Ben Askin’s Reviews > Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win > Status Update

Dichotomy of leadership. Ultimately, leaderships is a balancing act of many factors. While there are some principles that can guide you towards a higher degree of success, leaning towards extremes will not in the long run help you. You must continue to adapt your approach to the circumstances.

Decisiveness amid uncertainty. No decision is also a decision. It is important to make a call with the information you have.
Combat: sniper being unsure if target is enemy combatant. Lief chooses not to engage, friendly fire risk is too high, and the worst case scenario. Pushed for commander to send troops in.
Business: two managers that are competitive with one another, and trying to undermine one another.

Leading up the chain of command: leadership does not stop at your boss. If your boss is asking questions about your plan, or pushing a different approach, it is because you have not made the details of your plan clear enough to your superior. It is also important that you do not break the chain of command in front of your subordinates. If you break the chain, you undermine their authority & your authority.

Lief paints the insurgents as rapists, torturers and murders. The enemy are terrorists.

Lief gives his standpoint on the operations they conducted in Iraq. His frustration with the criticisms from people that never engaged in combat. The frustration he felt from politicians that felt killing enemies only created more later. Lief argues that this is necessary for the Iraqi state to be stabilized. If insurgents are overthrowing the state, it is no good for anyone, especially those at the bottom.

If there is a flaw in this book, it becomes clear that the examples set up in business are often just mouthpieces for the ideas that are being put forward. They are certainly examples of the success. People do not talk like this in real life though. Outcomes are delayed and it measures of success and failure are usually not as clear as in the book.

Also part of planning. Debriefing.

Also important in planning to allow your team to be involved in planning process

Planning is an important process. Planning often faces mission creep, over complication, etc. Who is the plan for? The lowest common denominator on your team. If they can’t get it, it’s not a good plan.

Decentralised Command- People can only manage 4-6 people effectively. Yet teams are often times 20 to 30 people deep. To solve, you need to delegate responsibility to junior leaders, who in turn are put in charge of 4-6 personnel. 6 junior leaders controlling 24 operators. For this to work:
-Clear guidelines on junior leaders roles
-Junior leaders supported when they make wrong call for right decision