Extreme Ownership

In Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin share hard-hitting, Navy SEAL combat stories that translate into lessons learned for business and life. With riveting first-hand accounts that put the reader directly in the action making high-pressure decisions as a Navy SEAL battlefield leader, this book is equally gripping for leaders who seek to dominate their arena as well as military enthusiasts. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin served together in SEAL Task Unit Bruiser, the most highly decorated Special Operations unit from the war in Iraq. Jocko, the task unit commander, planned and executed the strategy for Task Unit Bruiser, which had huge impact in the "Battle of Ramadi." Leif, as commander of Charlie Platoon (one of two SEAL platoons in Task Unit Bruiser) led countless combat operations into hostile territory alongside such outstanding SEAL warriors as Charlie Platoon's lead sniper and point man, Chris Kyle, the American Sniper. These efforts contributed to the historic triumph for U.S. forces in Ramadi, which was the epicenter of the Iraqi insurgency at the time. Through those difficult months of sustained combat, Jocko, Leif and their SEAL brothers learned that leadership-at every level-is the most important thing on the battlefield; the greatest factor in whether a team succeeds or fails. Leif and Jocko returned from the battlefield to build and run advanced SEAL training, where they developed much of the SEAL leadership curriculum in use today. Leif and Jocko trained and mentored the future generations of SEAL leaders and watched many of them implement the same leadership principles on difficult battlefields with incredible success. When Jocko retired from the service and Leif left active duty, they launched a company, Echelon Front, to teach these same leadership principles to others who want to build their own high-performance, winning teams. In their work with dozens of companies across industries throughout the business world, they again witnessed how these same leadership principles lead to victory for the companies and executives they trained. This book explains the SEAL leadership concepts crucial to accomplishing the most difficult missions in combat and how to apply them to any group, team, or organization. It provides the reader with Jocko and Leif's formula for success: the mindset and guiding principles that enable SEAL combat units to achieve extraordinary results. It demonstrates how to apply these directly to business and life to likewise achieve victory. Principles include: Extreme Ownership: With lives at stake, a combat leader must own everything. There is no one else to blame. The same applies in any leadership situation. When Jocko and Leif explain and take ownership of the incredible combat challenges and horrific tragedy they experienced, that message resonates crystal clear. Cover and Move: In a firefight, every person and group within the team must work together to suppress enemy fire while others maneuver to destroy the enemy. If members of the team fail to work together, the results are catastrophic. While the consequences in the business world are not as severe, the lesson is the same: individuals and teams must work together to achieve victory. When heard in the context of combat, it is a lesson that will not be forgotten. Leading Up the Chain of Command: On the battlefield, there is no time for a leader to blame their boss for not giving the support needed. It is up to frontline leaders to educate, inform, and clearly communicate up the chain of command to ensure they have what they need in order to achieve victory. This directly translates to any business or industry. Quotes from business executives who have read the manuscript: "I can't put this book down. Wow! My mind is racing about how much better of a leader I could be. This is really incredible..." "I've read dozens of leadership books, studied leadership through business school and been in leadership positions all my life. I can say without reservation that I've been able to immediately implement more practices and principles taught in your book than any other leadership book I've read." "It was inspiring, directive and super practical, making the lessons taught easy to digest in order to put to work. This book provides huge value for leaders of all levels. My team will thank you for making me better. Now I have lots to do!" This outstanding read will give anyone in any leadership position a whole new perspective on leadership. Order a copy now and execute EXTREME OWNERSHIP.