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Good leaders are rare; bad leaders are common.

Jocko Willink

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
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.
JOCKO WILLINK

Goodness Importance Leadership Team
Whether on the battlefield or in the business world, leaders must be comfortable accepting some level of risk.
JOCKO WILLINK

Business Comfortable Leadership Risk Understand War World
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
Trust is not blindly given. It must be built over time.
JOCKO WILLINK

Time Trust
The infamous they.
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Famous One Liner
leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance.
JOCKO WILLINK

Leadership Team
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.
JOCKO WILLINK

Blame Development Failure Leadership Mistake Oneself Win
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
Leaders must always operate with the understanding that they are part of something greater than themselves and their own personal interests.
JOCKO WILLINK

Greatness Leadership Understand
Such concepts are simple, but not easy,
JOCKO WILLINK

Easy Simplicity
And the more you build your will by doing hard things, the stronger your will becomes.
JOCKO WILLINK

Strong Willing Yourself
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
But, in fact, discipline is the pathway to freedom.
JOCKO WILLINK

Discipline Freedom
Motivation is fickle. It comes and goes.
JOCKO WILLINK

Motivational One Liner
Our egos don’t like to take blame.
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Blame Ourselves
Our freedom to operate and maneuver had increased substantially through disciplined procedures. Discipline equals freedom.
JOCKO WILLINK

Discipline Equality Freedom Ourselves
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
To not move around, observe, and analyze, in order to make the best decisions possible, was to fail as a leader and fail the team.
JOCKO WILLINK

Best Decision Failure Leadership Possible Team
Remember: the enemy gets a vote.
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Democracy Enemy Remember
Although discipline demands control and asceticism, it actually results in freedom. When you have the discipline to get up early, you are rewarded with more free time.
JOCKO WILLINK

Control Discipline Freedom Result Time
In the business world, and in life, there are inherent complexities. It is critical to keep plans and communication simple.
JOCKO WILLINK

Business Life Simplicity World
Waiting for the 100 percent right and certain solution leads to delay, indecision, and an inability to execute.
JOCKO WILLINK

Ability Action Decision Right Wait
Get after it.
JOCKO WILLINK

Inspirational 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
A good leader has nothing to prove, but everything to prove.
JOCKO WILLINK

Deep Goodness Leadership
Leaders must accept total responsibility, own problems that inhibit performance, and develop solutions to those problems.
JOCKO WILLINK

Acceptance Development Leadership Problem Responsibility

Good leaders are rare; bad leaders are common.

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Good leaders are rare; bad leaders are common.

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