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Take Command: Lessons in Leadership: How to Be a First Responder in Business
In this groundbreaking book on high-stakes leadership, Co-founder and CEO of Team Rubicon and former Marine Sniper Jake Wood, shows how to apply hard-learned lessons in leadership and teamwork from the battlefield and disaster zone to your professional life.
What do elite members of the military, first responders in the disaster zone, and high-performing leaders in fast-paced, high-pressure, modern day organizations have in common? The ability to have clarity of mind and purpose when surrounded by chaos. To operate at peak performance under risk. To be able to see clearly when others are blinded by fear, and act when others are paralyzed. To craft plans even with incomplete information, then execute those plans decisively--while still being nimble and adaptable enough to iterate as the terrain changes. To deliver in the clutch. To build teams with high impact, and then inspire those teams to follow you into the fire.
While most of our jobs don’t involve leading a tour of Marines through an ambush, or rushing into a relief zone just decimated by a hurricane, in today's fast-paced, hyper-competitive business environment, we are all on the front lines. And in an entrepreneurially-minded world where technology is constantly reinventing how we work, global competition is fierce, and industries are being disrupted overnight, success requires a new kind of leadership. This book is about how to become the kind of leader who gets results when the stakes are at their highest—how to Take Command.
What do elite members of the military, first responders in the disaster zone, and high-performing leaders in fast-paced, high-pressure, modern day organizations have in common? The ability to have clarity of mind and purpose when surrounded by chaos. To operate at peak performance under risk. To be able to see clearly when others are blinded by fear, and act when others are paralyzed. To craft plans even with incomplete information, then execute those plans decisively--while still being nimble and adaptable enough to iterate as the terrain changes. To deliver in the clutch. To build teams with high impact, and then inspire those teams to follow you into the fire.
While most of our jobs don’t involve leading a tour of Marines through an ambush, or rushing into a relief zone just decimated by a hurricane, in today's fast-paced, hyper-competitive business environment, we are all on the front lines. And in an entrepreneurially-minded world where technology is constantly reinventing how we work, global competition is fierce, and industries are being disrupted overnight, success requires a new kind of leadership. This book is about how to become the kind of leader who gets results when the stakes are at their highest—how to Take Command.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 14, 2014
About the author
Jake Wood
26 books32 followersJake Wood is cofounder and CEO of Team Rubicon and a former Marine sniper with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been profiled by Forbes, People, and on CNN and has been named a 2012 CNN Hero and awarded the 2011 GQ Better Men Better World Award.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 23, 2015
Take Command is an interesting leadership book written by a veteran of the Armed Forces. Jake Woods' take on leadership and how he used these theories of leadership over his time developing Team Rubicon does provide leaders some perspectives on how to examine their own leadership styles. His take on concepts of "Pillars of Preparation", High Impact Teams, 80% Solution, and others should provide individuals a different lens on how to view leadership. I see the book as a leadership book written to message not only Jake Woods theories on leadership but to help others understand the mission of Team Rubicon. Easy to follow and just like other leadership books does provide some concepts that others should take into account when developing their leadership theories.
April 25, 2015
Take Command presents a different look on leadership, acknowledging that many people hold leadership roles. Whether business, military, parent, etc you can take the strategies he presents and implement them into your life. Jake Wood a former football player, marine sniper and entrepreneur takes what he has learned in the battle field and distributes it an easy to read, easy to follow format. Take Command is chalked full of examples, bullet points - everything giving you the ability to connect it to your life. No matter what your position in an organization is. Many of the books on the market for leadership and business tend to drag, they are geared toward the CEO's and rarely pertain to your every day manager let alone every day business man or woman. Wood conquers this by giving you examples of his life, his volunteer organization, of real world businesses. There are four points that are covered in the book which are key: Prepare Analyze Decide Act With a layout that allows you flip through and pull information as you need it, keep this points in mind. For every situation you face in leadership you must; prepare, analyze, decide and act on. Jake will walk you through these and if you follow his direction, will see a growth in your leadership skills. Overall very easy read, well laid out, the information presented was relevant to all leaders regardless of background and position. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is tasked with decision making and/or leading a group. Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Blogging for Books.
October 18, 2014
Although this book doesn't present anything new from other books on leadership, it provides a nice compilation of different leadership traits and strategies into one place. This is an easy to read and understand book on leadership in an uncertain high stakes world that we live and work in. It was insightful to see the examples from different aspects of the authors life, both good and bad. I liked that each chapter had a summary or "mission brief" that captured the highlights of the chapter. I believe that this will help readers go back to the principles and lessons in this book time after time without having to reach into their memory of what chapter they think they read that principle or what have you in.
