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Trust-Based Leadership: Marine Corps Leadership Concepts for Today's Business Leaders
This 574 page book details how the author effectively adapted and applied Marine Corps leadership concepts while serving as a business leader—and how he leverages the Trust-Based Leadership™ model to help others become World-Class Leaders.
Section I – Marine Corps Leadership
This section covers time-tested Marine Corps Leadership philosophies and concepts that have proven to be effective in the business world. Topics covered
• The Marine Mindset
• Teacher-Scholar 360° Concept
• The 5 Laws of Leadership
• The 5 Pillars of Leadership
• The 3 Main Responsibilities of Leaders
• Leadership’s 3 “Secret Weapons”
Section II – Trust-Based Leadership™
Retiring from the Marine Corps in 1998, Mike quickly became a C-level executive in a publicly traded company. He’s captured his knowledge and lessons learned in the Trust-Based Leadership™ model and uses it to teach business leaders how to maximize their potential and gain a competitive edge. Topics covered
• 10 Enabling Concepts of Trust-Based Leadership™
• Mission Tactics & Commander’s Intent
• The 2 Types of Friction
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Common Operating Language
Section III – The Trust-Based Leader
Successfully implementing The Trust-Based Leadership™ model requires a specific type of leader willing to adopt and develop the key leadership qualities, traits, and techniques discussed in great detail in this section. Topics covered
• 10 Key Attributes of the Trust-Based Leader
• Authority vs Responsibility
• Decisiveness in Chaotic Environments
• Trust, Delegation and Supervision
• Esprit de Developing Team Players
• The “Leaders Eat Last” Philosophy
• The 3 Leadership Styles
Section IV – Lessons Learned
An enlightening series of anecdotes that convey leadership lessons Mike has learned on the battlefield and in the boardroom. Topics covered
• The Leadership Epiphany (Why You Must Have It NOW!)
• Top 10 Reasons Leaders Succeed
• Top 10 Reasons Leaders Fail
• Leadership vs. Management
• The 3 Big Questions (The Best Leaders Ask Them!)
• The 4 Words of Confidence and 6 Words of Destruction
Section V – Leadership Articles
These articles provide real-world examples of how Marine Corps leadership concepts have been applied in Corporate America. Based upon Mike’s personal experiences, they help others learn how they can effectively utilize the Trust-Based Leadership™ model in their unique environments. Topics covered
• Ettore's 24 Rules for Leadership Success
• Coping with Adversity, Setbacks, and Disappointments
• The 5 Leadership “Blind Spots” (And How to Avoid Them!)
• Having “Tough Conversations” and Conflict Resolution
• Developing and Mentoring Other Leaders
Mike is highly regarded for his unique ability to help leaders rapidly elevate their skills as they create and sustain high-performance teams. He wrote this book to help leaders at all levels maximize their potential and become World Class Leaders.
Get Your Copy Now!
Section I – Marine Corps Leadership
This section covers time-tested Marine Corps Leadership philosophies and concepts that have proven to be effective in the business world. Topics covered
• The Marine Mindset
• Teacher-Scholar 360° Concept
• The 5 Laws of Leadership
• The 5 Pillars of Leadership
• The 3 Main Responsibilities of Leaders
• Leadership’s 3 “Secret Weapons”
Section II – Trust-Based Leadership™
Retiring from the Marine Corps in 1998, Mike quickly became a C-level executive in a publicly traded company. He’s captured his knowledge and lessons learned in the Trust-Based Leadership™ model and uses it to teach business leaders how to maximize their potential and gain a competitive edge. Topics covered
• 10 Enabling Concepts of Trust-Based Leadership™
• Mission Tactics & Commander’s Intent
• The 2 Types of Friction
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Common Operating Language
Section III – The Trust-Based Leader
Successfully implementing The Trust-Based Leadership™ model requires a specific type of leader willing to adopt and develop the key leadership qualities, traits, and techniques discussed in great detail in this section. Topics covered
• 10 Key Attributes of the Trust-Based Leader
• Authority vs Responsibility
• Decisiveness in Chaotic Environments
• Trust, Delegation and Supervision
• Esprit de Developing Team Players
• The “Leaders Eat Last” Philosophy
• The 3 Leadership Styles
Section IV – Lessons Learned
An enlightening series of anecdotes that convey leadership lessons Mike has learned on the battlefield and in the boardroom. Topics covered
• The Leadership Epiphany (Why You Must Have It NOW!)
