what is what is the most important issue you've ever changed your mind about this
is you know this is one of those things where I'm I'm sure this is one of those
questions where I should have like some answer about some specific subject or
something you know I mean like I can see I know what answer is desired I know
what type of answer is desired but the reality is you know for me taking
ownership of things right this and this this wasn't really like a I changed my
mind mm-hmm to where what I used to say I'm
gonna blame everyone and then also said you know what that's not the right
policy to have I need to tart to extreme ownership yeah I didn't do that but it
was just a thing that built developed inside my brain and I think it's the
most the most important thing that I've ever sort of recognized or conclusion
that I've come to that's not a change but I'm sure at some point my attitude
wasn't like I'll just take ownership of that which it is now but at some point
you know I'd say well that's not really my responsibility right of course I know
that's that's a natural thing to say and I'll tell you what the next and this is
interesting but the the other and this one's kind of more of a more of a I can
pin it down a little bit closer to an answer that someone would like and this
is once again it's gonna be a little bit a little bit strange but the other thing
is the dichotomy of leadership and this is that this is the thing about the
dichotomy of leadership and I actually was thinking I actually didn't didn't
really recognize this until the last muster hmm and I was as I was thinking
about the dichotomy of leadership maybe was off of a question maybe I think it
was actually before no actually was before we even started I was just like
reviewing notes and thinking about the dichotomy of leadership and and one of
the most important things about the dichotomy of leadership is that is the
reason that the kind of the reason that I came to the conclusion the reason that
I got to the dichotomy of leadership we're in getting there let me rephrase
that getting to a point where I said there's
a dichotomy of leadership what I had to do was I had to admit to myself that I
was wrong about everything that's what I had to do in order for the for the idea
of the dichotomy of leadership to to to escape my brain to get out to get to to
become a full thought what I had to do I had to admit to myself that I was
actually wrong about everything hmm so I'll give you real easy examples
one of my things that I used to tell guys all the time you got to be
aggressive you got to be aggressive that's how you gotta be in order for the
dichotomy of leadership I had to admit you know what sometimes being aggressive
doesn't work mmm I used to say you know what as a leader you gotta stand up you
gotta be loud and then I realize you know what there's I see leaders that are
too late I had to admit that I was wrong about that that's sometimes that was
wrong I had to admit that I was wrong about keeping things simple like hey you
know what this is one of the most fundamental walls of combat you got to
keep things simple hmm and then I had to admit that sometimes people keep things
too simple even this fact right here right in order to admit that I was wrong
I had to be I had to be humble and I used to preach and I still preach
humility as being like the most important thing but guess what there are
people and there are even me well there's Pete there's times and places
where you can be too humble yeah and so this idea this idea that there's
a dichotomy to everything it's something that the the original thought for me was
it came from me having one-sided opinion and in realizing that and I'm I'm almost
positive I don't remember crystal clear but I'm almost positive that the
original thought that I realized there was a dichotomy to was being aggressive
and again this was this is all kind of coming to fruition as I'm teaching guys
that trade at and Lafe was running the junior officer training course and I
used to give them the so and I remember right and you know I
remember that saying myself you know what I gotta tell guys that they can go
too far with being aggressive and they can go too far with barking orders and
they and I just it like that's where it came from and if I wouldn't have been
able to change my mind right because that's what this question was changing
my mind about something the biggest thing probably ever in my
life was understanding that just about every characteristic that a person can
have that a leader can have it can go too far and can become a negative
characteristic mmm so that's probably the biggest thing that I've changed my
mind on hmm
yeah that aggressive one that makes sense cause like yeah aggressive being
aggressive like is one of the more effective ways to straight up quote get
things done first right do it'll be done do it you know don't wait or hesitate
yeah yeah yeah oh there's a there's a problem in a building let's sit back and
wait until that problem sorts no like you gotta be aggressive
yeah but then if you're and you teach you all kinds of lessons like this where
if you're gonna spring a trap on somebody or something animal person
whatever what's the best type of type of person that you can catch with a trap
probably an aggressive one you know like they can set themself up to get trapped
if they're like aggressive you know like you know animal who's real hungry you
know yeah hesitating like if an animal's like hesitant you know just hesitant
maybe sees things develop a little bit before they take aggressor you know
certain action or whatever it'd be harder to trap yeah yeah and if this is
the thing that's this is what makes humility important is it's hard to come
to grips with the dichotomy of leadership because if you don't have the
humility to sometimes say you know what you're right that you know what I am
wrong yeah this doesn't this plan isn't what I thought it should be yeah it's so
hard to do that that's why it's hard to really get a grip on the dichotomy a
leadership and that's what makes it so important that's what makes it the
answer to so many questions and sometimes people will come
