Book review: “Extreme Ownership”
Extreme Ownership
Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Combat, the most intense and dynamic environment imaginable, teaches the toughest leadership lessons with absolutely everything at stake!
The Format:
This book has a very engaging format. Each chapter represents a Leadership principle. Within that Chapter you are given Military scenarios, then the principle is explained then an application to business in given.
Leadership Principles: These Principles DO NOT change regardless of the mission.
Extreme Ownership – all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader
No bad Team only Bad Leaders – this is an essential mindset for a successful leader
Believe – in order to inspire others a leader must be a true believer in the mission
Check the Ego- Ego clouds and disrupts everything. Often, the most difficult ego to deal with in your own.
Cover and Move- Put simply, cover and move means teamwork
Simple- Simplifying things as much as possible is crucial to success
Prioritize and Execute- Even the most competent leaders can be overwhelmed if they try to tackle multiple problems
Decentralized Command- Teams must be broken down into manageable elements. If frontline leaders do not understand ‘why’, they must ask
Plan – Leaders must identify clear directives for the team
Leading up and down- a leader must push situational awareness up the chain of command
Decisiveness amid Uncertainty- leaders often times must make the best decisions they can based only on the immediate information available
Discipline equals freedom- leadership requires finding the equilibrium in discipline and freedom.
Short Video on the topic (5:04s)
Longer Video on the topic (1hr 35 mins):
Where/How we can apply it:
Each Chapter provides an application to business section, most of which can be directly applied to our business.
Next Steps:
Go Learn more, read the book, watch some videos, or talk to someone doing it.
Evaluate yourself on where you stand with these principles, play to your strengths, and seek knowledge or help in your weaker areas.
Everyone is a leader, job title is irrelevant
Take responsibility for everything that impacts the mission of the team, see something, say something.