The author admits that he is drawing from his experiences throughout the book, I wish he would have had more business sector and personal growth examples. While there were some, they were often overshadowed by the military and disaster response experiences that not everyone is able to relate to.
The author admits that he is drawing from his experiences throughout the book, I wish he would have had more business sector and personal growth examples. While there were some, they were often overshadowed by the military and disaster response experiences that not everyone is able to relate to.
March 1, 2015
The best part of this book was the systematic approach to leadership that the author provided. He credits the Marines' framework of training and preparation as the basis for that approach. Ninety-five percent of the approach is self-evident and something every teacher, coach, parent --- I might say every human being --- already does but perhaps in not as systematic and analytic a way. I'll certainly benefit from looking at my own behaviors and giving more emphasis to those where I'm weak. The extra five percent was new to me and potentially beneficial: conciously acting with incomplete information, accepting the risk once you've identified it and proceeding as if the worst has already happened.
The book was not really what I was looking for, but should be of use to those trying to organize their thoughts on leadership.
The book was not really what I was looking for, but should be of use to those trying to organize their thoughts on leadership.
June 23, 2026
I have shared these quotes since reading it publishing year -
Take Command, Lessons in Leadership: How to Be a First Responder in Business (Jake Wood) Quotes for all occasions
1. Prepare: Be the leader who strides calmly and confidently toward uncertainty, with the knowledge that no one is better prepared to face whatever challenges might come his or her way.
2. Analyze: Don't be the leader blinded by information and inputs, instead learn how to peer deeper into what you're looking at and truly see the opportunities, problems, and threats you face.
3. Decide: A high-stakes endeavor is a series of choices, ranging from the tactical choices found in its execution, to the strategic choices made in its management. Learn how to lead and decide quickly with the incomplete information and planning.
4. Act: Success at this stage is part tactics and part attitude. Good organizations have great tactics -- they are built around flexibility while maintaining resolute discipline to guiding principles; but great organizations have relentless attitude.
○ "In order for teams to function effectively, each member must understand and appreciate the functions of the other members—and how it affects them." Jake Wood - Take Command
○ “If you build a brand that inspires, it will unite your team in their commitment and loyalty to your organization’s mission and goals, building bonds that endure when the pressure is mounting and a lot is on the line.”
○ “{Office Hours} 1. The problem should always be solved at the lowest point possible in the chain of the command. If someone’s direct supervisor can handle the problem, he or she should… 2. I only accept criticism that is offered along with possible solutions. If someone has not bothered to brainstorm an alternative, then that person is simply being lazy; and in a rapidly growing organization like ours, where everything is on the line, laziness cannot be tolerated.”
○ “Imagine you have an Eye of God holding you accountable for your every move—use it to conduct yourself in the right way in business as well as in your personal life.”
○ “In high-stakes business where you never know where or when the next challenge will arise, good results today are only half the battle—to sustain success in the long run, you must hold yourself and everyone on your team accountable for methodology as well.”
○ “Fear will still rule your decision making until you accept risk. One good strategy for doing this is to assume that you’ve already lost what’s at stake.”
○ “The best way to control communication is to own how you communicate—to communicate clearly, transparently, and frequently hit the messages you want to be heard, so regularly that your people hear you in their sleep. Commit to it. If you don’t control the dialogue, someone else will.”
Take Command, Lessons in Leadership: How to Be a First Responder in Business (Jake Wood) Quotes for all occasions
1. Prepare: Be the leader who strides calmly and confidently toward uncertainty, with the knowledge that no one is better prepared to face whatever challenges might come his or her way.
2. Analyze: Don't be the leader blinded by information and inputs, instead learn how to peer deeper into what you're looking at and truly see the opportunities, problems, and threats you face.
3. Decide: A high-stakes endeavor is a series of choices, ranging from the tactical choices found in its execution, to the strategic choices made in its management. Learn how to lead and decide quickly with the incomplete information and planning.
4. Act: Success at this stage is part tactics and part attitude. Good organizations have great tactics -- they are built around flexibility while maintaining resolute discipline to guiding principles; but great organizations have relentless attitude.
○ "In order for teams to function effectively, each member must understand and appreciate the functions of the other members—and how it affects them." Jake Wood - Take Command
○ “If you build a brand that inspires, it will unite your team in their commitment and loyalty to your organization’s mission and goals, building bonds that endure when the pressure is mounting and a lot is on the line.”
