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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.

Jocko Willink

If the plan is simple enough, everyone understands it, which means each person can rapidly adjust and modify what he or she is doing. If the plan is too complex, the team can’t make rapid adjustments to it, because there is no baseline understanding of it.
JOCKO WILLINK

Planning Simplicity Team Understand
Staying ahead of the curve prevents a leader from being overwhelmed when pressure is applied and enables greater decisiveness.
JOCKO WILLINK

Decision Force Greatness Leadership Stay
His realistic assessment, acknowledgment of failure, and ownership of the problem were key to developing a plan to improve performance and ultimately win.
JOCKO WILLINK

Development Failure Himself Improvement Problem Win
In order to convince and inspire others to follow and accomplish a mission, a leader must be a true believer in the mission.
JOCKO WILLINK

Accomplishment Believe Inspirational Leadership True
All elements within the greater team are crucial and must work together to accomplish the mission, mutually supporting one another for that singular purpose.
JOCKO WILLINK

Accomplishment Greatness Support Team Togetherness
The most fundamental and important truths at the heart of Extreme Ownership: there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.
JOCKO WILLINK

Bad Fundamental Heart Important Leadership Team Truth
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.
JOCKO WILLINK

Effort Goal See
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.
JOCKO WILLINK

Greatness Leadership Team
When it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate. When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable.
JOCKO WILLINK

Acceptance Expectation Leadership Tolerance
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
The goal of leadership seems simple: to get people to do what they need to do to support the mission and the team.
JOCKO WILLINK

Friendship Goal Simplicity Support Team
Don’t expect to be motivated every day to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on Discipline.
JOCKO WILLINK

Discipline Expectation Motivational
Departments and groups within the team must break down silos, depend on each other and understand who depends on them.
JOCKO WILLINK

Break Independent Team Understand
Trust is not blindly given. It must be built over time.
JOCKO WILLINK

Time Trust
A mission statement tells your troops what you are doing.
JOCKO WILLINK

Team Yourself
Repetitive exceptional performance became a habit.
JOCKO WILLINK

Performance
All animals, including humans, need to see the connection between action and consequence in order to learn or react appropriately.
JOCKO WILLINK

Action Animal Connection Human Learning
The best leaders are not driven by ego or personal agendas.
JOCKO WILLINK

Leadership Virtue
If mistakes happen, effective leaders don’t place blame on others. They take ownership of the mistakes, determine what went wrong, develop solutions to correct those mistakes and prevent them from happening again as they move forward.
JOCKO WILLINK

Development Leadership Mistake Wrong
That’s it. When things are going bad: Don’t get all bummed out, don’t get startled, don’t get frustrated. No. Just look at the issue and say: Good.
JOCKO WILLINK

Bad Goodness Issue
Remember to keep your ego in check. Don’t judge people.
JOCKO WILLINK

Judgement People Remember Yourself
The focus must always be on how to best accomplish the mission.
JOCKO WILLINK

Accomplishment Best Focus
Our freedom to operate and maneuver had increased substantially through disciplined procedures. Discipline equals freedom.
JOCKO WILLINK

Discipline Equality Freedom Ourselves
After all, there can be no leadership where there is no team.
JOCKO WILLINK

Leadership Team
Don’t let your mind control you. Control your mind.
JOCKO WILLINK

Control Inspirational Mindset Yourself
Decisively engaged?
JOCKO WILLINK

Decision Marriage
The infamous they.
JOCKO WILLINK

Famous One Liner

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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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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