Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual

I’ve been obsessed with special forces since my first GORUCK event a few years ago. I won’t go into all the detail of how much craziness I’ve done and how much pain I’ve put my body through at the hands of special forces operators. I’ve written about that extensively.

It’s not the physical hardships or even the weapons training that had the biggest impact on my life. From these operators I learned how I want to lead my company. Through all the pain I learned that the mentality, culture and operations of special forces units translate well into business. That’s exactly what Jocko Willink lays out in this book, a must read for all business leaders.

Jocko writes “when you are a leader, there are no excuses, and there is no one else to blame. You have to make decisions. You have to build relationships. You have to communicate so that everyone can understand. You have to control your ego and your emotions. You have to be able to detach. You need to instill pride in the team. You need to train the team. You need to be balanced and tactful and aware, and you have to take ownership. The list goes on and on and makes up this incredible complex undertaking that we call leadership. And if you do all the things well — if you lead effectively — the team will be successful, and the mission will be accomplished. If you do not lead effectively, it will fail, and the team will not accomplish the mission. Leadership is all on you. But at the same time, leadership is not about you.”

If you lead teams of any kind, you need to read this book.