Jocko Willink Quotes

Is this what I want to be? This? I this all I got - is this everything I can give? Is this going to be my life? Do I accept that?

Speaking angrily to others is ineffective. Losing your temper is a sign of weakness. The aggression that wins on the battlefield, in business, or in life is directed not toward people but toward solving problems, achieving goals, and accomplishing the mission.

It’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate. You have to drive your CTO to exercise Extreme Ownership — to acknowledge mistakes, stop blaming others, and lead his team to success. If you allow the status quo to persist, you can’t expect to improve performance, and you can’t expect to win.

Plans and orders must be communicated in a manner that is simple, clear, and concise.

And The Warpath is a path — it’s a route — it leads somewhere. Where does it lead? Yes, it can lead to war. And that is fine. Because I am ready; I am waiting. But the war might not come. And that is okay. Because The Warpath is also a war against weakness — and so it leads to strength. It is a war against ignorance — and so it leads to knowledge. It is a war against confusion — and so it delivers understanding.

In Extreme Ownership, chapter 2, “No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders,” we wrote that “when it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.

Extreme Ownership. Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.

The only meaningful measure for a leader is whether the team succeeds or fails. For all the definitions, descriptions, and characterizations of leaders, there are only two that matter: effective and ineffective. Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their mission and win. Ineffective leaders do not.

The shortcut is a lie.

Of the many exceptional leaders we served alongside throughout our military careers, the consistent attribute that made them great was that they took absolute ownership — Extreme Ownership — not just of those things for which they were responsible, but for everything that impacted their mission. These leaders cast no blame. They made no excuses. Instead of complaining about challenges or setbacks, they developed solutions and solved problems. They leveraged assets, relationships, and resources to get the job done. Their own egos took a back seat to the mission and their troops. These leaders truly led.

when someone is not leading you, then you lead them. You pick up the slack for their weakness. My leader doesn’t want to come up with a plan? That’s okay. I will. My leader doesn’t want to give a brief? That’s fine. I will. My leader doesn’t want to mentor the younger troops? That’s okay. I will do it. My leader doesn’t want to take the blame when something goes wrong? That’s fine with me. I’m going to take the blame. And you have to think about that one. That one can be tricky because you think to yourself, “If I take the blame, I’m going to look bad. I’m going to look bad in front of the team and in front of the more senior boss — my weak boss’s boss.” But think about it from a leader’s perspective. Let’s say the mission was a failure, and the boss comes in to find out what happened. Listen to the way this situation plays out: I’m the guy that was in charge of the mission and I say, “Sorry, boss, we failed. But it wasn’t my fault. It was his fault,” and I point the finger at someone else. Now imagine that the guy I pointed the finger at says, “Yes. It was my fault. Here’s what happened. Here are the mistakes I made. And here is what I am going to do to fix the situation next time.” Who does the senior boss respect more? The guy who blamed someone or the guy who took responsibility — the guy that took ownership? Of course, it is the guy that takes ownership of

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

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.

An opportunity to come out of the gate like a man possessed and attack the day: Without mercy. Today: I’m taking scalps. I’m putting the pressure on. I’m the aggressor. I’m on the attack. And of course: I will get tired. I will get beat up. I will get knocked down and drained and will have some bad days. But I will not Stop.

The people who are successful decide they are going to be successful. They make that choice. And they make other choices. They decide to study hard. They decide to work hard. They decide to be the first person to get to work and the last to go home. They decide they are going to take on the hard jobs. Take on the challenges. They decide they are going to lead when no one else will.