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The Navy SEAL Art of War: Leadership Lessons from the World's Most Elite Fighting Force
In a groundbreaking, narrative-driven book for businesses, managers (and those who aspire to the managerial ranks), and entrepreneurs, a veteran Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer shows how the skills that enable SEAL teams to achieve the impossible in the battlefield can help business executives and career-minded individuals make better decisions and get the best out of their teams.
Anyone can make good decisions when everything is in their favor. But in life, as in war, it’s in chaotic, challenging times that genuine leaders distinguish themselves. As a Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer, Rob Roy learned this lesson over twenty-five years of combat, in which the difference between life and death was his team’s ability to decode complex environments, take decisive action, and seize opportunities when they presented themselves.
In The Navy SEAL Art of War , Roy decodes the leadership lessons of the battlefield for today’s business leaders and how to make good decisions under pressure, how to utilize and leverage the strengths of others while minimizing the weaknesses of the individual or team, and how to act instead of react, anticipating events despite having minimal information and effectively communicating tasks and priorities.
Illustrated with countless stories from the front lines, and featuring unprecedented exercises and drills from the SEALs’ training program, The Navy SEAL Art of War is destined to take its place aside It’s Your Ship as a bestselling business classic.
Anyone can make good decisions when everything is in their favor. But in life, as in war, it’s in chaotic, challenging times that genuine leaders distinguish themselves. As a Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer, Rob Roy learned this lesson over twenty-five years of combat, in which the difference between life and death was his team’s ability to decode complex environments, take decisive action, and seize opportunities when they presented themselves.
In The Navy SEAL Art of War , Roy decodes the leadership lessons of the battlefield for today’s business leaders and how to make good decisions under pressure, how to utilize and leverage the strengths of others while minimizing the weaknesses of the individual or team, and how to act instead of react, anticipating events despite having minimal information and effectively communicating tasks and priorities.
Illustrated with countless stories from the front lines, and featuring unprecedented exercises and drills from the SEALs’ training program, The Navy SEAL Art of War is destined to take its place aside It’s Your Ship as a bestselling business classic.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2015
39 people are currently reading
524 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 19, 2022
I actually really enjoyed this. It wasn't what I thought it would be and that's ok, it still had a lot of wisdom and authenticity. Roy is an established BADASS. With an eccentric military SEALS career(&more!), he delivers his take on real-world business issues and solutions. I know why a lot of people may not care for this, but I do believe the principals in this book would help anyone to become a better leader and devotee of life.
December 13, 2018
I found this to be a very good read and also wish I had a book or manual like this years ago when I first got into law enforcement. This would have been very useful back in the early 80’s when I started and when I left 30 years later some or a few of the principles were making their way into that field. One example is the author goes through the process of making the correct decision when under stress. I had to learn this first by actually being in stressful situations that could injure my partners or myself. I had to learn from older more experience people and through just by being in stressful situation, now know problem, but back then a pause well? Here the author shows you some ways. This book though is good for any business and also helpful in team building and how to get everything out of all the people working for you. Finding the right way to task some people as opposed to others would be very helpful if you are operating your company. I came from a military father so some of what he saying I had already heard, but what was good about this book was different way of saying the same thing my father said but not from a man who fought in WWII and Korea, both said the same but used different words. Like I said I think many people especially in the law enforcement field that I left, could use some of the items he talks about. Some are also very good tools for your own life as well. I really enjoyed this book. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com
June 30, 2015
A good read for managers and those aspiring to become a leader. Interesting perspectives on leading from a former Navy SEAL. Will serve as a good "kick in the pants" for those who become complacent or "burned out" in their careers. An easy read, in which the author intersperses management lessons with personal experiences.
April 6, 2015
Great read for both management and employees. Could see this being used for group read / team building exercise. So well done that I am gifting it to my boss. She is excited to use it as a tool for our Clinical Studies Unit.
December 14, 2014
Great book for leaders at every level, and for anyone looking to be inspired by one of our elite warriors.
January 16, 2018
Muito bom, com muitas ideias interessantes e exemplos de como deve ser aplicada. Deveria ser leitura obrigatória para todos que querem ser ótimos líderes.