• Top 10 Reasons Leaders Succeed
• Top 10 Reasons Leaders Fail
• Leadership vs. Management
• The 3 Big Questions (The Best Leaders Ask Them!)
• The 4 Words of Confidence and 6 Words of Destruction
Section V – Leadership Articles
These articles provide real-world examples of how Marine Corps leadership concepts have been applied in Corporate America. Based upon Mike’s personal experiences, they help others learn how they can effectively utilize the Trust-Based Leadership™ model in their unique environments. Topics covered
• Ettore's 24 Rules for Leadership Success
• Coping with Adversity, Setbacks, and Disappointments
• The 5 Leadership “Blind Spots” (And How to Avoid Them!)
• Having “Tough Conversations” and Conflict Resolution
• Developing and Mentoring Other Leaders
Mike is highly regarded for his unique ability to help leaders rapidly elevate their skills as they create and sustain high-performance teams. He wrote this book to help leaders at all levels maximize their potential and become World Class Leaders.
Get Your Copy Now!
574 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2019
62 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 2, 2025
Many leadership books try overly hard to be punchy and focused on a "big idea," ironically often stretching an essay-length idea into 200-ish pages of repetitive examples. Ettore, on the other hand, has written something more akin to a textbook (or guidebook, if that sounds less dry) on leadership. Like any excellent textbook, Trust-Based Leadership does not need to be read in strict sequence, or in full, but the reader who takes the time to delve in cover-to-cover will not be disappointed. Certain key themes of great leadership recur (such as the centrality of character and service), but the book as a whole never felt contrived or stuffed with cherrypicked examples. Each anecdote was fresh and individually insightful, drawn from Ettore's varied and highly successful careers.
One particularly unique aspect of this book is the extent to which it spans both the military and business worlds. To be sure, Ettore's heart is clearly with the Marines first and foremost. The totality of Ettore's commitment to the Marine Corps and the best of what it represents is profound and unmistakably infuses every page. Somewhat ironically, as a Marine myself, the Marine Corps-focused aspects of the book were generally the least interesting, mainly due to how deeply familiar the concepts and principles were to me already. However, Ettore also extensively discusses his extensive firsthand experience as a business executive at Kforce, where he successfully held many positions (such as Chief Information Officer) for which he had no formal technical training or background. The most significant takeaway from these disparate challenges, as Ettore himself notes, is the powerful "proof of concept" they collectively offer of the immense value of good leadership as distinct from technical expertise or in-house experience. The same principles of leadership extend across all domains of life, and they are ultimately rooted not in particular offices or positions but in the depths of one's being. Being a leader, as Ettore demonstrates, is in the end "not something you do, it is who you are."
One particularly unique aspect of this book is the extent to which it spans both the military and business worlds. To be sure, Ettore's heart is clearly with the Marines first and foremost. The totality of Ettore's commitment to the Marine Corps and the best of what it represents is profound and unmistakably infuses every page. Somewhat ironically, as a Marine myself, the Marine Corps-focused aspects of the book were generally the least interesting, mainly due to how deeply familiar the concepts and principles were to me already. However, Ettore also extensively discusses his extensive firsthand experience as a business executive at Kforce, where he successfully held many positions (such as Chief Information Officer) for which he had no formal technical training or background. The most significant takeaway from these disparate challenges, as Ettore himself notes, is the powerful "proof of concept" they collectively offer of the immense value of good leadership as distinct from technical expertise or in-house experience. The same principles of leadership extend across all domains of life, and they are ultimately rooted not in particular offices or positions but in the depths of one's being. Being a leader, as Ettore demonstrates, is in the end "not something you do, it is who you are."
July 21, 2023
Common sense leadership. If you read no other leadership books, read this one. Mike Ettore's approach is true to the Corps: simple, effective, time-tested.
October 15, 2023
This book has been so inspiring in many ways, but above all, it's shown me a lot about the importance of character to lead in success and to success.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews