Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

by Jocko Willink

The best leaders are not driven by ego or personal agendas. They are simply focused on the mission and how best to accomplish it.

On any team, in any organization, all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader. The leader must own everything in his or her world. There is no one else to blame. The leader must acknowledge mistakes and admit failures, take ownership of them, and develop a plan to win.

when it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.

Not knowing the why prohibits you from believing in the mission. When you are in a leadership position, that is a recipe for failure, and it is unacceptable. As a leader, you must believe.”

Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism. It can even stifle someone’s sense of self-preservation. Often, the most difficult ego to deal with is your own.