like you know someone come up and say they'll have their counterpoint to what
I'm saying mm-hmm and I'll tell you right now let's let me think of a
situation where you have to provide a counterpoint if I somebody comes to me
and says you know what being aggressive isn't always good
sometimes if you're aggressive all you do is you you run to your death now an
egotistical Jocko would say negative you're wrong I'm right and I would dig
in in that position mm-hmm and when you dig in and position you can't maneuver
anymore so I'm actually stuck so this is a classic thing to do
also when when when I'm arguing with somebody if you come to me and you say I
think we should do this you know method B I say I don't say no
because I think we should do it method a that's what I think and you think we
should do it method me you come to me I think we should do this method B I think
you're wrong you know you know what I say okay well I
think you got some good points on method B oh all of a sudden you know all of a
sudden we're we're in a totally different scenario oh yeah I just
totally flipped the script on you and I you know what I say as I said you don't
have some good points that you have if you watch people debate it's it's really
a little slick move but you don't see politicians do it because they're so dug
in they they can never think they're wrong yeah and they can never and then
what they also are afraid of they're afraid if they admit they're wrong about
something they'll look yeah whereas if they said
you know what that's a good point that's actually a good point I'm gonna
need consider that I've never really thought of that viewpoint before you
know what I'm gonna sess that but I guess I think you guys think there's
some validity to what you just said when's the last time you heard a
politician say that I don't never I don't think and then what happens is and
in this day and age the the supporters of that politician they don't they don't
they don't recognize the valid point either yeah it's just oh yeah so we get
people that aren't thinking and - and and it's very hard to hold dikötter
in your head that this can be right and that can be right there's an aggressive
approach and there's a non aggressive approach there's a direct approach and
there's an indirect approach and both of them can be functional it's really hard
to get get a grip on that and yet it's the answer to so many questions it's the
answer to the person you're the subordinate that comes to you and says
we should not be doing it this way if your reaction isn't to diametrically
opposed what they're saying but instead to actually take their side and say well
I agree with you've got some really good points let's see how this would play out
talk me through it you can't even like you can you know you
know it's like it's like a it's like a it's like a move here's like a jujitsu
move yeah and it works yeah hmm so there there are some things I've changed
changed my mind on about my mind is open though I will change my mind if if new
evidence presents itself I'll change my mind in a heartbeat
let's do it you present me with new evidence you what about like um well I
would think anyway after kind of thinking about it where yeah you I think
I think generally speaking we do kind of respect someone who can who can change
their mind and we all see it once people's digging into their opinion you
know and saying all kinds of weird wacky stuff to try to defend yourself and
themselves and you're like that so we're talking about kind of thing you see it
it's clear so like it seems obvious like yeah you should change your mind one or
at least open up your mind and like I said um I'll give that some
consideration I'll look into it and if you're right shoot I think you're right
I think that's a better way to do it or whatever whatever the case is but the
and then I guess technically the dichotomy to where you can't do that too
much because if you're always changing your mind with like you know like it
like I don't know we'll see a politician yeah yeah every time the opposing view
or some other view comes in you're like dang I didn't look at it like that or I
didn't maybe I'll look back nor look into that more was it yes and again and
again it's like Brad does this guy know anything because guess what you're
talking about what there's a deck yeah if you go too far and you change
your opinion all the time and then you become indecisive and so that doesn't
work but if you're so if you're the other side of the spectrum and you're
completely dug in and you never change your mind that doesn't work either where
you need to do what do you need to do you need to balance that economy's the
dichotomies between being flexible and inflexible if you become ultra flexible
where you're just going with whatever anyone's saying that's not good yeah you
need to find the middle ground that's what the dichotomy of leadership is yeah
but it's hard for people to comprehend that yes hard for people to see that
where they draw that line yes that is they think well you know I'll never
change my opinion on this okay yeah you just told me where you stand
yeah they're not sure I like that very much because new new information can
come to light yeah yeah that's true yeah that's where they stand right in that
dichotomy or whatever because I think part of part of it and it's part of it
is like yeah they don't want to be wishy-washy you know but the other part
or the other part of that is I'm saying if they always change their mind or
they're so easily to be like okay maybe we'll do it your way whatever yeah it I
think they come off like they don't know anything for sure like to the so if you
don't know anything should you even be in that position like I don't want you
to be the congressman if you're if you don't know anything kind of thing right
that's the feeling so and now with that that's the feeling that people are
trying to avoid when they dig in yeah you don't wanna admit they're wrong cuz
if I admit I'm wrong that means what I didn't know you know kind of thing so
it's like no Brad you don't you don't draw you the line right there you draw
draw the line couple steps down the road be open a little bit yourself some room
to maneuver yeah