Guidelines For The Leader And The Commander

Featured on The Jocko Podcast “The finest little handbook on leadership and training ever written.” --Col. David Hackworth, author of the bestseller About Face Guidelines for the Leader and the Commander is an enduring classic. Written by the Army’s premier trainer of the twentieth century, this is a wide-ranging collection of principles and maxims to guide the building, training, and leading of any organization, with a focus on the individuals who make up that organization. Clarke intended the book to enlighten and instruct leaders, and those who aspire to leadership, in every profession and every walk of life. Thoughtful as well as concrete, pithy and often conversational, Clarke’s book resonates today.

Today’s best leaders know how to lead up, a necessary strategy when a supervisor is micromanaging rather than macrothinking, when a division president offers clear directives but can’t see the future, or when investors demand instant gain but need long-term growth. Through vivid, compelling stories, Michael Useem reveals how upward leadership can transform incipient disaster into hard-won triumph. For example, U.S. Marine Corps General Peter Pace reconciled the conflicting priorities of six bosses by keeping them well informed and challenging their instructions when necessary. Useem also explores what happens when those who should step forward fail to do so—Mount Everest mountaineers might have saved themselves from disaster during a fateful ascent if only they had questioned their guides’ flawed decisions. Leading Up is a call to action. It asks us to get results by helping our superiors lead and by building on the best in everybody’s nature, and it offers a pragmatic blueprint for doing so.

Why are the best leaders the ones who are most adept at following? What should we expect of those who have the privilege of leading? And what may leaders expect of those who follow them? Drawing upon a military career spanning more than four decades, General Martin Dempsey, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, examines the limits of loyalty, the necessity of sensible skepticism, and the value of responsible rebelliousness, and explains why we actually should sweat the small stuff. No Time for Spectators takes readers behind the closed doors of the Situation Room, onto the battlefields of Iraq, and to the East German border at the height of the Cold War. It contends that relationships between leaders and followers--employers and employees, politicians and constituents, coaches and athletes, teachers and students--are most productive when based on certain key mutual expectations. The book begins from the premise that life is not a spectator sport. Especially not today, especially not at a time when issues are so complex, information is so pervasive, scrutiny is so intense, and the stakes are so high. No Time for Spectators may not be the answer to all of our problems, but it is a clarion call for those who are actually interested in solving them.

“A book about the complexities of combat that's just as applicable for dealing with the complexities of business and our personal lives.”—Kevin Sharer, chairman and CEO, Amgen As a commander of Delta Force-the most elite counter—terrorist organization in the world—Pete Blaber took part in some of the most dangerous, controversial, and significant military and political events of our time. Now he takes his intimate knowledge of warfare—and the heart, mind, and spirit it takes to win—and moves his focus from the combat zone to civilian life. In this book, you will learn the same lessons he learned, while experiencing what the life of a Delta Force Operator is like—from the extreme physical and psychological training to the darkest of shadow ops all around the world. From each mission, Pete Blaber has taken a life lesson back with him. You will learn these enlightening lessons as you gain insights into never-before-revealed missions executed around the globe. And when the smoke clears, you will emerge wiser, more capable, and better prepared to succeed in life than you ever thought possible.