February 20, 2017
I liked it, and I would definitely recommend it. It is very practical and to the point. The only downside to the book is that some of the leadership lessons seem very specific to the military and difficult to adapt to other work environments (ie. a library). But, definitely worthwhile, even if you are not currently in a designated leadership position. This book is filled with everyday, step-by-step things that leaders can do improve their leadership skills and develop their teams.
April 24, 2024
I like the analogy of comparing highly efficient teams in business with military teams such as the SEALs. I use it often myself so I read several publicstions about this topic. I think businesses have a lot of to learn from it.
However style of this book is very simple. Different topics, keywords or thoughs explored in rather shallow detail on 1-8 pages accompanied sometimes with real time examples. Good but not great…
However style of this book is very simple. Different topics, keywords or thoughs explored in rather shallow detail on 1-8 pages accompanied sometimes with real time examples. Good but not great…
December 25, 2017
Shameless self promotion aside, great concepts
If you look past the self promotion of his company SOT-G, there's a lot of great concepts regarding leadership. While I anticipated this to be an adaptation of Sun Tzu's Art of War, I was pleasantly surprised that nearly every concept was unique to this book.
If you look past the self promotion of his company SOT-G, there's a lot of great concepts regarding leadership. While I anticipated this to be an adaptation of Sun Tzu's Art of War, I was pleasantly surprised that nearly every concept was unique to this book.
March 17, 2019
Excellent perspective from a Navy SEAL badass. Not as easily applicable as I was hoping since it's a bit more high-level than I expected, but still a great read filled with exemplary leadership examples.
March 13, 2017
This book isn't one I'd choose to read, I had to read it for work. That said, it was a quick read with short chapters, which I appreciated. This book provided insights that, while being based around SEAL training, have practical application in the business world.
February 23, 2019
The beginning felt like a sales pitch for his leadership program. After that bit, I felt he offered solid advice and tactics on leadership and teams from the lense of a navy seal. Great read!
June 2, 2020
Good book. Just enough Navy Seal to make a leadership book interesting.
June 14, 2020
Discipline equals freedom.
August 1, 2021
A little too trite for my tastes
September 19, 2021
Great lessons for all.
December 21, 2021
My 100 book for 2021
February 19, 2025
One of the lucky few who worked in support to Rob in the teams. I was schooled in the ways of this book long before ink hit paper.
Rob is second to none!
Rob is second to none!
September 30, 2017
"An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep" - Arab proverb.
When it comes to the word Leadership, a lot of people 'cough' and 'scoff'. They don't know what leadership is, let alone leading people in right direction. People become complacent by just becoming "Boss". "Boss" type people are those ignorant ones who impose their responsibilities on their subordinates or avoid them altogether.
In this book, Rob Roy, Chief Petty Officer (Ret.), who spent twenty years in U.S. Navy Seal, shows how the skills that enable SEAL teams to achieve the impossible in battlefield can help business executives and career minded individuals make better decisions under stress and get the best out of their teams and any effort. The author decodes the leadership lessons of the battlefield for today's business leaders and individuals: how to make good decisions under pressure, how to utilize and leverage the strengths of others while minimizing the weaknesses of individual or team, and how to act instead of react, anticipating events despite having minimal information and effectively communicating tasks and priorities.
From personal life to family and to business, leadership exist everywhere. Without leadership chaos is inevitable. I am fascinated by military style leadership in business. I have witnessed military run businesses which are far more profitable than any other businesses out there. They have strong management which follows a proper hierarchy (chain of command) to ensure short term and long term achievement of the organization. Any person can embody military style leadership in his/her business. It takes quite discipline and practice.
The core of every business is "right" people. So managing people is vital. No matter how much money you have, if you can't manage people the business will surely fall. The leadership principle is clear: you have got have the right people in the right positions if you hope to have success.
When it comes to the word Leadership, a lot of people 'cough' and 'scoff'. They don't know what leadership is, let alone leading people in right direction. People become complacent by just becoming "Boss". "Boss" type people are those ignorant ones who impose their responsibilities on their subordinates or avoid them altogether.
