Navigating Chaos: How to Find Certainty in Uncertain Situations

by Jeff Boss

Contrary to common belief, leadership is not indicative of one’s position, status, or authority. Just because you are defined as a “leader” through semantics, doesn’t mean you know how to lead. Leadership does not fall upon the shoulders of the person with the loudest voice, but rather the individual who possesses both the character and competence that inspires others. To lead is to express oneself authentically through a display of decisions and actions that inspire others to think or act in a certain way.

A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object that he has set before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is overcome), the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting point for future power and triumph. —James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. —John F. Kennedy

“Oh, shit!” It’s amazing how fast the brain processes context. The hundreds of thousands of hours that I had trained had ingrained in me not only habits but also judgment, and at that very instant of seeing this insurgent out of my peripheral vision, I knew that I could not swing my muzzle over to him, acquire, aim, fire, and kill him faster than he could kill me. My muscle memory knew its capabilities, and I knew that if I tried then I would lose and I would be dead. As I tried to tuck back behind the doorframe, the unknown figure blasted off a short burst from his AK and I immediately felt the impacts both on my rifle and my chest. I remember thinking, incredulously, “He fucking shot me!”

That was the arrogance—and ignorance—with which I operated at the time, because I lacked the experience to know better. I did not respect the enemy or his dwelling, and I took being at “the door” for granted.

To be purposeful and passionate about what you do does not mean you live a life full of rainbows and unicorns. There are challenges, letdowns, and tumultuous times. But when you’re passionate about your work, you become more committed and you proactively seek more ways to engage and find solutions—because if you don’t, then a heavy weight of guilt rests upon your shoulders until you do. Since you want to succeed, you’re more likely to leave your circle of comfort and face conflict with others and you fear that if you don’t, then that irresistible urge to quench your motivational thirst will never be fulfilled. But when you do, you discover that the harder that “thing” is the more you get out of it, and you get addicted to success. To try and fail at a task that frightens you overrides the fear of not trying at all. Fear conquers fear.

Purpose is that intangible force that summons people to move, and has been presented to me at multiple stages in my life across a wide range of scenarios as a means of questioning my desire and beliefs of what I held to be “right.” It’s based on what you value and choose to act upon, and as you gather meaning and value from those pursuits, passion forms. For any person or organization to be organizationally fit, employees must find meaning at work that warrants such a chase.

People oftentimes join the military for an ideal because that ideal is hard to find otherwise. Companies are no different. They attract or repel talent based on the values and purposes they embody. This is one of the few times where the gray area of life dissipates and becomes black or white.

Effectiveness comes from being grounded in what you do and why you do it; from creating a solution, rather than one day hoping to find the answer. There is a purpose for everything we do in specwar, and everything you do in your company. Every critical information node, meeting, job assignment, employee selection, mission set, sale, or training schedule serves a purpose. The question is: does that purpose create its intended value?

I am a firm believer in having a meaning for everything, a reason for why things happen—not framed in a spiritual or religious light, but instead understood rationally. Without a belief to point us toward “right,” the temptation to yield to inferior rationale grows stronger. If this snowball of temptation grows too large, it becomes easier to make decisions based upon emotion rather than reason. Without purpose, the drive to sustain superior performance dwindles away, because there is no significance for what you do or why you do it. You can only go so far on self-discipline or willpower alone because, at some point, you just get tired of pushing yourself. The metaphorical-emotional gas tank eventually runs empty.

For SOF, our purpose is to affect change. We do so by carrying out the strategy that allows us to constantly adapt our capabilities and win in uncertain environments.

People who can perform in the face of ambiguity—those who can conceptually build a mental and emotional bridge and safely maneuver across it without setback—are the ones who ultimately discover their high performance status.

Identifying a purpose and being passionate about what you do; possessing the character and competence to trust and be trusted; having a strong family or support network; and being humble enough to shut up, learn, and serve others all combine to create what I believe to be an indestructible human machine.

My mom, ever so supportive, always ingrained in me not to worry about things I could not control, and that “things will work out as they should.” Her patience and optimism have carried me through to this day and have helped shape my resiliency.

Circumstance does not make the man, it reveals him. —James Allen

nybody can perform a task that he or she already knows and understands. It’s when obscurity, doubt, and stress are interjected into the equation against the backdrop of survival that the creature of the unknown exposes us for who we are, not just what we know how to do. The circumstances that tested me appeared on a number of different occasions, and each one seemed to question how badly I wanted to press on. Each episode created yet another façade of disbelief that deeply tested my resolve, to which I bluntly answered the call every time—at least I like to think so—and that’s a question that passion answers.