○ “{Office Hours} 1. The problem should always be solved at the lowest point possible in the chain of the command. If someone’s direct supervisor can handle the problem, he or she should… 2. I only accept criticism that is offered along with possible solutions. If someone has not bothered to brainstorm an alternative, then that person is simply being lazy; and in a rapidly growing organization like ours, where everything is on the line, laziness cannot be tolerated.”
○ “Imagine you have an Eye of God holding you accountable for your every move—use it to conduct yourself in the right way in business as well as in your personal life.”
○ “In high-stakes business where you never know where or when the next challenge will arise, good results today are only half the battle—to sustain success in the long run, you must hold yourself and everyone on your team accountable for methodology as well.”
○ “Fear will still rule your decision making until you accept risk. One good strategy for doing this is to assume that you’ve already lost what’s at stake.”
○ “The best way to control communication is to own how you communicate—to communicate clearly, transparently, and frequently hit the messages you want to be heard, so regularly that your people hear you in their sleep. Commit to it. If you don’t control the dialogue, someone else will.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2020
I listened to a Keynote address by Jake Wood at our Conference and it inspired me to pick up a copy of his book while there and read it. I had intended to do something I usually don't do at our annual conference - not purchase ANY of the books offered there. The reason: my bookshelves are filled with those books and others I have picked up along the way that remain unread. In fact, Half Price Books is a bad habit for me because I invariably purchase something there every time I go or use its many books to find something on Amazon at a better price or in better condition. Hence the large number of unread books taking space in my home.
But Mr. Wood's talk was excellent and inspiring and his book followed the basic outline of his talk at the conference. There are many things to like about his book - his story of the development of Team Rubicon, his experience training for his job in the military and the actual experience of battle and the way he applies that to business practices.
But I only gave the book 4 stars because in the end while I like it Take Command reminded me of many business books on leadership. While his experience with the military and Rubicon make up the difference, the bottom line on business leadership isn't very new. It's his experience that makes it fresh and for that it's worth the read.
As an aside, I'd love to see how he & his team would handle the Covid-19 crisis we are all facing right now. My guess is it would be much, much better than the leadership we are getting right now from Washington and that his response would have been faster, timely and life saving.
But Mr. Wood's talk was excellent and inspiring and his book followed the basic outline of his talk at the conference. There are many things to like about his book - his story of the development of Team Rubicon, his experience training for his job in the military and the actual experience of battle and the way he applies that to business practices.
But I only gave the book 4 stars because in the end while I like it Take Command reminded me of many business books on leadership. While his experience with the military and Rubicon make up the difference, the bottom line on business leadership isn't very new. It's his experience that makes it fresh and for that it's worth the read.
As an aside, I'd love to see how he & his team would handle the Covid-19 crisis we are all facing right now. My guess is it would be much, much better than the leadership we are getting right now from Washington and that his response would have been faster, timely and life saving.
December 23, 2020
Excellent book with actionable lessons
These lessons are found in other books I've read. Mr. Wood did a great job of organizing these lessons to build upon each other. I will continue to apply these lessons in our organization to close some of our efficiency gaps. This book will be added to our reading list.
These lessons are found in other books I've read. Mr. Wood did a great job of organizing these lessons to build upon each other. I will continue to apply these lessons in our organization to close some of our efficiency gaps. This book will be added to our reading list.
September 17, 2017
Quick read with a dozen ideas worth highlighting
Quick read. I don't recall any "wow" or "whoa" moments. Expect to come across a dozen or so ideas that you will consider putting into practice. Would make a good TED Talk.
Quick read. I don't recall any "wow" or "whoa" moments. Expect to come across a dozen or so ideas that you will consider putting into practice. Would make a good TED Talk.
July 22, 2021
Using his experience in the Marines and later business leader, he states the importance of taking charge, especially during a crisis.
December 18, 2014
Not great. While the book is simply written, an aspect that might appeal to some, I couldn't help but feel as though I was reading a self-important college football player's treatise on leadership. The author assumes an air of self-importance and confidence that, while it might have been useful into "taking command," sounds more like the ramblings of a college-educated enlisted marine who chose to enlist just to be on the front lines while simultaneously expecting to be granted the responsibilities of an officer. While many of the concepts in this book are sound, the author's self-important attitude and the lack of novel content (or even a novel approach to the content) was highly disappointing.
July 31, 2014
I just recurved this and am very excited to start on it tonight! I'm hoping to garner some insight on how to take issues, both business and personal, decisively head on. Thinking this book can do that...
April 4, 2015
A dry read. I believe the points the author made contribute to his leadership, but they didn't coalesce into much of a takeaway for me. The stories provided to reinforce his beliefs mostly served to make the book longer.
February 16, 2025
Good - but to hear him speak in person was much better.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews