Extreme Ownership How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Jocko Willink, Leif Babin — 2017

An updated edition of the blockbuster bestselling leadership book that took America and the world by storm, two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life. Sent to the most violent battlefield in Iraq, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they learned that leadership—at every level—is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails. Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training that helped forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After departing the SEAL Teams, they launched Echelon Front, a company that teaches these same leadership principles to businesses and organizations. From promising startups to Fortune 500 companies, Babin and Willink have helped scores of clients across a broad range of industries build their own high-performance teams and dominate their battlefields. Now, detailing the mind-set and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult missions in combat, Extreme Ownership shows how to apply them to any team, family or organization. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic such as Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership revolutionizes business management and challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.

Reviews

Olga V@berrybell

May 28, 2024

I am honestly baffled by the positive reception of this book. This is some of the most basic, obvious business advice (15 pages spent on saying "identify your priorities and execute in order from highest to lowest"? really?) with some military chest-thumping sprinkled on top to capitalize on the mythos of special forces. The Application to business sections are sanitized to the degree they don't sound real. Save yourself some time and glance a few useful thoughts this book contains from the inside cover.

Coleman McCormick@coleman

Aug 13, 2023

The lessons here are great, with clear principles defined. Contextualizing these lessons was more effective with the war stories than the contrived business cases that are included. The book could've been done in <100 pages, though — too much rehashing in each chapter. The principles laid out are all common sense and didn't require a ton of rehashing, to me.

Ryan Haber@ryanofmaryland

Jul 31, 2023

The book focuses on taking responsibility, not only for one's actions, but for one's outcomes. It's a good reality check and examination of conscience for those of us who *think* we don't blame others or pity ourselves. Willink and Babin will show you what it looks like when you knock that off. I flew through this book. Its style is positive, engaging, and no-nonsense. At its core are the ideas that we only succeed by taking initiative and leadership on the things within our influence and that more things are within our influence than we usually think. I highly recommend this book as a primer on basic concepts of leadership.

Mike Gregory@mikegreg85

Sep 1, 2021

This is a great book! If you are in a leadership position this is a must! Even if you’re not you can use these principles for your everyday life. I think if everyone demonstrated extreme ownership the world would be a better place!