Leadership Lessons of the Navy SEALS: Battle-Tested Strategies for Creating Successful Organizations and Inspiring Extraordinary Results Battle-Tested Strategies for Creating Successful Organizations and Inspiring Extraordinary Results

by Cannon, Jeff; Cannon, Jon

• ISBN13: 9780071450133
• ISBN10: 0071450130
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-18
• Publisher: McGraw Hill

Summary

In today's superheated business climate, executives and managers are under increasing pressure to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of their people. Built around inspiring stories from both the military and business worlds,Leadership Lessons of the Navy SEALSoutlines a step-by-step approach to boosting morale and increasing productivity in any business organization.

Author Biography

Jeff Cannon (New York, NY) is the senior vice president of Draft Worldwide's Interactive Department. He founded and managed Marcis Interactive, a highly successful online advertising agency.

Lt. Cmdr. Jon Cannon (USS Stennis, Arabian Sea) has led SEALS missions around the globe. He has helped develop marketing and new product launch strategies for European and Middle Eastern companies.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Quiet Professionals	ix
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	1	(10)
Setting Goals
Choose a Path or Take Your Chances	11	(4)
Get Specific When You Define Your Problem	15	(2)
When You Can't Get from A to B, Go to C	17	(4)
Your Specific Problem Defines Your Mission	21	(3)
Plan Ahead---Prepare for a New Situation That Has Not Yet Been Identified	24	(3)
Build Your Goal around a Problem, Not the Other Way Around	27	(2)
Avoid Creating a Capability and Then Looking for a Mission to Justify It	29	(2)
Define Mission Success	31	(3)
Compare the Risks of Alternative Missions	34	(1)
Does the Risk of Doing Nothing Outweigh the Risk of Going Forward?	35	(2)
Plan Your Team around Your Mission	37	(2)
When Time Is an Issue, Plan Your Mission Backward from Your Objective	39	(7)
Find Out What the Big Dogs Want	46	(2)
Prioritize Long-Term over Short-Term Goals	48	(2)
Don't Wait for the No-Risk Solution	50	(2)
Take It in Small Steps	52	(5)
Organization---Create Structure or Fight Alone
Even a Circus Has a Ringmaster	57	(2)
The Key to Accountability Is Structure	59	(4)
There Is No Team Unless Everyone Knows the Team Colors	63	(3)
Ship Attacks or Ambushes? Choose a Structure That's Based on Your Mission	66	(9)
Lines of Communications Equal Chains of Command	75	(2)
Limit Access to Your Office	77	(3)
Build Boundaries to Prevent Infighting and Cannibalism	80	(2)
If a Meeting Is Going Nowhere, Kill It	82	(3)
Leadership---The Hardest Easy Thing
Forget the Village Concept---One Person Has to Be in Charge	85	(2)
State Your Mission	87	(2)
Choose Your Option While the Choice Is Still Yours	89	(2)
Stand Up and Take the Hit	91	(2)
Make a Goddamned Decision	93	(5)
Put Your Stamp on Things Right Away	98	(1)
Give Them the Big Picture	99	(2)
Point the Boat in the Right Direction	101	(2)
Get Comfortable with Chaos	103	(3)
The Vast Majority of the Time, You Know What You Should Do	106	(2)
If You Think No One Else Can Replace You, You're an Egotistical S.O.B. Who's Failed	108	(2)
There's No ``I'' in ``Shut Up and Do the Work''	110	(2)
Don't Become One of the Following Stereotypes	112	(4)
Know Which Leadership Style to Use	116	(1)
Ensure That You Possess the Three Primary Leadership Tools	117	(2)
Increase Your Number of Leadership Vehicles	119	(4)
Assign an Honest Broker to Bring You Back to Earth	123	(2)
Then Seek Out and Listen to the Rest of Your People	125	(1)
Be Unapologetic When You Fire Someone	126	(2)
Enforce Your Chains of Command	128	(3)
Don't Make Work Your Employees' Life	131	(2)
There Is a Fine Line between Tradition and Obsolescence	133	(1)
Let Them Be Angry When They Have a Right to Be	134	(2)
Tell Them When the Ship Is Sinking	136	(2)
Communicating Hysteria Won't Drive Production	138	(3)
Communicate That You Trust Them	141	(3)
Kicking Them Unnecessarily Reveals Your Incompetence	144	(5)
The Thundering Herd
Realize That Nobody's Forcing You to Be Here	149	(4)
If You're New, You Have to Shut Up and Learn	153	(2)
You're the One Who Can Make It Work, and That's Often Thanks Enough	155	(2)
Your Value during the Battle Has Nothing to Do with How Close You Are to the Front	157	(2)
Help Your Boss and You Help Yourself	159	(3)
It's Okay; You're Supposed to Fight with Your Boss	162	(2)
Cowboys and Cogs Don't Have Job Security---Team Members Do	164	(2)
You Can't Fool People about Being a Team Player	166	(2)
There Are Probably Good Reasons Why Your Marching Orders Seem Screwed Up	168	(2)
Build Your Team, Build Your Resume	170	(1)
It's a Small World, and It's Getting Smaller	171	(2)
There Aren't Many Ways to Radically Change a Proven System	173	(3)
Own Everything You Do	176	(2)
Sweat the Small Rituals	178	(3)
Bring Me the Problem Along with a Solution	181	(3)
Building a Thundering Herd
Do You Really Want to Build a Quality Team?	184	(2)
Continually Set High Standards	186	(2)
Retain Your Best People or You'll Pay through the Nose	188	(3)
If You're Hiring, Make Them Come to You	191	(3)
Your Own People Are Your Best Recruiters	194	(2)
Give Real Rewards for Real Achievements	196	(1)
Identify Your Lead Dogs, Feed Them Well, and Build a Pack around Them	197	(3)
Find Out What Makes Them Tick	200	(2)
If You Can't Give Them Fresh Meat, Give Them Reminders of What Fresh Meat Tastes Like	202	(3)
Provide Those Other Things So That They Can Focus on Their Jobs	205	(5)
If Sharks Stop Swimming Forward, They Stop Being Sharks	210	(1)
Let It Be Known That You'll Get Rid of People Who Just Shouldn't Be Part of the Team---Even the Nice People	211	(3)
Save Them If You Can, but Recognize When You Can't	214	(4)
Now Maintain Your Momentum
If You Need to Scream, You Need to Practice	218	(5)
Index	223