In this book, Rob Roy, Chief Petty Officer (Ret.), who spent twenty years in U.S. Navy Seal, shows how the skills that enable SEAL teams to achieve the impossible in battlefield can help business executives and career minded individuals make better decisions under stress and get the best out of their teams and any effort. The author decodes the leadership lessons of the battlefield for today's business leaders and individuals: how to make good decisions under pressure, how to utilize and leverage the strengths of others while minimizing the weaknesses of individual or team, and how to act instead of react, anticipating events despite having minimal information and effectively communicating tasks and priorities.
From personal life to family and to business, leadership exist everywhere. Without leadership chaos is inevitable. I am fascinated by military style leadership in business. I have witnessed military run businesses which are far more profitable than any other businesses out there. They have strong management which follows a proper hierarchy (chain of command) to ensure short term and long term achievement of the organization. Any person can embody military style leadership in his/her business. It takes quite discipline and practice.
The core of every business is "right" people. So managing people is vital. No matter how much money you have, if you can't manage people the business will surely fall. The leadership principle is clear: you have got have the right people in the right positions if you hope to have success.
April 22, 2015
The lessons that are found in The Navy SEAL Art of War: Leadership Lessons from the World's Most Elite Fighting Force may be about soldiers, but they apply to many more areas of life than just that. The various illustrations in the story support the lessons that are taught and this book (which I received as part of the Goodreads Firstreds program) would be effective for use in a variety of settings including businesses who are looking for leadership lessons.
July 15, 2015
I really learned a lot from this book , it is a good self-improvement book. I wish to have the opportunity to do the Leadership Under Fire (LUF) , but I dont want to underestimate it. I found that there was a lot of overlap with the principles of the Art of War and On War by Clauswitz integrated into organizational behaviour principles. I see how it can be applied to real life as the chapters are easy to read and to the point.
September 13, 2015
Ok - it provides some general insights to how SEALs work and provides readers a brief glance to why SEALs are able to constantly achieve excellence - but this book would have been more exciting should he illustrate what he was advocating with more examples. Some of the principles he highlighted in the book are pretty generic and therefore not a strong enough reason why I need to be investing and reading Rob Roy.
December 1, 2023
Listened to this on Hoopla, probably going to be one of the best if not the best leadership books I read.
Definitely going to listen to it again! Very insightful, and not boring like sadly some books can get. This book may not be for everyone, but military or even general stories that help drive home a point instead of beating you over the head with information like you're stupid is a much better approach.
Definitely going to listen to it again! Very insightful, and not boring like sadly some books can get. This book may not be for everyone, but military or even general stories that help drive home a point instead of beating you over the head with information like you're stupid is a much better approach.
April 23, 2015
As a leader of an IT organization I will be adding this to my must have books on leadership. Rob Roy did a great job on this I appreciate what he and so many others have done for our country. Great read!! I won this great book on GoodReads and like I do with most my wins I will be paying it forward by giving my win either to a friend or library to enjoy.
May 18, 2015
This is a decently written book about management and supervisor techniques based on Navy Seal training and operations.
I would have found this more interesting if there had been examples given of situations in civilian business and how the Seal techniques could be applied to those situations.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
I would have found this more interesting if there had been examples given of situations in civilian business and how the Seal techniques could be applied to those situations.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
July 8, 2015
Good, but perhaps a bit too loosely structured. This is a book that can inspire you toward excellence, but I would have appreciated more "here's some concrete stuff you should start doing tomorrow, or better still, today."
October 18, 2017
Eu amei esse livro, diversos pontos para incrementar o pensamento de um empreendedor ou de um líder. Sem qualquer rodeio ou cuidados, ele vai direto ao ponto do que deseja. Diversos capítulos me deram insights.
July 2, 2019
Este é um dos melhores livros sobre liderança que já li. A verdade é que ele vai além de liderança, trazendo lições para a vida!
April 9, 2017
Not a bad book but not a lot of original thought
This was not a bad book buy I would have liked to have seen more original thought from the author. A lot of quotes from other established leadership experts... an author of this achievement level should have able relay more of his own unique experiences.
This was not a bad book buy I would have liked to have seen more original thought from the author. A lot of quotes from other established leadership experts... an author of this achievement level should have able relay more of his own unique experiences.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews