This book is giving Jay z. It's giving Lil Wayne. it's giving Diddy got the key to NYC. I like to read books like this every once in a while just take a few hours and pretend you're in a mandatory high school class. never stop learning and don't judge this book by its basic cover. she is full of tips.

What other leadership book do you get great principles and leadership failures illustrated by true stories from Navy Seals? Excellent?

Every time Jocko comes out with a new book, I'm always excited. This one doesn't disappoint. Very similar to his other books with a slightly different message. Read immediately!

I thought the authors did a very good job of balancing the strategies in battle with the strategies of business. The crossing of the two was very interesting.

I have been a fan of Extreme Ownership for years now, so was very excited to get an advanced copy of Dichotomy of Leadership, sadly took me too long to pick up, but even harder to put down!

The focus on caring for your team and the ownership portions of leadership are not just business aspects that we need to embrace and Jocko and Leif push that we need to do it in all areas of our life.

The Dichotomy of Leadership is an interesting leader book. It begins by telling a story from downrange (military combat missions), then it discusses the principle that particular mission uncovered, and finally the principle then is applied in the business world. What I like about that set-up is that the reader gets to discover the principle just as the author did in that combat mission. The reader sees it play out in different scenarios (military and business). Plus, the principle is laid out very clearly in case the stories were not clear enough.

The principles themselves you may recognize. They have been covered before in many types of leadership books, but it is how they are laid out here that makes the difference. The reader first finds themselves on a SEAL mission and then in a boardroom or on a work site in charge of 600 miners. Instead of overexplaining the principles, the authors let the stories explain the concepts for them.

I always start each business book I read with great expectations; I don't expect great literary writing but I do hope for new and interesting content. After reading both of Jocko Willink's books I have no doubt that he is an excellent leader and trainer. And the concept of dichotomy of leadership is spot on - the balancing of key traits is critical to strong leadership. The leadership concepts he uses to explain this dichotomy are also spot on. The military stories are engaging to read but the business execution of the military lessons are too simplistic - I didn't find that they added to my understanding of the concept or to how to implement it. After reading his books I would definitely hire Jocko to help fix a leadership problem and I would read any articles he writes but I'm not sure I would read his future books.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The author took his experience from being a Navy Seal and wrote an amazing guide for helping regular people excel at being leaders. Straightforward and easy to apply advice that is an enjoyable read.

Another great "jocko" book. There are more tales here than telling's of how to lead but if you are experienced with the author you know that is his style. One of the better SEAL writers in a SEAL market that is full.

YOU WILL ENJOY

This book is great. The authors take up the charge of what wasn’t covered in the their first book because they could not get into the detail their clients and readers needed. This book gives the readers examples of leadership from their Navy Seal experiences. The examples chosen, make the point they are trying to get across crystal clear. I will always be on the lookout for future books.

Dichotomy of Leadership is the follow-up book to Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's wildly popular book on leadership, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. Both men are former Navy Seals and now run a consulting company together called Echelon Front.

Dichotomy of Leadership follows the same general format as Extreme Ownership. The book is divided into three parts: 1) Balancing People, 2) Balancing the Mission, and 3) Balancing Yourself. Each part is then divided into four different chapters---so twelve chapters all together---with each one covering common issues that leaders face. Special emphasis is put on balancing preferable leadership qualities without going to extremes. Here's a quick summary of each chapter:

1) Care about your individual team members, but accept that you might have to sacrifice individuals to save the group.
2) Claim ownership, but don't micromanage others so much that no one else has the opportunity to take control and feel ownership themselves. (One of my favorite chapters.)
3) Be resolute but not overbearing.
4) Do everything you can to help struggling team members, but know when it's time to fire them.
5) Train your team well, but don't be so hard on people that they become overwhelmed and can no longer learn.
6) Be aggressive but not reckless.
7) Be disciplined but not rigid. Allow for flexibility.
8) Hold people accountable, but don't smother them with direction.
9) Be a good follower if you want to be a good leader. (Another favorite!)
10) Plan, but don't over-plan.
11) Be humble, but don't be passive. Prioritize when to push back.
12) Know the details of the mission, but also be detached enough that you can see the big picture.

The chapter on being a good follower was so eye-opening for me. I don't work in a business setting, but I am very active in the PTO at my kid's school. Sometimes the group I lead gets the support it needs...and sometimes it doesn't. And when it doesn't, truthfully, I get mad at my "boss." But this chapter showed me the importance of developing and maintaining a good relationship with my higher-ups, regardless of whether I agree with them or not. I loved this quote:

Strive to have the same relationship with every boss you ever work for, no matter if they are good or bad. The relationship you should seek with any boss incorporates three things: 1) they trust you, 2) they value and seek your opinion and guidance, and 3) they give you what you need to accomplish your mission and then let you go execute.

