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I can remember many times when my boat crew struggled. It was easy to make excuses for our team’s performance and why it wasn’t what it should have been. But I learned that good leaders don’t make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get it done and win.

Jocko Willink

But we can’t ever think we are too good to fail or that our enemies are not capable, deadly, and eager to exploit our weaknesses. We must never get complacent. This is where controlling the ego is most important.
JOCKO WILLINK

Control Enemy Failure Goodness Important Thinking
Extreme Ownership. Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.
JOCKO WILLINK

Blame Leadership World
So how can a leader become great if they lack the natural characteristics necessary to lead? The answer is simple: a good leader builds a great team that counterbalances their weaknesses.
JOCKO WILLINK

Greatness Leadership Necessary Simplicity Team Weakness
A leader must care about the troops, but at the same time the leader must complete the mission, and in doing so there will be risk and sometimes unavoidable consequences to the troops.
JOCKO WILLINK

Care Leadership Risk Time
Calm but not robotic, logical but not devoid of emotions.
JOCKO WILLINK

Emotional Logic Technology
We learned that leadership requires belief in the mission and unyielding perseverance to achieve victory, particularly when doubters question whether victory is even possible.
JOCKO WILLINK

Achievement Belief Leadership Learning Perseverance Possible Victory
leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance.
JOCKO WILLINK

Leadership Team
Don’t fight stress. Embrace it. Turn it on itself. Use it to make yourself sharper and more alert. Use it to make you think and learn and get better and smarter and more effective. Use the stress to make you a better you.
JOCKO WILLINK

Fight Learning Thinking
Such concepts are simple, but not easy,
JOCKO WILLINK

Easy Simplicity
After all, there can be no leadership where there is no team.
JOCKO WILLINK

Leadership Team
For this reason, they must believe in the cause for which they are fighting.
JOCKO WILLINK

Believe Fight Inspirational Reason
Our freedom to operate and maneuver had increased substantially through disciplined procedures. Discipline equals freedom.
JOCKO WILLINK

Discipline Equality Freedom Ourselves
There is no growth in the comfort zone.
JOCKO WILLINK

Comfortable Growth One Liner
We wrote this so that the leadership lessons can continue to impact teams beyond the battlefield in all leadership situations—any company, team, or organization in which a group of people strives to achieve a goal and accomplish a mission.
JOCKO WILLINK

Accomplishment Company Leadership Lesson People Team
Establishing an effective and repeatable planning process is critical to the success of any team.
JOCKO WILLINK

Establishment Planning Success Team
Generally, when a leader struggles, the root cause behind the problem is that the leader has leaned too far in one direction and steered off course. Awareness.
JOCKO WILLINK

Direction Leader Problem Struggle

I can remember many times when my boat crew struggled. It was easy to make excuses for our team’s performance and why it wasn’t what it should have been. But I learned that good leaders don’t make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get it done and win.

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I can remember many times when my boat crew struggled. It was easy to make excuses for our team’s performance and why it wasn’t what it should have been. But I learned that good leaders don’t make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get it done and win.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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