What you focus on is what you get, and I chose to focus on short-term, temporary wins that garnered long-term success.

Short-term goals act as a mental bridge toward a far-away destination (long-term goals), allowing you to not only align yourself toward your end state but also to give your mental and emotional faculties relief.

Serving others who believe in service is important to me, as it is what has compelled me to pursue the achievements in life, and to write this damn book. But the next sequence of events turned out to be a little more stressful.

“The Pack” refers to a sense of belonging and unity that binds special operators together. It’s a product of living, training, and fighting side by side; like the Spartans who used to carry a shield in the Phalanx less for their own protection than for that of the man next to them, it’s a distinction that blurs the line between self and other, or between individual and team. But to be excluded from The Pack is to go through life with poor direction, little meaning, and a lack of fulfillment. When you have passion, you can easily answer “why.” You wake up in the morning and go to work, and it’s because the thought of answering your “why?” motivates you: because The Pack is there waiting for you.

contend that passion may be found by mirroring the artist. Think about it. Artists must be truly passionate about their work because it’s all or nothing. They either love the painting they just created, or they tear up the canvas and start anew. There is constant refinement, never-ending improvement, and a perpetual desire to look for inspiration at every minute of the day. What a way to live, right?! Leaders are no different. Leaders require both purpose and passion to inspire others because both are infectious, social contagions that spread like laughter or a bad case of herpes (yup, I said it).

Passionate people work incessantly. This is not to say that one’s work life is more important than one’s family life, but rather that the two coexist. In other words, there is no such thing as a work-life balance; you either enjoy what you do and whom you spend your time with, or you don’t. You don’t just “flip” the mental switch from one to another when you walk in the door.

Passionate people create. Artists take their imagination, turn it into an idea, create something tangible from it, and then put that creativity to use by innovating a new product. They are a one-stop supply-chain-shop who can take an idea and turn it into reality.

Passionate people inspire others. I don’t know about you, but I’ve used “artsy” as an adjective to describe “those” types of people: those who are a little unique and willing to go against the social grain because they themselves are inspiring. People are inspired when the...

Passionate people are curious. They seek answers. They want to know why things exist or why they occur, in orde...

Passionate people find certainty. Starting out at a blank canvas can be discomforting, but curiosity and a will to inspire drive passionate-bound people to create certainty where uncertainty exists. They’re not afraid to take the first few steps into chaos...

Passionate people don’t ring the bell. The challenge of becoming a Navy SEAL is almost a household conversation nowadays. In BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training), every Navy SEAL wannabe is a volunteer. If, at anytime, he (sorry gals) doesn’t enjoy running around with a boat on his head, carrying a telephone pole with his team, or sitting in 55-degree Pacific Ocean water for days on end without sleep, he can just ring “the bell” three times and say, “I quit.” Of the 174 students who started in my BUD/S class, only 34 of us (roughly 19 percent for all you “numbers” people) finished, because… Passionate people are driven to win. They’ve identified—and envisioned—what winning looks like, so all the...

Passionate people adapt. Much like the BUD/S student who adapts to the environment of SEAL training in order to pursue his purpose, passionate people are willing to fit the mold—any mold—if it means fueling his or her personal fire. They understand that it is possible to fit a square peg in a round hole by hammering it over and over until it fits, but they know the end state won’t look pretty. Instead, passion dri...

Passionate people believe in a “next state,” not an “end state.” Failure is a mindset. It’s a mindset of endless pursuit to improve because failure—unless it’s death or taxes—is not an ...

Passionate people practice constantly. Nothing good ever comes overnight, and anything worth doing is worth doing correctly. I remember a saying one of our SEAL instructors used to say—in-between curse words and other pithy comments that I can’t repeat here—which was, “There are two ways to do something: Right, and again.” Artists don’t settle for a mediocre expression of themselves. Instead, they hone their skills ...

Passionate people keep their work. An artist’s past work serves as a source of reflection (and inspiration) to measure past lessons learned and overall improvement. Much like the after-action review (post mortem) in the military where the intent is to examine any discrepancies between intended purpose and actual outcome, an artist compares his or her work to t...

Passionate people perform. Performance—superior performance—doesn’t come by itself, but rather from consistency of practice and a willingness to learn. What enables learning is the desire (read: passion) to throw ego ...

