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

Recommended by For God Code on Instagram, and well… another pretty underwhelming book. The lessons are fairly useful, and the style is interesting: first a story from the protagonists’ time in Iraq (like when they were surrounded or had to work with a very different battalion), then the concept, then an example in business where there was a similar problem. It works, but the protagonists’ tone bored me because they explained too much, and some of the military parts felt awkward. I admit the leadership ideas will be useful though, so it is not a complete flop.

Notes

• Extreme Ownership: you are the leader, so it is your responsibility if something goes wrong, even if you are not directly at fault. Example of friendly fire, he took responsibility.
• No bad teams, only bad leaders. There are probably good people, but they can underperform. A good leader must understand where to act. Example with teams in training: he swapped the leaders and performance almost flipped.
• Believe. You must believe in the mission, even if you do not grasp the full picture.
• Check the Ego. It is all about the team’s success, not being right or getting credit. It can depend. Example with a battalion that was full of itself and could have gotten into trouble if not checked.
• Cover and Move. The team must move together, without rivalry or competition, synchronized. Example: a withdrawal.
• Simple. Example: a convoluted business plan that people did not understand. Keep everything minimal.
• Prioritize and Execute. What is the most important decision? Do that, then move to the next step. Do not get paralyzed trying to do many things poorly. Example: in the middle of enemies with a hostage; first they secured the hostage and checked for explosives, then fired, then withdrew.
• Decentralized Command. You can manage at most 6 people, then you must delegate and trust.
• Plan. Have a repeatable planning process. Of course.