Hi Everyone,
I’ve been reading a great book called “Extreme Ownership How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. The book is a mixture of describing actual combat situations and how the same principals of leadership can be applied to business. It’s a master class on leadership, self-responsibility, and communication. I’ve mentioned this before, but I used to go to swim practice twice a day at the Coronado Amphibious Base, where the Navy Seals trained, and U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training to become Navy Seals. It is widely considered the most grueling training program of any special forces unit in the world. It was a great experience for me to be surrounded by those men and learn from their culture.
There is a section in the book that speaks about the importance of communication and understanding orders. They gave an example of a CEO who had changed the compensation plan for the sales team. Many people were unhappy because they did not fully understand the critical thinking that had gone into the development of the comp plan and the expected outcomes. The CEO, upon hearing that the sales team was unhappy, met with them and explained the reasoning and benefits of the new plan. As leadership consultants, Jocko and his team called out the managers for not asking more questions and being willing to step out of their comfort zone for fear they’d look stupid or appear awkward.
I’d like to answer more questions about the strategy of the business. I am encouraging each and every one of you to speak up in the VOC or the Monday/Friday all hands calls and ask more questions. We need to be discussing our strategy and the second and the third level consequence of decisions within Tahzoo. One of our core values is that we believe in the Marketplace of Ideas – let’s have some vigorous debate! Gabi and I are currently reading this book and if you’d like a copy, please tell Harrison and he’ll send you one right away.
Let’s go be great!
Brad