Book review: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Martin Bamford
Aug 9, 2017 · 3 min read

My 32nd read of 2017 was Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.

I was introduced to Willink through several podcasts and have recently listened to a few episodes of his own.

The man is a beast; inspirational, dedicated and wise. If you read Extreme Ownership or get the chance to hear him speak, you will be impressed.

In Extreme Ownership, Willink and Babin share lessons from combat and business, all designed to reinforce the key messages of the book. Leadership principles learnt in combat can be equally well applied in business situations, with different things at stake.

The chapters cover important concepts including Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain. Switching between Iraq and the boardroom brings this book to life and results in no dull moments.

Here are some of the passages I highlighted on my Kindle:

We wrote this book for leaders everywhere to utilize the principles we learned to lead and win.

The idea for this book was born from the realization that the principles critical to SEAL success on the battlefield — how SEALs train and prepare their leaders, how they mold and develop high-performance teams, and how they lead in combat — are directly applicable to success in any group, organization, corporation, business, and, to a broader degree, life.

I understood how to implement the Laws of Combat that Jocko had taught us: Cover and Move, Simple, Prioritize and Execute, and Decentralized Command.

The only meaningful measure for a leader is whether the team succeeds or fails. For all the definitions, descriptions, and characterizations of leaders, there are only two that matter: effective and ineffective. Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their mission and win. Ineffective leaders do not.

Extreme Ownership. Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.

If an individual on the team is not performing at the level required for the team to succeed, the leader must train and mentor that underperformer. But if the underperformer continually fails to meet standards, then a leader who exercises Extreme Ownership must be loyal to the team and the mission above any individual. If underperformers cannot improve, the leader must make the tough call to terminate them and hire others who can get the job done. It is all on the leader.

When leaders who epitomize Extreme Ownership drive their teams to achieve a higher standard of performance, they must recognize that when it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.

Leadership isn’t one person leading a team. It is a group of leaders working together, up and down the chain of command, to lead.

Implementing Extreme Ownership requires checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership, and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team.

BTF entailed taking on substantial physical exertion and great risk and persevering by simply being a Big Tough Frogman.

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 overwhelmed, fall back upon this principle: Prioritize and Execute.

As a leader employing Extreme Ownership, if 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.

In combat as in life, the outcome is never certain, the picture never clear. There are no guarantees of success. But in order to succeed, leaders must be comfortable under pressure, and act on logic, not emotion. This is a critical component to victory.

The temptation to take the easy road is always there. It is as easy as staying in bed in the morning and sleeping in. But discipline is paramount to ultimate success and victory for any leader and any team.

Get this book, read it, make notes and take action.

Next up, I’m reading Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It’s Doing to Us, by Will Storr.

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