An overabundance of passion inhibits adaptability.

Similarly, if you keep running in the same direction but choose not to slow down to review and refine your mission, then you’re just running toward the wrong place faster.

Stephen Covey, in his bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, showed that in-between stimulus and response there is a gap, and it is within that gap where choice resides. How we interpret daily activities and interactions—more than the activity or interaction itself—is what defines reality, not the activities themselves. We can either choose to see a test as a potential for failure, or as an opportunity to improve—as a way to demonstrate how well your studies and diligent efforts have paid off.

The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight. —Steven Pressfield

doesn’t happen overnight. Rather, it’s a constant process of learning—not just through countless training evolutions and scenarios, but also through self-awareness and self-evaluation. Throughout my own personal learning process, I’ve observed a pattern emerge within my experience that I’d like to share with you—I call it the 5Cs.

The 5Cs refers to the cycle by which competence can actually lead to chaos. It sounds impossible—shouldn’t increasing your competence and skill set be a decent buffer against encroaching chaos? Sure, in some scenarios—you can’t clear a house safely, win the Super Bowl, or even teach a child to read without some competence in whatever you’re trying to achieve. But competence has a dark side, too, one that I’ve seen time and again in my own experience. It can lead to complacency, and when the stakes are life and death, complacency kills.

I learned to shoot the way that anyone learns any new skill: patiently and methodically, slowly becoming a better shot through repetition, perpetual learning, and application. As competence grew, so too did confidence—and with increased confidence came increased risk (and responsibility).

There is nothing as dangerous as becoming overconfident, whether it be on the shooting range or elsewhere. If your competence and confidence are so high that you’re no longer challenged, then what happens? Complacency sets in.

You have to choose for yourself what comes next; is it going to be complacency, or curiosity? Two different paths, and one—complacency—leads to chaos, while the other—curiosity—empowers you to steer clear of disaster and refresh the cycle of learning. Curiosity keeps you on your toes and keeps you humble—both of which are the antitheses of complacency.

Overconfidence is a dangerous place because that’s when complacency sets in—and remember, complacency kills.

tactical patience,

Tactical patience refers to an operator’s impulse control; it is his ability to see myriad possibilities into which a situation can unravel, but he remains cool, calm, and collected so as not get lost in the web of complexity. He is always ready—physically, mentally, and emotionally—to face whatever challenges are forthcoming, but he doesn’t “jump the gun” and make any assumptions. Conflict is inevitable, and he knows it. (More on this later.)

We (the United States) tend to shoot ourselves in the foot over this concept; we believe that having higher morals on the battlefield is indicative of superiority, but it isn’t. It leads to hesitancy, second-guessing, and unclear rules of engagement. Unfortunately, the ones who dictate policy are never the same ones who pull the trigger. It’s a leadership gap.

There’s an element of patience and judgment here that’s worth highlighting. Taking that shot while he was holding the baby would’ve been easy, but it could’ve produced more harm than good because the baby would’ve been hurt—not injured, but hurt. It’s a fine line to mentally navigate—the situational awareness, the enemy’s hand motions and facial expressions—especially in a fraction of a second in the face of uncertainty.

Of course, a threat is a threat is a threat. It’s an ugly truth but the fact of the matter is that there is no prejudice in war, and when you need to kill an idea for national security, you need to kill everyone with it.

f you look at what great teams do and how they succeed, it all boils down to how an ordinary group of individuals works together in an extraordinary manner toward a shared objective or purpose. Success is a factor of who they are (character), what they can do (competence), and how they communicate.

Honesty, enthusiasm, and a positive attitude are all useless without the capacity for action, but action becomes futile when 5C’s of Chaos interfere. What the above figure reflects is this: the central four “C’s”—competence, character and confidence, complacency, chaos—all exist along a spectrum of cause/effect. Here’s how.

The more Joe, for example, performs his job the more competent he becomes. His character grows as he becomes more confident. As time goes on, however, Joe feels less and less challenged, because his job has become routine and his skills have grown marginally at best. He has a greater overall awareness than when he started, but over time he has slipped into complacency. Joe no longer scrutinizes every email. He no longer attends meetings with the same rigor and appetite for learning that he once did. He doesn’t feel the need to read everything that comes across his desk because, well, he has already been at the company for six years. Joe’s complacency has now become a placeholder for chaos to ensue....