To say I adore this book is a huge understatement. It is, by far, the best, most profound, most exciting, most down to earth book i have ever read on leadership. Here’s my book review on just some of the reasons why I love it so much.

Jocko starts this incredible book by explaining that this is not an individual’s glorified war story but it is indeed ‘all about the team’. The focus on teamwork is evident from the beginning of this book, throughout every chapter right up to the last word. Jocko explains as ‘Seals they operate as a team of high calibre, multi-talented individuals who have been through perhaps the toughest military training and the most rigorous screening process anywhere. In the Seal program, it is all about the team, the sum is far greater than the parts’.  Jocko goes on to say ‘we call ourselves team guys’.

[tweetthis]’There can be no Leadership where there is no team’ Jocko Willink [/tweetthis]

We are given a glimpse into the fine characters of these great Leaders Jocko Willink and Leif Babin as Leif explains they wrote the book to capture and pass on the Leadership lessons they had learned on the battlefield and through their work with civilian business’s so that such crucial lessons may not be forgotten or need to be relearned or rewritten. Jocko and Leif wrote this book for Leaders everywhere so they may use the principles they share to lead and win.

Even with all of their accomplishments, experience and knowledge, Jocko and Leif remain extremely humble which is hugely admirable. This humility is evident as they explain they ‘continue to learn and grow as Leaders every day and that they pass on these Leadership lessons not from a pedestal or a position of superiority but from a humble place where the scars of their failings still show’.

Similar to Lean, the single most important factor on the battlefield or in business is Leadership.

Throughout the book, Jocko and Leif tell stories from the battlefield and the civilian world of business where they have supported businesses to get back on track and solve their problems using the following Extreme Ownership principles that they teach.

1. All responsibility for success or failure lies with the Leader
2. The Leader must own everything in his/her world – there is no-one else to blame
3. The Leader must acknowledge mistakes and admit failures and take ownership of them
4. Leaders take responsibility not only for their own job but for everything that impacts their mission
5. Leaders do not blame subordinates
6. It is all on the Leaders
7. Taking ownership when things go wrong requires extraordinary humility and courage, doing just that is an absolute necessity to learning and growing as a Leader and improving a team’s performance
8. Extreme Ownership requires Leaders to look at the problems of an organisation through the objective lens of reality without emotional attachments to agendas or plans
9. A Leader must set aside egos and accept responsibility for failures and consistently work to build a better and more effective team
10. The Leader does not take credit for his/her team’s success’s but bestows this honour on team leaders and team members
11. When a Leader sets this example and expects this from others, the mindset develops into the culture at every level – efficiency and effectiveness increase exponentially and a high-performance winning team is the result
12. There are no bad teams only bad Leaders
13. Leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance
14. The Leaders attitude sets the tone for the entire team
15. The Leader either drives performance or doesn’t

Every chapter of this book is filled with nuggets of wisdom in relation to everything that is integral to Extreme Ownership. Jocko and Leif back up their advice with stories from the battlefield highlighting both when the benefits of having and the devastating effects of not having Extreme Ownership can have on a team.

As I read through every chapter of this book I realised that all the principles, advice and lessons learned shared by Jocko and Leif can be utilised to great effect in every area of business and life. Here are a few of my favourite Extreme Ownership principles,

• Decentralised Command – the ability to delegate to others while still having full understanding of the overall high-level picture and the details required to deliver your Mission
• Simplicity – the chapter on Simplicity is my favourite chapter as I am a minimalist and if this is a word a ‘simplist’! I like keeping things straight forward and simple. This chapter explains the necessity of keeping everything as simple as possible as over complicating the simple on the battlefield can cost lives. Over complicating the simple in civilian business may not have the same devastating effects but the costs can still be very high.
•  Prioritise and Execute – How do you prioritise; how do you determine what is the most important next step? Do you prioritise or is everything a priority? The concept that anything more than one priority is not a priority rings true in this chapter. How can you move forward in the right direction if everything is a priority?
• Standardised Planning Process – How do you plan your life? How do you plan your business? How do you plan for your Mission? Do you have a Standardised Planning Process? How do you ensure everyone understands the plan and their part in it? It is critical that the troops on the ground understand what the plan is and how it is going to be executed. If front line troops don’t understand the plan, questions must be asked until everyone is crystal clear. Everyone must know the Mission, understand the Mission and know what part they play in the Mission.
• Situational Awareness – leading up and down the chain of command, aligning Leaders at all levels of the organisation. Not only supporting and leading those in your care but also supporting and leading those who lead you.
• Discipline equals Freedom – Standard Operating Procedures and the discipline to be more flexible, adaptable and efficient. With this discipline, changes and improvements become easier. This Standardisation is similar to the Lean philosophy of Standard Work.

‘The Dichotomy of Leadership’ is Jocko and Leif’s follow up book which is on my ‘to read next’ list. Jocko and Leif introduce us to these ‘Leadership Dichotomies’ in the last chapter,

1. A Leader must lead but also be ready to follow – a true Leader is not intimidated by others who step up
2. A Leader must be aggressive but not overbearing
3. A Leader must be calm but not robotic – it is normal and necessary to show emotion
4. A Leader must be confident but not cocky – confidence is contagious – a great attribute for a Leader and a team
5. A Leader must be brave but not foolhardy
6. Leaders must have a competitive spirit but also be gracious losers
7. A Leader must be attentive to details but not be obsessed by them
8. A Leader must be strong but likewise have endurance not only physically but also mentally
9. Leaders must be humble but not passive, quiet but not silent
10. A Leader must be close with subordinates but not too close – the best Leaders understand the motivations of their team members and know their people, their lives and their families. A Leader must never grow so close to subordinates that one member of the team becomes more important than another or more important than the Mission itself.
11. A Leader must exercise Extreme Ownership, simultaneously that Leader must employ decentralised command by giving up control to subordinate Leaders
12. Finally, a Leader has nothing to prove but everything to prove. By virtue of rank and position the team understands that the Leader is in charge. A good Leader does not gloat or revel in his or her position. To take charge of minute details just to demonstrate and reinforce to the team a Leader’s authority is the mark of poor, inexperienced Leadership lacking in confidence.

I have read many books on Leadership and this book is up there with the very best. Jocko and Leif’s immense courage is admirable, however it’s their simplistic, humble yet extremely knowledgeable approach to Leadership that makes them such inspirational Leaders and this book such an enjoyable read and invaluable resource. Their lessons, while learned on the battlefield, are relevant for each one of us no matter what role we play in life and business. I cannot recommend this book highly enough no matter who you are or what Leadership means to you.

After the leaving the SEAL teams, Jocko and Leif set up their own company called ‘Echelon Front’ where they support and teach businesses ‘Extreme Ownership’ Leadership principles.

I listened to ‘Extreme Ownership’ on audible which has the added bonus that it is narrated by the authors, Jocko and Leif.

Here’s hoping you love this book as much as I did,

Thanks for reading, check out my free e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ by entering your e-mail address below,

Siobhain

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