they would never commit to it, and would fail.
- Principal
- In order to convince and
inspire others to follow and accomplish a mission the leader must be a
true believer in the mission.
- If a leader does not
believe, he or she will not take the risks required to overcome the
inevitable challenges necessary to win.
- Far more important that
training or equipment, a resolute belief in the mission is critical for
any team or organization to win and achieve big results.
- Every leader must be able
to detach from the immediate tactical mission and understand how it fits
into strategic goals.
- Why are we being asked to
do this?
- In any organization, goals
must always be in alignment.
- Belief in the mission ties
in with the fourth law of combat - Decentralized Command
- The leader must explain not
just what to do - but why.
- Only when leaders at all
levels understand and believe in the mission can they pass that
understanding and belief to their teams so that they can persevere
through challenges, execute and win.
- Application To Business
- Ok, but why do you think
they are implementing this plan.
- CEO: 'I think they get the
business, and I think they know what we are trying to do. So there
really isn't much that they would need to confront me on.'
- A common misconception
among military leaders or corporate senior executives, this was an
example of a boss who didn’t fully comprehend the weight of her
position.
- 'Your mid-level managers
don't fully understand those points, they don’t understand why - and so
they don’t believe in the strategy. If they don’t believe, neither will
your sales force. If this plan rolls out and those executing it don’t
believe in it - your plan is far more likely to fail.'
- Who is to blame for the CEO
not explaining this to you in more detail - that’s right, You! - that is
what extreme ownership is all about.
- It is up to you to ask
questions until you understand how and why those decisions are being
made.
- Not knowing why prohibits
you from believing in the mission.
- Leadership isn't one person
leading a team - it's a group of leaders working together, up and down
the chain of command, to lead.
- People talk about
leadership requiring courage - it takes courage to go to the CEO's
office, knock on her door and explain that you don’t understand the
strategy behind her decision.
- If you ever get a task or
guidance or a mission that you don’t believe in, don’t just sit back and
accept it - ask questions until you understand why so you can believe in
what you are doing and you can pass that information down the chain to
your team with confidence - so they can get out and execute the mission
- that's leadership.