Debrief to Win: How America's Top Guns Practice Accountable Leadership...and How You Can, Too!

by Robert "Cujo" Teschner, Michael E. Gerber (Foreword), Ms. Christine Moore (Editor)

Former Air Force Top Gun, Rob "Cujo" Teschner, builds on his work as the U.S. Air Force's Subject Matter Expert on the fighter pilot Debrief as an instructor at the renowned U.S. Air Force Weapons School. He's adapted the Air Force high-performing team approach to Debriefing and introduces this process to help organizations achieve their all and build contexts where teams can thrive. Among the many important concepts Rob brings forward, he a difference between Taskwork and Teamwork, and most organizations are only focused on the Taskwork at the expense of team skills;Organizations must organize to develop trust; they do this by building Psychological Safety, a condition where people feel safe to talk about the truth;Leaders have to learn to become vulnerable and admit their faults. Only by leading as they want their teams to act will they inspire people to act the same;Institutionalizing the practice of debriefing can increase team performance significantly, allowing individuals and organizations to achieve new levels of success.In the end, the key to an organization's long-term success is its practice of accountability and the degree to which its leaders hold themselves and their teams accountable for the decisions they make. High-performing fighter teams have been practicing this version of accountable leadership since World War I. Debrief to Win is the resource every organization needs in order to start improving NOW. It's also the resource every organization needs to build a context where teams can truly thrive. Debrief to Win is a book that applies to all aspects of human performance, from the boardroom to the dining room, from high-performing professional teams to family teams of only two people. The Debrief is a life skill with far-reaching ramifications. This book offers deep insight into how individuals and organizations can harness this powerful tool for personal and professional gain.

302 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2018

About the author

Robert “Cujo” Teschner is a transformational Leadership Coach and Trainer and Founder & CEO of VMax Group. VMax Group is a Leadership Development company specializing in teaching accountable leadership and high-performing teamwork to businesses across the globe. A decorated graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Air University and the National War College, Rob is also both a Distinguished Graduate and former F-15 Instructor at the USAF Weapons School - the Air Force version of "TOP GUN". It was there that he honed his craft of teaching accountable leadership to the top practitioners in the world. Additionally, Rob was privileged to command an operational F-22 "Raptor" squadron, flying America's most advanced air supremacy platform. Rob was ultimately honored to be promoted to the rank of full Colonel, but retired early as a result of a battle with cancer. Rob has over 20 years of hands-on leadership experience in High-Reliability Organizations and brings all of that experience with him wherever he speaks, teaches or coaches.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve often heard people discuss the importance of capturing lessons learned and implementing changes to improve things in the future. However, I haven’t heard as much about *how* to do this in a structured way across an organization.

This book is a good introduction to the Cujo’s “debrief” method, which can easily be adapted to most situations.

The primary reason I marked it only 3 stars is because of the amount of filler—it could easily have been half as long with the same impact.

Also, I would have liked to hear more about implementing changes/actions that are the result of an effective debrief.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overnight success is the result of a mere few decades of experience. Great insight & wisdom gained from this book.

Col. Teschner has a powerful stage presence as well and would recommend him for improvement centric organizations.

I read a similar quote just prior to reading this book: “There is no limit to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” General George C. Marshall, USA

[Rebecca Quillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful book for the business world. I would have liked more chapters breaking down of the process itself. It felt rushed learning all RAPTOR steps st once.

[Chris Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. True instruction on how elite teams are managed!

[Maddie Scho Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry cujo, this is the first book I haven’t finished in a long while… there were good nuggets in there but I could not get through the book overall. Sry :/

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very actionable information in here. Applicable no matter your position in life.