What can we learn about leadership and the experience of war from the best combat leaders the world has ever known? This book takes us behind the scenes and to the front lines of the major wars of the past 250 years through the words of twenty combat commanders. What they have to say--which is remarkably similar across generational, national, and ideological divides--is a fascinating take on military history by those who lived it. It is also worthwhile reading for anyone, from any walk of life, who makes executive decisions. The leaders showcased here range from Frederick the Great to Norman Schwarzkopf. They include such diverse figures as Napoleon Bonaparte, commanders on both sides of the Civil War (William Tecumseh Sherman and Stonewall Jackson), German and American World War II generals (Rommel and Patton), a veteran of the Arab-Israeli wars (Moshe Dayan), and leaders from both sides of the Vietnam War (Vo Nguyen Giap and Harold Moore). What they have had in common is an unrivaled understanding of the art of command and a willingness to lead from the front. All earned the respect and loyalty of those they led--and moved them to risk death. The practices of these commanders apply to any leadership situation, whether military, business, political, athletic, or other. Their words reveal techniques for anticipating the competition, leading through example, taking care of the "troops," staying informed, turning bad luck to advantage, improvising, and making bold decisions. Leader after leader emphasizes the importance of up-front "muddy boots" leadership and reveals what it takes to persevere and win. Identifying a pattern of proven leadership, this book will benefit anyone who aspires to lead a country, a squadron, a company, or a basketball team. It is a unique distillation of two and a half centuries of military wisdom.

Where have all the trustworthy, credible, accountable leaders gone? Leadership today has been tarnished by entitled, selfish, unaccountable, untrustworthy individuals whose only agenda is to seek power, titles and positions. No venue has gone untouched, whether it be public, private or political. These leadership posers have created an environment that has precipitated diminished expectations, lowered standards and increased acceptance of a diluted version of leadership. Retired Ontario Provincial Police Chief Superintendent Robert M. Bruce, a decorated thirty-three-year veteran, shares his leadership journey by combining his extensive experience and observations as both a student of leadership and, more importantly, a practitioner. This senior police commander, coach, and corporate speaker provides a unique, insightful blueprint to leading beyond your presence, becoming the leader you want to be led by. Leading Beyond Your Presence is an authentic, no-nonsense approach to trustworthy leadership at the point of impact where it matters most, serving and inspiring others, engaging leaders with an immediate action plan that provides practical tools, strategic guidance and bona de examples to becoming an exemplary leader in any situation or circumstance, regardless of the leadership role. It challenges leaders to raise their standards, increase expectations and never again have people cornered into settling for anything less than the very best of their leaders. Leading Beyond Your Presence establishes that great leadership is attainable and necessary for those willing do the unceremonious preparation it takes to lead, while bringing to light the catastrophic consequences of accepting the status quo of leadership mediocrity. Leadership is an honour and privilege to those entrusted to lead; being worthy of that trust is a continuous journey. Leading Beyond Your Presence is an imperative vanguard on anyone's leadership journey.

An instant national bestseller! Stanley McChrystal, the retired US Army general and bestselling author of Team of Teams, profiles thirteen of history’s great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is—and never was. Stan McChrystal served for thirty-four years in the US Army, rising from a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division to a four-star general, in command of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. During those years he worked with countless leaders and pondered an ancient question: “What makes a leader great?” He came to realize that there is no simple answer. McChrystal profiles thirteen famous leaders from a wide range of eras and fields—from corporate CEOs to politicians and revolutionaries. He uses their stories to explore how leadership works in practice and to challenge the myths that complicate our thinking about this critical topic. With Plutarch’s Lives as his model, McChrystal looks at paired sets of leaders who followed unconventional paths to success. For instance. . . · Walt Disney and Coco Chanel built empires in very different ways. Both had public personas that sharply contrasted with how they lived in private. · Maximilien Robespierre helped shape the French Revolution in the eighteenth century; Abu Musab al-Zarqawi led the jihadist insurgency in Iraq in the twenty-first. We can draw surprising lessons from them about motivation and persuasion. · Both Boss Tweed in nineteenth-century New York and Margaret Thatcher in twentieth-century Britain followed unlikely roads to the top of powerful institutions. · Martin Luther and his future namesake Martin Luther King Jr., both local clergymen, emerged from modest backgrounds to lead world-changing movements. Finally, McChrystal explores how his former hero, General Robert E. Lee, could seemingly do everything right in his military career and yet lead the Confederate Army to a devastating defeat in the service of an immoral cause. Leaders will help you take stock of your own leadership, whether you’re part of a small team or responsible for an entire nation.