Book Notes from 'Extreme Ownership' by Jacko Willink & Leif Babin
- No Bad Teams, Only Bad
Leaders
- It pays to be a winner
- Hell week is not a fitness
test - it was not a physical test - but a mental one
- Success resulted from
determination and will, but also from innovation and communication within
the team.
- The boat crew leader bore
responsibility for the performance of his boat crew. - each member of the
boat crew had to perform, but the leader received the most scrutiny from
the instructor staff.
- Point was driven home by the
SEAL instructors - who constantly reminded the students - "It pays
to be the winner"
- Giving detailed and
intentionally complicated instructions to the boat crew leaders - who in
turn briefed their men and executed the instructions as best they could
in their exhausted state.
- The SEAL command to being
was 'Stand by…bust em'
- They compensated for each
other's weaknesses, helped each other, and took pride in winning, which
had its rewards.
- They were winning and morale
was high.
- Rather than working together
as a team - the men were operating as individuals, furious and frustrated
with their teammates.
- SEAL officers were expected
to perform like everyone else, but more importantly, they were also
expected to lead
- "Let's swap out the
boat crew leaders from the best and the worst crews and see what
happens."
- Only a single individual -
the leader would change.
- Glaring, undeniable example
of one of the most fundamental and important truths at the heart of
extreme ownership: there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.
- Leadership is the single
greatest factor in any team's performance. - whether the team succeeds or
fails is all up to the leader.
- The leaders attitude sets
the tone for the entire team - the leader drives performance or doesn’t.
- I discovered that it was far
more effective to focus on their efforts not on the days to come or the
far distant finish line - but instead on a physical goal immediately in
front of them.
- If we could execute with
monumental effort just to reach an immediate goal that everyone could see
- we could then continue to the next attainable goal and then the next.
- The concept of no bad teams,
only bad leaders was a difficult one to accept but nevertheless a crucial
concept that leaders must fully understand and implement to enable them
to most effectively lead a high performance team.
- Leaders must accept total
responsibility, own problems that inhibit performance, and develop
solutions to those problems.
- Five week long junior
officer training course - a program focused on their leadership
development.
- If their platoons
underperformed it was up to them to solve problems, overcome obstacles
and get the team working together to accomplish the mission.
- Principle
- There are no bad units -
only bad officers.
- 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, its not what you preach its what you tolerate.
- Leaders must ensure that
tasks are repeated until the higher expected standard is achieved.
- Leaders should never be
satisfied - they must always strive to improve and they must build that
mind-set into the team.
- The best teams anywhere,
like the SEAL teams are constantly looking to improve, add capability,
and push the standards higher.
- Application to Business.
- Explaining why he had
invested in this training. - we aren't winning.
- How can you apply Extreme
Ownership to your teams to succeed and help your company win?
- The CTO was full of excuses
for why his team had failed and for the resulting damage to the
company's bottom line.
- Attitude reflected
Victimization -
- The leader and each member
of boat crew six - focused not on the mission but on themselves, their
own exhaustion, misery, and individual pain and suffering.
- The new leader focused on
the mission - rather than tolerate their bickering and infighting - he
pulled the team together and focused their efforts on the single
specific goal of winning the race.
- Extreme Ownership - good
leadership is contagious.
- Whether or not your team
succeeds or fails is all on you.
- If you aren't winning then
you are not making the right decisions.
- When it comes to
performance standards - its not what you preach, it's what you tolerate
- You have to drive your CTO
to exercise Extreme Ownership - to acknowledge mistakes, stop blaming
others, and lead his team to success.
- There are only two types of
leaders - effective & ineffective
- Effective leaders that
lead successful, high performance teams exhibit extreme ownership
- Anything else is bad
leadership