The principles in this book were forged in some of the most violent battlefields in Iraq. The authors are Jocko Willink and Leif Babin who served as a Navy SEALs. They fought in the Battle of Ramadi and they use their combat leadership experience as executive coaches. Jocko is a legend among the teams. He is a highly decorated combat veteran who is 230 pounds of muscle with a Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. How would you like to face him in combat,
Extreme Ownership presents the leadership lessons learned in combat and then applies them to any team or organization. This book is a page turner putting you in the midst of a fire fight in Ramadi and then applying lessons learned to the challenges leaders face in everyday life. Here is the table of contents for an overview of the topics,
Leadership: The Single Most Important Factor
Part I Winning the War Within
Chapter 1 Extreme Ownership
Chapter 2 No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders
Chapter 3 Believe
Chapter 4 Check the Ego
Part II Laws of Combat
Chapter 5 Cover and Move
Chapter 6 Simple
Chapter 7 Prioritize and Execute
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command
Part III Sustaining Victory
Chapter 9 Plan
Chapter 10 Leading Up and Down the Chain of Command
Chapter 11 Decisiveness amid Uncertainty
Chapter 12 Discipline Equals Freedom-The Dichotomy of Leadership
You will find battle tested leadership principles that will help you personally and organizationally. Here are the primary dichotomies of leadership Willink identifies as traits every effective leader should have,
“A leader must lead but also be ready to follow.”
“A leader must be aggressive but not overbearing.”
“A leader must be calm but not robotic.”
“A leader must be confident but never cocky.”
“A leader must be brave but not foolhardy.”
“A leader must have a competitive spirit but also be a gracious loser.”
“A leader must be attentive to detail but not obessed by them.”
“A leader must be strong but likewise have endurance, not only physically but mentally.”
“A leader must be humble but not passive.”
“A leader must be quiet but not silent.”
“A leader must be close with subordinates but not too close.”
“A leader must never get so close that the team forgets who is in charge.”
“A leader must exercise Extreme Ownership. Simultaneously, that leader must employ Decentralized Command.”
“A leader has nothing to prove but everything to prove.” (pp. 277-278)
The authors tell us, “Leadership is simple, but not easy. Likewise, leadership is both art and science. There are no exact answers or specific formulas to follow in every case. In any situation, there exists a great deal of gray area, neither black nor white. There may be an infinite number of options for potential solutions to any one leadership challenge” (p. 286).
Although a book cannot tell you how to lead in every situation, this book will provide principles to enhance your leadership effectiveness as you practice extreme ownership.
Associate Pastor – Discipleship. The Church at LifePark
Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University
Follow me on twitter: rickhiggins5
January 13, 2016 at 2:36 pm
Hello Pastor Rick! I just want to thank you for calling me the other day and praying with me! I am so thankful to have Lifepark Church and you as my Pastor! I am praying constantly for God to heal my family and make me a new person in Christ that made me! I want nothing in life that is not His will for me. A problem I struggle with is the fact that the difficulties myself and my family are facing are self-induced difficulties and not just handed to me/us out of our control….. I struggle with it not knowing quite how to handle the knowledge/understanding of the fact that I have caused this nasty destruction…. I was wondering if you might have some scriptures that could help me with this? Thank you for your prayers as well for my family! I know God is working in my and my families life for the good and I will keep my Trust and Faith in that…. I will not be at bible study on Thursday as I thought I would because I am working a day shift for a coworker of mine! Thank you again! Amanda Abbey
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January 13, 2016 at 8:40 pm
Hello Amanda, We will be glad to assist you. At your convenience, I will be happy to meet with you and we can develop a strategy to ameliorate your situation. As requested, here are some Scriptures:
Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Romans 8:37-39 – 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Peter 5:7 – casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
God bless you Amanda, keep your eyes on Him!