I finished this book in December 2024. I recommend this book 7/10.
Why you should read this book:
The author is a tough Vietnam veteran who later was also the creator of Seal Team Six. This book is the Ten Commandments of Leadership, shouted at you by a drill instructor, and you will find that you sit a little straighter on the couch at the end. Marcinko elaborates on six questions in the end that will change your state.
Get your copy here.
🚀 The book in three sentences
The author is Jocko Willink's Uncle.
Be bold, be tough, be rogue.
Six questions in the end that will change your state.
🎨 Impressions
The book uses rough language but is to the point on leadership.
📝 My notes and thoughts
P11. "I am the War Lord and the wrathful God of Combat, and I will always lead you from the front, not the rear." It is a chapter about how leaders need to get down and dirty with their team, not hide in their offices.
P31. "I will treat you all alike—just like shit." A chapter telling you that you have not earned to lead people. You are an assistant to your team.
P45. "Thou shalt do nothing I will not do first, and thus will you be created Warriors in My deadly image." A chapter that leaders goes first, and by showing that no work is beneath you.
P48. If you're the leader, but you aren't part of the team, then you've got no team. What you have is a bureaucracy. And even if it's a small bureaucracy, it's going to function like a bureaucracy, not very well. Commitment from your people isn't something that can be demanded from them; it can only be given by them. And your team will give their commitment to you only if they know that you'll do whatever you're asking them to do.
P56. The director of the huge Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, wears the same overalls to work that are worn by all of his production workers. Even when corporate big shots from Japan show up at the plant, he still sticks to his coveralls.
P57. "I shall punish thy bodies because the more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in combat." A chapter about never-stopping training. You need to keep learning so you can be prepared for new challenges that will arrive.
P61. The more I work with major corporations, the clearer it is to me that, in most cases, the CEOs don't demand the preparedness and toughness from their people that the modern global environment demands. And then they wonder why the Japanese or the Koreans are kicking their asses around the block. For example, most corporations spend a great deal of money, energy, and time developing strategic plans and tactics. But then they spend very little time "walking through" these plans—playing "war games" to see if the plans will actually work or if they'll just fail to pieces during the first visit from Mr. Murphy. I've been to dozens of executive seminars where the top officers make detailed battle plans. But then ... that's it, the end. Golf time! Instead, they ought to leave their goddamn golf clubs at home and do their "bonding" by war-gaming a real-life, real-time scenario, where they put their plan to the test. They ought to "play the enemy" and try to throw as many variables as possible at the plan. That will not only test their plan, but it will also give them an education in how the enemy thinks.
P69. "Indeed, if thou hurteth in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art Doing It Right." A chapter about taking the painful route, not the easy one.
P75. Be wary when one of your people tells you that a change you've instituted "isn't working." In reality, it may be working fine—but simply causing pain. Likely as not, when your people tell you a change "isn't working," they won't even know they're lying to you. They'll be so addicted to the concept of institutional protection from pain that they won't even see that some good things have to hurt. They'll just assume that if something hurts, there must be a better way to do it. It will be up to you, as the leader, to remind them that there's a difference between efficiency and ease. And it will be up to you—leading from the front—to show them that the hard way, the way that hurts, is usually the best way.
P83. "thou hast not to like it—thou hast just to do it." A chapter about how sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and stick with a project, just hang in there and do what's needed.
P95. "Thou shalt Keep It Simple, Stupid." A chapter about keeping things simple.
P105. "Thou shalt never assume." It is a chapter about never assuming anything and making up a list of all the assumptions you should challenge.
P108. There are innumerable problems with making assumptions. One is that when people assume things, they generally think that everyone else—including their own team as well as the enemy—is making the same assumptions. However, people rarely agree on what the "facts" of any given situation are. We all like to think that we see things accurately and objectively, but that in itself is a faulty assumption.
P111. If you want to win your battles, let your competition make assumptions—and then find out what they are. If you know your enemy's assumptions, you have captured the element of surprise. And if you hold the element of surprise, you can determine the rules of engagement. You can control where you engage the enemy, when you engage them, and how extensive the battle will be.
P112. To the extent that you must make assumptions, you should devise alternative plans to put into action if your assumptions prove to be false. You should always have a fallback position, a Plan B. If you're a true leader, even your backup system will have backup systems. Then, when your assumptions fall flat, you won't fall flat with them. Stay flexible, and you'll win.
P119. "Verily, thou art not paid for thy methods, but for thy results, by which meaneth thou shalt kill thine enemy by any means available before he killeth you." A chapter about don't wait for an invite. Take control, set goals, and hold people to them.
P129. "Thou shalt, in thy Warrior's Mind and Soul, always remember My ultimate and final Commandment: There Are No Rules—Thou Shalt Win at All Cost." It is a chapter about ignoring conventional wisdom and making your own rules.
P144. Six questions with Richards's points of view. Well worth a re-read:
What drives you?
Was I always this way?
What will satisfy me?
Do I ever recognize defeat?
How can I turn today's negatives into positives?
What is my ultimate goal?