Extreme Ownership

Outline

Extreme Ownership (2015) applies the leadership lessons of Navy SEAL combat to business and everyday life. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, who led a SEAL task unit during the battle of Ramadi in Iraq, explain principles such as taking full responsibility for results, believing in the mission, keeping things simple, and decentralised command. Each chapter pairs a combat story with an example from the corporate world.

• A leader takes full responsibility for results and does not blame the team, the circumstances, or other people.
• Leadership lessons from Navy SEAL combat in Ramadi, Iraq, apply to business and everyday life.
• Believing in the mission helps a leader explain why the work matters and gain the team's commitment.
• Keeping plans and orders simple makes it easier for a team to understand and carry them out.
• Decentralised command lets team members make decisions themselves instead of waiting for every instruction from above.

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin are former U.S. Navy SEAL officers who served together in Task Unit Bruiser during the battle of Ramadi in Iraq. After leaving the military, they founded Echelon Front, a leadership consulting company. Together they also wrote The Dichotomy of Leadership, and Willink hosts the Jocko Podcast.