Instead of letting the situation dictate our decisions, we must dictate the situation.
JOCKO WILLINKPeople do not follow robots.
More Jocko Willink Quotes
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Don’t ask your leader what you should do, tell them what you are going to do.
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If we could execute with a monumental effort just to reach an immediate goal that everyone could see, we could then continue to the next visually.
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A leader must lead but also be ready to follow. Sometimes, another member of the team—perhaps a subordinate or direct report—might be in a better position to develop a plan, make a decision, or lead through a specific situation.
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Remember: the enemy gets a vote.
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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.
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All elements within the greater team are crucial and must work together to accomplish the mission, mutually supporting one another for that singular purpose.
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For leaders, the humility to admit and own mistakes and develop a plan to overcome them is essential to success. The best leaders are not driven by ego or personal agendas. They are simply focused on the mission and how best to accomplish it.
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Good leaders are rare; bad leaders are common.
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And the more you build your will by doing hard things, the stronger your will becomes.
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The greatest of these was the recognition that leadership is the most important factor on the battlefield, the single greatest reason behind the success of any team.
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Even the most competent of leaders can be overwhelmed if they try to tackle multiple problems or a number of tasks simultaneously.
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There is only hard work, late nights, early mornings, practice, rehearsal, repetition, study, sweat, blood, toil, frustration, and discipline.
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Is this what I want to be? This? Is this all I’ve got—is this everything I can give? Is this going to be my life? Do I accept that?
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As a leader, you have to balance the dichotomy, to be resolute where it matters but never inflexible and uncompromising on matters of little importance to the overall good of the team and the strategic mission.
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In the SEAL Teams, the bond of our brotherhood is our strongest weapon. If you take that away from us, we lose our most important quality as a team.
JOCKO WILLINK