It's not easy to have patience when you're at odds with your boss, but I appreciate Willink and Babin's advice to breathe and remember my long term goals.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book. It's well-written and well-organized, and I loved the real-life examples from the authors' lives. This is a great resource for anyone who works in groups, runs a team, or answers to a boss. In other words, there's something for everyone in here.

If you liked the authors' first book "Extreme Ownership", then you will like this book. It is written in the same style of telling a war story and then using that story to explain a leadership technique. It is an excellent book on how to balance between the extremes of leadership. For example, how do you manage activities without micromanaging? How do you give people the autonomy to get things done without being too detached?

Out Tuesday! This book is a continuation of Extreme Ownership and is a guide to leadership written by a Navy SEAL.

Subordinates must have leaders who 1) trust them, 2) value and seek their opinion and guidance, 3) give them what they need to be successful and execute the mission.

Effective leaders must take ownership of everything. When mistakes happen, they reflect and prevent them from happening again. They lead successful teams where everyone knows what they're doing, why they're doing it, and supports one another to accomplish the task. Directions are clear, concise, and easy to follow. Decisions and leadership is decentralized so that leaders at every level feel empowered to make decisions. Even leaders need to take their turn to follow respecting the unique skills of subordinates- this take confidence and humility. We are part of this together! There is frequent communication and strong relationships. The goal of the leader is to get the most out of each individual- to push each person to reach their maximum potential so that the team can succeed!

Overall, the message of this book was good- I just never have been a fan of all the war talk.

Simple and Straightforward Military Style Advice.

Effective leadership, what it looks like and how it works is illustrated via battle stories positioned alongside real world corporation and business examples from the authors’ leadership consulting with their company Echelon Front.

Solid leadership breakdown is offered along with plenty of good examples. Yes, the business side appeared a bit too neat and tidy (edited for book perhaps) and the battle stories made for some dry reading but if effective and results oriented leadership are what you are after, you cannot go wrong with this book.

It is simple and straightforward military style advice that inspires confidence. If you read any books on personal development and leadership, this one should be part of your collection.

BRB Rating: Read It.

If you like tales of battle and are new to the idea that leadership is paradoxical—often requiring you to deal with competing priorities—this book is for you. However, the well-written tales of the impressive leadership of our army’s finest officers take up much more of the book than the leadership advice that is given. Note that some of the chapters involve true polarities, such as leading yet training others to lead themselves. These are truly interdependent sets of equally important values that over time need each other.. Other chapters, though, such as “Humble, Not Passive” actually address not overdoing a set of values, which is different than managing dichotomies. So...read this, but then turn to some of the work of the polarity thinking community founded by Barry Johnson to get the tools you need to really handle these ongoing dilemmas of leadership.

“The Dichotomy of Leadership,” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, is a guidebook of how great leaders face dichotomies in the administration of their duties. It is, indeed, so full of dichotomies that one could soon become immersed in confusion. It is here that the reader must look at the subtitle, “Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win,” and fully grasp the meaning of that statement, then settle down to the excitement of learning some really valuable lessons.

Willink and Babin, retired SEAL officers with extensive battlefield experience, have it figured out. Their ability to turn their battlefield experiences into meaningful corporate advice is the most insightful I’ve read. Willink has stated that the solutions to the dichotomies explored apply to the leaders of a wide variety of companies and/or agencies.

A dichotomy is simply an opposing point of view or way of doing things. Some examples: A leader must become totally immersed in detail yet not so far detached from the details as to lose control; speech must be direct enough to convey exactly the message but not so direct as to create defensiveness or intimidation; too much capital can be invested or not enough; growth can be too rapid or too slow; too much time can be invested in work and not enough in family; too much joking around leads to a loss of respect; too strict a demeanor can lead to humorless misery among subordinates. The list is endless. In short, for every positive behavior a leader should have, the extreme of that behavior can become a serious weakness.

Take a look at Willink; a bulldog of a man displaying a no-nonsense demeanor. Babin has the face of a choirboy and a body of steely strength. Together they are formidable in appearance with combined mental capabilities that are amazing. Their books are icons of leadership principles. Their philosophies are battle tested and rock strong. My time of leadership is long gone at age 83, having retired from a large California fire department some 25 years ago. My wife of 65 years does not need leading around, nor does she want any. But solid principles punctuated with battle stories to illustrate soundness are still enjoyable while I bask in past glory.