Bill SituClub President You probably remember me referring to this book in previous posts. Truth is, I absolutely love this book. Leaders exist in all areas of our life. As such, there is no shortage of books on the topic of leadership. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin is, hands down, one of the best books that I've read on this subject. If you're learning about leadership in any way (you are if you're a Toastmaster), then this is a book that you need to get your hands on. About the BookThe full title of this book is Extreme Ownership — How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win. True to its title, the authors, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin are retired United States Navy SEAL officers. The SEALs are a decorated special forces unit that has been involved in numerous US military operations since the Vietnam War. In 2011, they were famously known for taking out Osama bin Laden. Jocko and Leif both served in Iraq and were recipients of high military honours, including the Bronze and Silver Stars. After military service, these decorated combat veterans founded Echelon Front. This consulting agency helps organizations of all kinds build high performance teams. Jocko, Leif, and their team use their experiences and expertise in combat leadership to provide their consulting services. Extreme Ownership is based on Jocko and Leif's experiences in the SEAL teams and the work they have done for Echelon Front. The book outlines various key principles of leadership and includes examples of how they work in practice. Each chapter in the book covers a different principle, beginning with an anecdote about an experience in the SEAL teams. From there, Jocko and Leif explain the leadership principle and how it applies to business. To illustrate this, they provide anecdotes about consultations they have done with past clients. The various principles in the book all boil down to one central idea — effective leaders always take ownership of their teams. This means at all times, in all areas, and in all situations. #1 New York Times BestsellerHome page of Echelon Front Extreme Ownership was a #1 New York Times bestseller, and it's not difficult to see why it had gotten such acclaim. The strength of the book really lies in the message that it conveys. It does an amazing job articulating how leaders need to take responsibility for their teams in the fullest sense. The stories that Jocko and Leif provide paint a very clear picture of this idea. The book does outline many different principles, but the authors consistently reinforce the essential message throughout the book. You simply won't ever lose sight of it! Being a current officer in the Canadian Forces myself, I do find especially clear resonance in many of the book's ideas. The authors may have a military background, but they do a fantastic job explaining how principles of leadership in combat can translate into broader applications. I would say that many of these principles work well in Toastmasters too! All in all, the content of Extreme Ownership is very relatable, practical, and down-to-the-earth — what you'd expect of a quality self-help book. This book has a lot of what you're looking for if you're trying to learn and master leadership skills. Key Quotations from Extreme OwnershipI don't want to spoil the book, but here are some key quotes to give you the idea:
"On any team, in any organization, all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader. The leader must own everything in his or her world. There is no one else to blame. The leader must acknowledge mistakes and admit failures, take ownership of them, and develop a plan to win." "Extreme Ownership requires leaders to look at an organization’s problems through the objective lens of reality, without emotional attachments to agendas or plans." "Leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance. Whether a team succeeds or fails is all up to the leader." Extreme Ownership is a book that I wholeheartedly recommend to Toastmasters, and everyone in general. What other books on leadership do you recommend? Comment and I'll have a read through them (and maybe do a review on it)!
2 Comments
Shoko Ueno
6/23/2020 11:28:40 pm
Off the top of my head, Toastmaster magazine, published this April, on page 20, was interesting to read. By the way, I like Jocko Willink‘s podcast as well:)
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Bill Situ
6/24/2020 12:09:21 pm
Thanks for the suggestion Shoko! I'll definitely check that one out :)
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