From a team that operates on the football field to another kind of team that operates in a more global arena comes this month’s recommended reading. Several years ago I came across “Team Secrets of the Navy SEALs” whose author is anonymous because he is still on active duty with the Navy. The book gives the reader insights into the leadership principles of the elite military force and shows how to apply them to business.
My first favorite chapter is Chapter 2 entitled “Know Who You’ve Got…” and speaks to the principle of knowing your team and what each member of the team brings to the overall operation. I recall one of my directors at Sprint had a Master’s Degree in Operations Research. While his position did not directly require him to use this specific knowledge, we needed a deeper analysis of how to effectively staff our team to keep up with the business. His resulting regression analysis provided great insights into which roles we would need to staff and by how much. Knowing he had this background enabled us to stay ahead of the growth curve and gave him a chance to contribute at a higher level to the organization.
The other chapter I especially like is Chapter 10 where the author talks of “The Four Links…” The four links are:
- Comfort in Sanctity!
- Sanctity in Trust!
- Trust in Security!
- Security in the Team!
The linkage idea fits well with the importance of alignment in business to achieve desired results. You achieve success by keeping the links intact much like the links of a chain. The team is only as successful as links are strong so maintaining a conscious focus on the four links is crucial to today’s business leader. The author ends with this final lesson - “Be a Great Leader. Build a Great Team. Have a Great Time!”
Enjoy the book!