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

by Jocko Willink

leader must explain not just what to do, but why.

A common misperception among military leaders or corporate senior executives, this was an example of a boss who didn’t fully comprehend the weight of her position.

“Just tell them why.”

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.

we were confident and perhaps even a little cocky.

When the SEAL element arrived, they humbly took on the same habits as their 1/506th hosts.

Overconfidence was risky in such a hostile environment, a mistake most often made by warriors who had never truly been tested.

With such impressive operational capability, they should have been a big contributor to the fight. But the colonel and his troops simply could not risk working with a group where some members’ egos prevented them from ever fully integrating with

Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism.

Many of the disruptive issues that arise within any team can be attributed directly to a problem with ego.

strive to be confident, but not cocky

was the least bad option.

It was foolishness not to work together. Though we were working in small teams with some distance between us we weren’t on our own. We were all trying to accomplish the same mission.

The most important tactical advantage we had was working together as a team, always supporting each other.

continually keep perspective on the strategic mission and remind the team that they are part of the greater team and the strategic mission is paramount.

If your team doesn’t get it, you have not kept things simple and you have failed.

“Crazy? What’s crazy?” she asked defensively. They were so close to the bonus plan, so emotional and passionate about it, that they didn’t recognize the vast complexity of it.

they often try to develop a course of action that accounts for every single possibility they can think of. That results in a plan that is extraordinarily complex and very difficult to follow.

If the plan is simple enough, everyone understands it, which means each person can rapidly adjust and modify what he or she is doing.

Prioritize and Execute.

“Relax, look around, make a call.”

Even the most competent of leaders can be overwhelmed if they try to tackle multiple problems or a number of tasks simultaneously. The team will likely fail at each of those tasks. Instead, leaders must determine the highest priority task and execute. When...

is crucial, particularly for leaders at the top of the organization, to “pull themselves off the firing line,” step back, and maintain the strategic picture. This is essential to help correctly prioritize for the team.

don’t let the focus on one priority cause target fixation. Maintain the ability to see other problems developing and rapidly shift as needed.

“Decisively engaged,” I continued, “is a term used to describe a battle in which a unit locked in a tough combat situation cannot maneuver or extricate themselves. In other words, they cannot retreat. They must win.

Prioritize your problems and take care of them one at a time, the highest priority first.

Don’t try to do everything at once or you won’t be successful.”

focus on one and when that one is completed, or at least has some real momentum, then you move on to the next one and focus on it.

eager to learn, eager to lead, and most important, humble yet confident to command.

PRINCIPLE Human beings are generally not capable of managing more than six to ten people,

Every tactical-level team leader must understand not just what to do but why they are doing it.

junior leaders must fully understand what is within their decision-making authority—the “left and right limits” of their responsibility.

figure out what needs to be done and do it—to tell higher authority what they plan to do, rather than ask, “What do you want me to do?”

leaders must be confident that they clearly understand the strategic mission and Commander’s Intent.

leaders must push situational awareness up the chain to their senior leaders to keep them informed, particularly of crucial information that affects strategic decision making.

“battlefield aloofness.”

Leaders must be free to move to where they are most needed,

“The SEAL Teams and the U.S. military, much like militaries throughout history, are based around building blocks of four-to-six-man teams with a leader.

“Proper Decentralized Command requires simple, clear, concise orders that can be understood easily by everyone in the chain of command.

When the subordinate leaders and the frontline troops fully understand the purpose of the mission, how it ties into strategic goals, and what impact it has, they can then lead, even in the absence of explicit orders.”

Trust is not blindly given. It must be built over time. Situations will sometimes require that the boss walk away from a problem and let junior leaders solve it, even if the boss knows he might solve it more efficiently. It is more important that the junior leaders are allowed to make decisions—and backed up even if they don’t make them correctly. Open conversations build trust. Overcoming stress and challenging environments builds trust. Working through emergencies and seeing how people react builds trust.

He knew the neighborhood like the back of his hand.

A broad and ambiguous mission results in lack of focus, ineffective execution, and mission creep.

When understood by everyone involved in the execution of the plan, it guides each decision and action on the ground.

Mike dove on top of that grenade, shielding his teammates around him from the bulk of the blast and sacrificing himself for them.

Leaders must routinely communicate with their team members to help them understand their role in the overall mission.

your team isn’t doing what you need them to do, you first have to look at yourself. Rather than blame them for not seeing the strategic picture, you must figure out a way to better communicate it to them in terms that are simple, clear, and concise, so that they understand.

A public display of discontent or disagreement with the chain of command undermines the authority of leaders at all levels. This is catastrophic to the performance of any organization.

Don’t ask your leader what you should do, tell them what you are going to do.

leaders cannot be paralyzed by fear. That results in inaction. It is critical for leaders to act decisively amid uncertainty; to make the best decisions they can based on only the immediate information available.